Photo Lesson: The Basic Backhand Volley

With the ball well above the net, as it is here, by far the easiest and most reliable way to hit the ball is to keep the racquet head moving in a straight forward line. By keeping the racquet head at a constant angle and moving it directly into the path of the ball, you give yourself a huge window of time in which to get the result you expect. In contrast, if you were to pivot your swing at the wrist or elbow, so that the racquet's angle is changing with every hundredth of a second, your timing would have to be quite accurate to avoid an error. The racquet path shown here will hit the ball in whatever horizontal direction the racquet head is facing. You don't need to worry about helping the ball go down: Unless you hit the ball extremely hard for a volley, good old gravity will take care of making the ball drop into the opponent's court.

The left hand mirrors the right, helping to maintain the balance that produces a well-controlled shot.