112 Volley The Art of Deflection

[@AngelitoDiegoGarcia]

I learn something nice today. Thanks

[@tomsd8656]

As always, it depends on what kind of ball is coming at you, fast, slow, underspin, top spin, etc... Then it depends on what you want to do with it, like deflecting it back deep, or drop it near the net. There's no one formula for all situations.

[@tennis9281]

Hi Vlad. I really love this channel. I'd like to ask you one question if you don't mind. It'd be interesting to know your opinion about the split step when moving forward to the net. Is it something that needs to be trained like many instructors seem to think? I don't actually see split steps happening everytime players transition to the net or are already at the net. Anyway looking forward to receiving your feedback about this. Thanks in advance

[@powerflail7832]

++ tennis 92 In tennis, as in boxing, one should never be “stuck to the ground”. You’ve got to be nibble and be constantly moving (like a shark). Very much “To fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee”. In boxing, if you do not move around - you’ll get punched in the face. Tennis players are not as lucky and they don’t have a crystal-clear incentive for being constantly on the move. So a lot of them simply don’t. As for the “split step”, I am not sure what the entire buzz is about. To me the “split step” looks like a simple “hop”, that’s all! I was doing it before I knew its name. In order to constantly maintain a state of “agility” or mobility - you’ve got to keep on shuffling or “hopping”. You can develop a habit of constantly moving about by skipping a rope. That will be much more effective than practicing some abstract and meaningless “split steps” without any context. If you skip the rope a lot, those “split steps” will start popping up when need them, exactly at the right time without you even giving it a thought. That is the reason why you see boxers skipping their ropes all the time.

[@tennis9281]

@@powerflail7832 Thanks a lot. I see what you mean. Basically one should be always splitting without necessairily thinking of the split step before the opponent hits the ball. Is that right? But lets say one is on the run. Should the player hit the volley on the run or maybe it'd be better to stop, split and then volley?

[@powerflail7832]

@@tennis9281 *_“Basically one should be always splitting without necessarily thinking of the split step before the opponent hits the ball.”_* It is impossible to micromanage all of your on-court movements. You have to stick to the general idea - be nimble and “don’t be stuck to the court”. What “steps” you have to make, will come to you naturally. *_“or maybe it'd be better to stop, split and then volley?”_* You can’t stop running and hit your shot - that is completely unrealistic. You’ve got to incorporate the “ball striking” into your running. Similarly, when people are forced to back paddle, most of them will try to stop and reverse their movement in order to strike the ball. I personally was trying to make this “stupidity” work for years - because I was taught to do that. It never worked well! But it just never occurred to me to question the “authorities” and to consider the options. kzbin.info/www/bejne/joKZkHWknc6nfZI Let me tell you - that is a Stupid Idea! In the situations like that (which happens quite often), you should keep on going and learn to strike the ball while moving backward, exactly what Nadal does. Here are good examples of hitting the ball on the run. And this is a ground stroke - which is more difficult than volley. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJipgJ5jnL6oatk kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4HIgXmsd610bNU

[@tennis9281]

@@powerflail7832 Thank you so much Vlad. It all makes a lot of sense! I always learn so much from your channel. Please keep doing what you do; it's a great source of information that tennis community should cherish and be grateful for. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions