US TENNIS
July 1997
How to Improve your net game
By Pete Sampras, Playing Editor
with Alexander McNab

The fundamentals of front-court play

At the net is where I ultimately want to be on the court. Whether I'm serving-and-volleying or staying back and hitting big groundies, eventually I want to get to the net. When I'm getting in and picking off volleys, it is a sign that I am dictating the play, determining how the match is going to go.

There aren't many true serve-and-volleyers today. Stefan Edberg was really the last one. Why? To play a serve-and-volley game takes years and years of experience and a certain feel at the net. It takes a good athlete with good reactions and good anticipation. Playing a baseline game is a lot easier for juniors, and many players never stray far from that comfort zone.

Here are some elements of good net play:

Use all your options to get in.
Serve and volley, hit a big forehand and go in, hit a backhand approach and go in, or chip and charge off the return. If I periodically pressure my opponent on the return, on a big point he might double-fault or miss the pass.

Keep your eye on the ball.
Here's what I usually see amateurs doing: They're at net, things are happening really quickly, they have only a split second to make a decision, so they overreact. They overswing and they look at the opponent. The key is to focus on the ball.

Use a very short swing.
The volley isn't like the serve, with a lot of technical moves. The stroke is only a couple of feet long -- basically a block. Hit it out in front with your weight moving forward, and use your opponent's pace. I put a little bit of slice on the ball for safety.

Turn the shoulders, especially on the backhand volley.
That's just good technique.

Keep the racquet head up.
In the ready position, I kind of hold the racquet toward my backhand side. You don't need any extra motion on the volley stroke, and by keeping the racquet head up, you can make it short and sweet.

Learn anticipation from experience.
It took me years of playing the net to be able to see what my opponent is going to do with his passing shot. You have to be up there enough to develop anticipation.

Accept the risk of getting passed.
Getting passed is the price you pay for coming in. You hope that over the course of a match, your continued aggression will make your opponent start missing his passing shots. If he can hit a passing shot at 4-all, 30-40, break point, that's too good.

It's hard to keep coming in when you get passed and you're losing points. But I force myself to continue to do it. Eventually that continued pressure is going to work.


Think technique on a winning volley

After hitting a good first volley that forces your opponent off the court, you've got to make the second volley off his passing shot, which usually will come up the line. If you can pick off the pass, there's a good chance you'll win the point. The key mistake is to take your eye off the ball, turning your head the other way to look where you're hitting.

When I pretty much know the point is over if I make the shot, I consciously think of the technique of the shot, meaning staying low, hitting the ball firmly and keeping the racquet head up. I also keep my head focused on the contact point for an extra instant (see photo). I make sure I am not going to miss it.

Split step for balance

When you attack the net, you can't run in there like a lunatic. To be able to get to the volley, you need to slow your body down with a split-step just before your opponent hits. The split-step puts your body in balance, so you can explode to either side to reach the volley.

Everyone has a different type of split-step. Boris Becker just kind of lunges in. Edberg was the most technically perfect. He was down low. John McEnroe was up in the air a little bit. I'm a little more upright than many when I split step (left), a little like McEnroe. Getting to the volley is the difficult part. The split-step is a key to making that task easier.

Stay low on the half volley

The half volley on either side is probably the toughest shot in the game for me. It's such a quick shot, with the ball hitting the ground and then hitting your racquet like that (right). You have to get down low and stay down low. It's the type of shot where if something goes wrong with your technique, you're going to miss it.

McEnroe was the only person who could pull off half volleys standing up, because he had such great feel. You've got very little margin for error on a half volley. You must hit a pretty good shot or else your opponent is going to have an easy pass. It would be great to always get close enough to the net to avoid hitting half volleys, but the shot is just part of playing the net.

Keep it deep on the low volley

Like half volleys, low volleys are very difficult, and like half volleys, a key is getting down to the ball. You are in a vulnerable, defensive position, so your goal on the shot is to stay out of trouble. I want to keep the ball deep and keep it away from the center of the court to make sure my opponent doesn't have an easy pass.

Then I hope his next shot will be something above the net. When hitting a low first volley, you're probably a little bit behind the service line (photo). You want to get closer to the net. Depth will give you more time to get in position to volley the next shot.

The drop volley (inset) is an option on a low volley when you are in closer. To hit a drop volley, you need soft enough hands to let the racquet head fall back on impact, so don't hold the racquet too tightly. Use the drop volley to mix up, especially if your opponent stands pretty far back and you've been hitting solid deep volleys.

Keep moving on the high volley

For me, the high volley off a floating return is the easiest shot in the game. My thought is to hit it for a winner. It's a shot I shouldn't miss, and when I do, it's an unforced error. The high volley is a different story for a lot of recreational players, though. When they see a high floater, their eyes get really big, they look to see where the opponent is and they hit the ball into the net.

Again, a big key to the shot simply is keeping your eye on the ball. Because the ball is floating, you must generate more of your own pace, so you use a bigger swing than normal (left). It's not a really long swing like a forehand ground stroke, but it's not like a basic forehand volley, either. It's somewhere in between.

Another key is to keep your feet moving. After you split step, to make sure you are in balance, you want to be moving through the shot (right). In a perfect world, you want to take short, quick steps. Use your forward momentum from your serve-and-volley or approach to add power. In terms of your target, you can be a bit safer. You don't have to try to hit the line, because you're going to have good pace on the high volley.