Doubles Only Tennis Podcast

Swinging Volleys, Fake Technique, and How to Improve in Doubles with a Singles Coach

• Will Boucek • Episode 196

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0:00 | 24:27

This is an AMA episode where I cover three questions from you. I chose these doubles topics because they haven't been covered on the podcast before.

  • How to use the swinging volley in doubles.
  • What is the proper technique when faking at the net?
  • How can you improve at doubles when most coaches focus on singles?

If you have other questions you'd like me to answer on the podcast, email me: will@thetennistribe.com

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Speaker 1

Hey everyone , welcome to the show . Today you're going to be hearing from just me . This is the first solo strategy episode I've done in a while and I'm going to be answering three of your questions . So I recently posted on Instagram and Twitter to ask me anything and I picked out three of your questions . Number one is going to be on the swinging volley . The second question I'm going to answer is about technique , on how to fake , and then the third one is about how to improve as a doubles player when most coaches focus on singles . So I'm going to get to all that here in a second , but first a quick update . So obviously this episode is out super late . It was supposed to go out last Wednesday but I was very busy doing scouting for Team USA at the Davis Cup or not at the Davis Cup , it was remotely , but for the Davis Cup and they fortunately won all three matches and played really well and they'll be advancing to the finals in Spain in November . So that was really exciting but it took up basically all of my time so I was not able to record a podcast .

Speaker 1

A couple weeks ago I was at the US Open . Big shout out to everyone who helped with the doubles camp . It was a very successful first run . It was my first time hosting a doubles camp . It was a very successful first run . It was my first time hosting a doubles camp . We had 18 students . Anna from AddIn , which is a great tennis network up in New York , helped us organize it and host it . We had three coaches Josh , nick and Adarsh so shout out to them for helping out and I got a lot of really good feedback and I had a ton of fun doing it too , just watching people's eyes kind of light up when they hit a particular shot or get into the right position in a certain situation that they had never thought about before . It was a ton of fun . I got great feedback . So I'm hoping to do more of these in the future . I'll definitely try to do one next year during the US Open . I'm hoping to do more of these in the future . I'll definitely try to do one next year during the US Open . I'm hoping to do one in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this fall , where I live . So if you live in that area , definitely reach out if you are interested . I had a few of you reach out from California , from Atlanta , from Charlotte and a few other areas , so I'll keep you all updated through the newsletter as well as through the podcast , on dates and locations for any future doubles camps . It was a ton of fun , like I said , doing that . And then the US Open itself . I worked with two different US players . They did not win the tournament but they did pretty well and it was a lot of fun . I learned a ton Meeting different coaches and different players and people . It's always fun attending those events . That are really kind of a great way to just surround yourself with some of the smartest doubles minds and best doubles players in the world . I'm always constantly studying and learning and it's a lot of fun to be able to do that . So a quick update as well on what's coming up . So I'm going to be not traveling for the next six weeks or so , so I'll be on a more regular schedule . So I'm hoping to get back to podcast every Wednesday . I'll have more Instagram content on a regular basis , newsletter every Thursday going forward . I'm going to do my best to kind of stay on that schedule . A couple of new things that we'll be trying to do over the next few months . Number one is I want to make webinars a more regular thing . So I'm going to schedule one for October . So I'll let you know when that's available to sign up for and when that is scheduled . And then we're also going to be launching a new membership program . So a lot of you are very interested in the courses and the e-books , but maybe you don't want to pay $99 for the NetPlay Strategy Masterclass , for example , but you do want access to it . So I want to launch a membership where you get access to all of that , as long as you're signed up for the membership . So I'll have more announcements on that soon , but it'll be a great way to get access to all the premium content at a lower price on a monthly basis , and then I'll have new premium content that will be released every month as well . So keep an eye out for that over the next month or two . So let's dive into these topics . So number one is the swinging volley . So Kate from Instagram reached out to me and asked me to kind of touch on the swinging volley . She said she never realized how much doubles players use it until she was watching the US Open recently . So it's something I noticed as well , kate . They definitely . So it's something I noticed as well , kate . They definitely the pros use the swinging volley a lot . The first thing I would say is typically this is a shot that is for higher skill level players , because it's a very difficult shot to time and to have the proper technique on . So you're not going to see a lot of 3-0 , even 3-5 level or 4-0 level players doing this on a consistent basis with a lot of success . So keep that in mind . That said , if you are able to master it at the club level , it's a very , very , very effective shot to have in your arsenal . It's a very , very , very effective shot to have in your arsenal . One of the best ways to combat the lob is actually to take it out of the air , and a lot of the time that means taking it as a swinging volley , because it'll do a really good job of taking time away from your opponent . So , to start , I'm just going to cover what the swinging volley is . So it is a volley that's taken out of the air but you hit it like a ground stroke . So you've probably seen pros do this on TV . Serena Williams was really well known for her swinging volley . A lot of pros are very , very good at this shot . Usually it's taken from somewhere around that service line area . Sometimes it's a little bit behind the service line , sometimes it's a little bit inside the service line , but usually it's kind of used in that transition area . So it's a transition shot more so than it is a put away shot , which I'll get to more here in a second . You will see some pro players , especially on the women's side , for whatever reason , use a swinging volley when they are closer to the net . That's something that is very player-specific . In general . It's not something that I teach , but Gabby Dabrowski comes to mind . She has a two-handed backhand swinging volley that she hits from very close to the net sometimes . Obviously it's very effective for her . It's not something I would teach right out of the gate , but if it's something that you're more comfortable with than a traditional volley , then it is . You know it's okay to use . The advantages of the swinging volley over a traditional volley are really twofold One , you're able to put topspin on the ball and two , you're able to get it through the court faster . The disadvantages are that it's a little bit tougher shot to hit because there's a lot more technique involved and it's a little bit more difficult to time as well because you're taking the ball out of the air . So for a lot of lower level players it's a much lower percentage shot . So even if you're able to hit that swinging volley or I guess a better way to put this is for lower level players if you're attempting the swinging volley , you need to make sure you're able to make it on a consistent basis before you really use it in competitive matches . Most of us at the lower level are not going to be able to make it on a consistent basis , so it's not really a good shot to be using . It's a lot lower percentage shot for us . So in that case , in that transition area from around the service line , you want to be hitting your normal transition volley . There's a lot less backswing with that volley . There's a lot less timing , there's a lot less footwork involved , so it's a little bit easier of a volley . But for the swinging volley , again , it's in that transition area around the service line . We're taking time away from the opponent . The first key to it is to aim for a big target . And then the second mistake I see a lot is people going for too much , trying to hit it too hard . So again , this is just a transition shot . We do not want to use this to try to hit winners off of . We don't want to use it to try to blast it at the net player or go really big . We want to use it simply to get to the net . So let's say I am in a deuce court rally . I'm back at the baseline , the opponent keeps lobbing and they won't stop lobbing . I decide I want to hit a transition volley . So they lob it , cross court to me . I step forward , let's say I'm a foot or two behind the service line and I start my backswing for the swinging volley . I'm going to take this out of the air as a forehand . Now I have the option to try to rip this at the opposing nut player which , if I'm able to do that and get it over the nut and get it , say , at their feet or their hip or knee , and generate a lot of pace and spin with the swinging volley , sure it's a fantastic shot , it's a good strategy to use . But if I hit that shot 10 times down the line at that net player , I'm probably only going to make maybe three of them , maybe four at the most . It's just not a high percentage play because we're in a transition zone here around the service line . So instead , what I recommend , if you're going to implement the swinging volley , is go to the baseline player and go at a big target . So our goal with this is to transition forward to the net and apply pressure on the opponent . We're really taking time away from them using our court position , taking the ball out of the air , rather than taking time away from them by hitting the ball harder . So that's two different things . If you're sitting at the baseline and you have lots of time and the ball is bounced and then it rises and then you have a forehand , you can swing harder to get the ball back to the opponent faster , to give them less time to prepare . But an easier way to do that is this swinging volley . You step forward , you take the ball out of the air and you hit the ball just as hard as you would in a normal ground stroke , maybe even softer . But because you're taking it so far on the court , the ball doesn't have as far to travel , so you don't have to hit the ball harder . The opponent's naturally going to have less time to prepare and you're more likely to force an error with your court position and because the ball doesn't have as far to travel . So hopefully I explained that in a way that makes sense to you . But again , the key is aim for a big target and go for that baseline player . If both players are back , I would aim deep through the middle of the court and then again continue to transition forward . So that's kind of all I can think of on the swinging volley . If you have any other questions , kate or anybody else , you can reach out . Again , it's not something that's really used at the lower level a lot , but if you can use it especially those of you who hate playing teams that lob it's a very effective tactic against the lob to be able to take that out of the air and make the swinging volley on a consistent basis and take time away from the opponents , away from the opponents . So next question is from John from Instagram . He asked me to cover technique on how to fake or fake then poach . He asked about the shoulder , shrug , the full step . There's also a jab step . You can also fake with your racket . So I'm going to cover generally kind of how I think about faking . Number one we want to have a goal in mind . What's the purpose of the fake ? Why should we even be doing it at the net . The goal is to distract the opposing baseline player . The fake is generally done by the net player . It's during a cross-court rally or after your partner serves or just hit a return and you're going to shift towards the middle before the opposing baseline player hits their shot and you want them to see you . And then you're going to shift back towards the doubles alley to recover for that volley . So let's say I move early , the opposing baseline player sees me , they decide the line's open , they change direction , go down the line , I shift back towards the line , towards the doubles alley , and then I have the volley there . Now , with that in mind , with that goal of distracting the opposing baseline player , what we want to think about is using variety with the fake . So we want them to see us , but really there's no right way or proper technique to fake . It's more important , actually , that we do it differently throughout the match and from match to match . So a lot of times I will move to the middle super early , before my partner's ball even lands . If my partner's serving , I'll move there as my partner's going into their motion sometimes and I'll start to shift towards the middle and it really just puts a little bit of doubt and a little bit of pressure on the returner or the opposing baseline player during a cross court rally because I'm moving there so early and they don't know what I'm going to do and I'm distracting them A lot of times . Or other times I will wait until they're starting their backswing and I've got my eyes on the opposing baseline player . They start their backswing and maybe I'll jab step towards the middle just to give them a little bit of something to look at other than the ball , to try to get them to create that doubt , maybe change direction last second . So you want to use variety , not only with your timing but also with your movement itself . So sometimes with that early fake , I'll take a few shuffle steps towards the middle because I'm going so early and that means I have plenty of time to get back to the doubles alley . If you're going to fake very late , you probably don't have time to take a few shuffle steps and get all the way to that center surface line . Instead , maybe just a jab step is all you can do . If you watch Shuko Aoyama , who I've talked about before , she uses her racket to fake . She will shift her racket towards the middle and then come back hoping for the ball to come to her . But she does all sorts of fakes as well . So there's not necessarily an exact technique to this , the thing you want to think . If I'm going to end up with a volley here , I want to make sure that I'm hitting a clean volley and I'm in the right position . You don't want to fake so much that you create an off-balance shot for yourself . So by faking early , I'm able to recover in plenty of time . If I'm faking late , I'm only going to do that jab step because I want to make sure I stay balanced when the ball does come to me . So again , using variety and distracting the opponent is the key here . Another thing to keep in mind is your mobility and agility . A lot of us who are older or maybe we aren't as quick as we used to be you're not going to be able to fake as hard as you watch the pros do at the US Open , right ? So for you , a fake might only just be a jab step , or it might just be a shoulder lean , which is something you talked about . That can work as well . So you have to keep that in mind and use as much variety as you can to keep the opponent guessing and keep pressure on them , without sacrificing your own ability to hit a good volley and your own balance and your own kind of footwork , if that makes sense . Another thing to keep in mind is the skill and the speed of the ball . So at the pro level they probably don't have time to go all the way to the middle of the court and then recover all the way to the doubles alley for a fake because the ball's traveling so fast , right , they're hitting the ball so hard during this cross court rally . There's just no time to do that . So if you're at a lower skill level and the ball's traveling really slowly let's say they're lobbing back and forth you have plenty of time . As your partner hits the lob it's way up high in the air you might just go step towards the middle . You don't even have to run or shuffle very fast . You might step towards the middle while that ball's in the air and then it's going to bounce and then it's going to go up really high again and then it's going to drop and then the opponent's hitting their shot right . So in that case you can go all the way towards the middle and then when you see that ball bounce , maybe you shift back towards the doubles alley . So the the skill and the speed of the ball that you're playing at depend , or matters , a lot as well . This is something I cover a lot more in my net play strategy masterclass that I mentioned at the beginning of the episode Um . So if you're interested , you should definitely check that out , cause I've actually got video of people faking in all of these different ways , um , which is super helpful as well . So hopefully that helps John um again , reach out if you have any other questions on that . And then last question from Leo how can I improve ? Uh , this was also on Instagram . How can I improve as a doubles player when most coaches focus on singles ? But they focus on technique , and if they're focused on technique , you can still . You still need that same technique that you use for singles , for doubles . Now , there are certain skills you want to practice a bit more , like the um , the quick reaction volley off of the serve plus one shot . Um , the transition volleys . You'd probably spend more time on if you're a doubles player , but if the coach is good at coaching technique , then you can ask them . You know I'm a doubles player , so I want to focus on doubles , specific skills and a lot of that's going to overlap with the singles . So the serve and return are still the two most important shots in doubles and in singles . So that's the first thing I would keep in mind is separating strategy and technique . The second thing to think about is focusing on your match court first . So if you can study and analyze your matches and figure out what's happening during your matches , then you can figure out areas to improve on the practice court . So maybe it's the case that you're not winning a lot of your service games , or maybe you're struggling to make returns , or maybe your partner is struggling with their service games because you're not helping them at the net . You have to figure out which area of doubles on the match court that you're struggling with and then you can think , okay , how can I go practice this with my coach and you can kind of be your own coach and tell them hey , I want to do drills that help me with my first volley when my partner is serving . So I want you to hit returns at me when I'm at the net and I want to practice hitting that first volley , or I need to practice my that first volley , or I need to practice my lob return off of a first serve because I'm just not making any returns . Or I need to work on my transition game because I'm just not that good at the baseline . I'm better at the net , so I want to try to get forward as quickly as possible . So , whatever that is , the better you can articulate that to your coach , the better they'll be able to help you with that technique and the drills that you can do in some of those lessons to help you improve those specific skills . In the next day or so I'm recording this , on September 16th I am sharing the four most important shots in doubles as well as how to practice those . So check that out , leo , and you'll be able to come up with some ideas on what to practice , even if your coach is a singles coach . Really , you do need to kind of take this into your own hands and you know I recommend that for anybody , even if you do have a doubles coach or even if you're working with me . Right Like , I don't want you to listen to this podcast and then blindly follow everything I'm saying . I want you to really understand what I'm saying and believe in it and then you'll be able to execute it even better because you'll believe in it all the way through . And if you disagree with something , that's okay . I don't claim to have all the answers , but I want you to be able to kind of come up with this stuff on your own so that you can continue to improve your game and continue to develop that kind of mental side of the game , so that you can keep coming up with drills and keep coming up with the next thing you need to work on to become the player that you want to be . So hopefully that helps , leo . Again , let me know if you have any questions . Thank you everyone for listening . Reach out if you're interested in a doubles camp and I will talk to you all very soon .