Most club players lose at the net before they get there. They approach on the wrong ball, hit it to the wrong place, and arrive somewhere awkward, and then they get passed and conclude that coming in does not work.
The volley technique is rarely the problem. The decision and the movement before it are. This article covers those; the technique itself is in these tennis volley drills.
The decision: which ball to approach on
This is where most of the damage is done. The rule is simple and widely ignored: come forward only on a ball that lands short, inside the service line, and sits somewhere between knee and chest height.
| The ball you receive | Approach? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Short, inside the service line, waist height | Yes | You can hit down and arrive in time |
| Short but very low | Careful | You must lift it; slice and approach cautiously |
| Deep, near your baseline | No | You will not get close enough before their reply |
| High and short | Yes | Take it out of the air if you can |
| Short but you are off balance | No | You will arrive stretched and stationary |
| Any ball when you are already inside the baseline | Usually yes | You are halfway there already |
The discipline is in not approaching on the tempting ball that is merely a bit shorter than usual. If you have to run hard forward and hit on the stretch, you will not have time to split step, and a passing shot will go by you.
Where to hit it
Down the line, as a default. This is not because down the line is a better shot in itself but because of geometry: it puts you closer to the ball’s likely return path and shrinks the angles your opponent can use.
- Down the line is the percentage play; short recovery, fewer angles.
- Deep down the middle is the safe alternative; removes all angles but invites a neutral reply.
- Crosscourt is usually wrong; you leave the whole court open behind you.
- Low and with slice is excellent, because a low ball must be lifted.
Depth matters more than pace. A deep approach hit at three-quarter pace is far more effective than a hard one that lands mid-court, because it takes time away without giving your opponent something to work with. The slice approach in particular is worth building, and it is covered in this slice backhand technique guide.
Moving through the transition zone
The area around the service line is the least comfortable place on a tennis court. You are too far forward for a clean groundstroke and too far back to volley above net height.
The mistake is treating it as a destination. It is a corridor. You move through it on the way to a volleying position, and the only reason you should ever be stationary there is because your opponent struck the ball while you were passing through.
- Hit the approach and keep moving forward immediately.
- Aim to be roughly halfway between the service line and the net.
- Split step as your opponent begins their forward swing, wherever you happen to be.
- Take the first volley from wherever you are; being balanced beats being close.
- Close further after the first volley, if it was a good one.
The split step is the whole thing
If you take one idea from this article, take this. The split step as your opponent strikes is what turns a scramble into a shot. Without it you are moving forward when the ball is struck, which means you cannot change direction, and a passing shot to either side beats you.
It does not matter that stopping to split feels like it wastes momentum. A balanced player at the service line beats an unbalanced one two feet from the net, every time. The same timing underpins everything in these tennis footwork drills.
The first volley
If the ball lands at your feet on the way in you are playing a half volley, which has its own technique: see this guide to the half volley and swinging volley. Treat the first volley as a setup rather than a finish. You are usually still further back than you would like, often taking the ball below net height, and trying to end the point from there is how good approaches get wasted.
| Situation | Play | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Ball at your feet, below net | Deep down the middle | Close in behind it |
| Ball above net height | Angle it short | Close; expect a scramble reply |
| Wide and stretching | Deep, high, back where it came from | Recover to the middle |
| Weak floating reply | Punch it into the open court | Finish |
| Lob over your head | Retreat and smash, or let it bounce | Reset |
Two volleys to win a point is entirely normal and a perfectly good outcome. Players who insist on winning with the first one make far more errors than those who accept a second.
Covering the pass and the lob
Once you are at the net, you cannot cover everything, so cover the likely thing. Position yourself to take away the crosscourt pass, which is the higher-percentage shot, and accept that a good down-the-line pass will occasionally beat you.
- Move to the side you approached toward; do not stand in the middle.
- Expect the lob if your opponent is stretched and low.
- One step back is usually enough lob insurance; retreating further defeats the purpose of being there.
- If you are being lobbed repeatedly, that is a different problem and this guide to beating a lobber covers it.
Why this is worth building
The tactical case for the net at club level is strong. Most points end in errors rather than winners, and time pressure produces errors more reliably than pace does. A player who comes forward on genuinely short balls forces opponents into the shot they practise least.
It also shortens matches, which matters in heat and in a long league season. There is a good breakdown of approach timing here, and the broader point construction that creates short balls in the first place is in singles strategy and point construction.
Frequently asked questions
Which ball should you approach on?
A short one. Wait for a ball landing inside the service line that sits between roughly knee and chest height. Approaching on a deep or low ball is the most common reason club players get passed and then conclude that net play does not work.
Should you approach down the line or crosscourt?
Down the line, as a default. It gives you the shortest recovery distance to cover the passing shot and reduces the angle available to your opponent. Crosscourt approaches leave you covering the whole court.
Where should you stand after an approach shot?
Roughly halfway between the service line and the net, split-stepping as your opponent strikes. Stopping at the service line leaves you volleying from the hardest place on the court; running all the way in leaves you exposed to the lob.
What is no-man’s-land in tennis?
The area around the service line where you are too far forward to play a comfortable groundstroke and too far back to volley above the net. You should move through it, never stand in it.
Is coming to the net still worth it in modern tennis?
At club level, very much so. Most players are far less comfortable hitting passing shots than they think, and the vast majority of points end in errors. Applying time pressure produces those errors more reliably than hitting harder from the baseline.
Written by Claire Carter, a former WTA Tour professional and full-time teaching pro at Bay Club Redwood Shores, where she has coached juniors and adults for more than twelve years.
Image credits: Emre Koşak (Pexels), Mike Norris (Pexels), Ridwan Nugraha (Pexels), Sami Abdullah (Pexels), cottonbro studio (Pexels), khezez | خزاز (Pexels). Photographs are illustrative.