How to block volleys against hard-hitters?
Players so often charge forward, but then if the opponent attacks, they hit that next ball all over the place. That’s a shame because players can be aggressive from the back of the court and you need to be ready to hit an effective block volley. In this video, Sandy will help you to block volleys against hard hitters.
Defending at net
Most of the time when you are at net position you are going to attack. There are also some situations when you need to defend at the net. You need to identify when the opponent plays an aggressive ball. You have to expect that ball. You need to expect the aggressive ball coming towards you. It is necessary from every place of the court that you need to expect that every ball will come to you and be ready for it.
Learn to expect
You can learn to expect the opponents balls recognising your opponent’s body position. If the opponents have made aggressive shots for multiple times in the match, you can learn to expect a fast ball from them. Prepare with the correct ready position. So a gap between racket and chest if you are a beginner or low intermediate player. When you play on a higher level, you need to bring the racket closer to the chest towards you on the backhand side.
Net position
A good starting point to block volleys at net position is one small step in front of the second post. You can also cut off some angles for your opponents fast shots by taking a few extra steps forward.
Where to aim
You want to aim your block volley into the open spaces and/or corners. Remember that you are defending at net position, so do not play high risk balls. You want to get your advantage of the net position back so you can attack.
