THE TENNIS PLAYER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19303, 16 April 1926, Page 15

THE TENNIS PLAYER.

HELPING THE BEGINNER.

THE ADVICE OF AN EXPERT. IMPORTANCE OF VOLLEYING. No. V. BY J. RENE LACOSTE. (All Rights Reserved.) Generally speaking not enough attention is paid to volleying. It is an immensely important stroko because of tho time it . saves. By volleying, you not only get back the ball much quicker than when you take it off the ground, but you give your opponent less time to consider and form his reply. The volleying position, if you can achieve it, gives you a much wider choice of angle from which to make your attack than if you play off the ground from further back. If, therefore, in playing singles you can get to the net and are not passed, you have a great advantage. Volleying decides points quicker and prevents tedious and tiring rallies between two stone-walling baseline players. Tho disadvantage of the volley is that it requires greater concentrated effort, and so tires quickly. Its very quickness makes it harder for a persistent vollever to work out a strategic plan of campaign; he is forced to rely more on improvisation. Moreover, the danger of being passed is always present. There are two kinds of volleyers. First, the volleyer who makes for the net at once and on every occasion, as a fijed principle, because he is sure to be beaten on the base-line. He must get as close as possible to the net, and must use great speed of foot, so as to avoid or diminish the danger of being passed. Famous Volley Exponents. Then there is the complete player, who chooses his moment to go to the net in accordance with the run of tho game. He will prepare his volley before going up and does not need to get so close to the net. An example of the first kind is Borotra, as he used to play; of the second, Johnston. Borotra, however, has now greatly improved his ground strokes, and may be considered as being intermediate between the two categories. It is not now so necessary for him to get to the net as it was formerly, but he prefers to do so. He has a very good leason for this preference, for he is tho best volleyer I have ever seen. Borotra's superiority to all other volleyers in my experience is due, not only to his superlative speed of foot and eye, but also to the perfection with which his volley strokes are executed. His position at the net is the best possible. He stoops in any direction with great rapidity, and he always hits the ball exactly in the centre of tho racquet and with the precise stroke required for every type of volley. Like all great volleyers, he volleys very deep and with little cut on the ball. Richards is another remarkable volleyer. He is, perhaps, even surer than Borotra, for he practically never misses a volley; but his volley is not so difficult to take as Borotra's, because he puts more cut on the ball. Considered from the point of view of stroke alone, Johnston may be held the best volleyer of all. It is the combination between footwork and stroke that makes Borotra supreme in this department of the game. Johnston, however, has so much punch in his volley that he can hit the ball further from the net than most other players, and, therefore, does not need to go up so close. Get Close to tho Net. It may be laid down as a rule that, when you go up, you should, unless you are gifted with the remarkable power of stroko that characterises Johnston's volley, get as close as possible to the net. The "distance at which you place yourself from it will vary according not only to your foot-work and also to your smashing' power, because if you have a bad smash you will be in constant danger of being passed The importance of volleying in singles is confined almost entirely to men's play. For ladies the volley is practically useless. Mile. Lenglen, for instance, who has a first rate volley, hardly ever goes to the net in singles. If she wins two points in a set by volleying, this is about the maximum. " The reason for this lies not in any inferiority in skill, since the lady champion is a masterly volleyer, hut solely in a woman's smaller physical means. She plays on a court tho same size as that for men, but a man can hardly cover it so as to volley persistently, and obviously therefore, a woman cannot.

Tc what extent, in men's singles, a player should go up and volley, is a question of tactics. It may confidently, be said that no one can be a great player unless be can go up when occasion demands. This will depend much upon the other player. In my own case it depends entirely upon my adversary. My play, on the whole, is better from the back of the court, but against an opponent like Gordon Lowe, or Manoel Alonso, I go to the net all the time. Never Out a Volley.

To obtain the best result in volleying, tho racket should, at the beginning of tho stroke, bo horizonal with the ground and should end by completely covering the ball. This is done in the fraction of a second by a turn of the wrist. It does not prevent an occasional strong cut being put on the ball by keeping the elbow down. This is a favourite stroke of Borotra's. . , -j As a rulo, however, it may lie said that vou should ne_ver, cut a volley. If vou cio, vou will loso speed, which is essential. 'Neither should yon ever put top spin on a volley, because to do so you must use arm-swing, and arm-swing ought never to be used in volleying on account, of the time that it loses. It follows further that, as no arm-swing is used m volleying there is no follow-through in the volley, because follow-through is the result of arm-swing. To bring off the volley, and to make it effective, vou must have it ingrained in your mind" that speed is the one consideration Ido not mean that placing should bo neglected. Placing is, of course, a matter of tho highest consequence in all shots. But for stroke production in volleying, speed is tho supremely important point, and everything else must be sacrificed to it.