When Not to Use the Volley-Lob
There are certain doubles players who are moderately aggressive. They prefer to approach the net, but they hang out several feet from the net. They establish their position from barely inside the service line.
The volley-lob shouldn't be used against these types of players. Here, the volley-lob will never work, because they are too far from the net to be surprised and there's not enough area for you to work with effectively. They will usually have plenty of time to see the volley-lob and it will be an easy overhead for them.
How to Hit a Volley-Lob
There are four tips to hitting a successful volley-lob:
Tip 1: Hit a volley-lob only when you're able to hit it at your waist level or higher. If you try it off a low volley, it will give your opponent too much time to react and to adjust their position for an overhead.
Tip 2: Hit the volley-lob over the opponent who is closer to the net. This will cut down their reaction time and it will be easier to hit the ball out of their reach.
Tip 3: Hit the volley-lob at this opponent's backhand side. This way, if your opponent is able to react in time and get to the ball, he or she may only have a chance to return with a defensive, high, backhand volley.
Tip 4: Keep the volley-lob low because your opponents will have less time to run it down if it doesn't go 15 feet or more in the air.
Remember the volley-lob is a shot that should be used selectively. As we all know, the drop shot in singles prevents your opponent from consistently assuming a comfortable position 4 feet behind the baseline.
Similarly, the volley-lob in doubles keeps your opponents honest and doesn't allow them to be overly aggressive at the net.
Show them that you can hit the volley-lob as soon as possible in the match, so they learn from the "start" that they can get burned for being overly aggressive. When necessary, repeat the shot to keep in control. I typically hit the volley-lob two to three times in a regular doubles match.
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