December 2001 -- Over my 30 years of teaching, I’ve worked with many students on approaching the net behind their serve. While many of us are comfortable with our groundstrokes and volleys, the transition between the two shots can be tricky.
The important thing to understand is that going to the net is a journey, not a mad dash. Many players think that they should get to the service line or some other predetermined spot before stopping. Forget it. How far a player moves toward the net is determined by timing, not distance.
Using the stoplight idea can be an effective way of learning when to move forward and when to slow for the next shot. Imagine when you serve that the light is green and you explode toward the net. As your opponent gets ready to strike the ball, the light turns yellow and you slow down and cautiously move into your split step – or respect step as I sometimes call it. If your opponent has been floating returns all match, move through the opponent’s shot and knock off the floater. The light in this situation goes from yellow straight back to green. On the other hand, if your opponent is ripping returns at your feet, the light goes from yellow to red. These more difficult returns require you to balance yourself first by performing the respect step and then execute the shot.
Since approaching the net depends on this timing, the type of ball that is hit can play a crucial role in determining how quickly you can advance to the net. The pace and spin of the serve as well as the type of return of serve (e.g., drive, chip, topspin, slice) will determine how close you can get before your opponent strikes the ball. Study the two most classic serve-and-volley players of the last decade – Patrick Rafter and Stefan Edberg – and see how far in they are able to get on their kick and slice serves because the ball is not getting to their opponent so fast. Club-level players can use this same principle effectively. As a teacher, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a 3.0- to 4.0-level student glide to the net like a pro as he turns his trip into a journey.
