The case for the volley game: how it might be a way to play Novak Djokovic

Start with a recommendation: Find another way to lose. The catalyst for this suggestion is the brilliant baseline play of Novak Djokovic. For more than a decade now, save for Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros and the occasional zone-like effort from various contenders, rarely has anyone knocked Djokovic off his baseline perch as he drives one deep, powerful, and accurate drive after another. Dare use such trite terms as “defensive” or “steady” to describe Djokovic at your own peril. This is a man who applies pressure with exceptional precision. Again and again, he has posed challenging questions. What are the possible answers?

Once A Star

Now, bring the volley into the picture. Once upon a time, the volley was a star, a frequent headliner on a champion’s marquee. As 1949 Wimbledon champion Ted Schroeder once told me, “When you come to net, three things can happen and two of them are good.” Schroeder’s troika consisted of volley winners, missed passing shots and, least likely, successful passing shots. For decades, the net-rusher’s thinking was that, over the course of a long match, it was nearly impossible to hit enough effective passing shots. This was particularly true when the courts were faster and the vast majority of backhands were one-handers.

But in the 21st century, the volley has been downgraded to bit player status, even though the data repeatedly shows how effective it can be to approach the net, particularly in the late stages of a set. Research reveals that when a player comes to net, he or she will win the point at least 65 percent of the time. Often, the figure rises even higher. If ever there was a potential show-stealer, it’s surely the volley, isn’t it?

Does that mean current players should commit to the constant serve-and-volley style of a Patrick Rafter, Stefan Edberg or, their contemporary descendant, Maxime Cressy? Or more frequently attempt the chip-charge or rip-charge return, a 110-year-old tactic Roger Federer renamed the SABR? Or, upon eliciting short balls, charge forward in the manner of Ash Barty, Karolina Muchova, and Hubert Hurkacz?

Why not experiment with any of those three approaches? Look, for example, at Carlos Alcaraz and his appetite for the volley. Examine how forward movement has aided Djokovic. Playing Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the 2021 Rolex Paris Masters, Djokovic won 19 of 22 serve-and-volley points and 27 of 36 net-rushes in the match overall.

Much Harder Now

But yes, the truth is that it’s much harder to volley these days. Everything from slower courts to improved groundstroke technique to upgrades in racquets and strings has yanked the rug out from the net-rusher. “When the technology changed to people being able to hit power with spin, it negated the ability of the volleyer to be effective,” says Gigi Fernandez, a player whose volleys were the primary reason she earned a spot in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. “You can hit the ball hard and make it dip. It’s very hard to win points at the net when you’re constantly volleying up.”

“Guys have gotten so much faster and stronger,” says two-time Grand Slam champion and serve-volleyer Jonathan Stark. “Guys can hit passing shots from so far behind the baseline.”

The result of this improved skill at countering volleyers is what Fernandez calls a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” Since it’s more difficult to be effective at the net than it once was, players are both reluctant to even learn how to volley, much less deploy it as anything more than an incidental foray. “Because the guys don’t do it much, they’re not comfortable up there,” says Tennis Channel analyst and former pro Leif Shiras.

That hesitancy to come forward is also a function of shifts in swing technique and the way a player views the court. Continental and Eastern grips and one-handed backhands tend to favor compact strokes and a vector-like, angled dash forward into the court and the net area. Head to YouTube and watch clips of John McEnroe to see how this plays out: a game based heavily on dart-like movements inside the court. But those who use contemporary Western grips and two-handed backhands are generally more comfortable letting the ball drop, from which position they can either whip another drive crosscourt or attempt to terminate the rally with a strike down-the-line.

Another form of collateral damage is that as the volley has been shuffled to the periphery, far fewer teachers understand how to teach not just the stroke, but even things as simple as where to stand when practicing it (anywhere from the T to no closer than half-way to the net).

You’re not going to beat Novak from the baseline, so you’ve got to find new ways to put pressure on him. —Jonathan Stark

What is a Volley Game?

But on a bigger basis, the volley is not simple a stroke. It is an idea, what some instructors like to call a “volley game,” based on an understanding of how charging the net alters the texture not just of a single point, but of an entire match. A major reason Djokovic is such a great returner is that his returns land very deep, which means is he is hitting high over the net, an option the Serb can employ on every point since he knows there is minimal danger of an opponent following a serve into net. Granted, Djokovic would likely make a swift adjustment. But at least the opponent is asking a new set of questions. According to Stark, who currently runs the Oregon Elite Tennis program, “You’re not going to beat Novak from the baseline, so you’ve got to find new ways to put pressure on him.”

The same holds true for Nadal and Daniil Medvedev, among the many contemporary players who stand quite far behind the baseline to return serve. One wonders how Edberg, owner of a fine kick serve and first-rate volleys, would savor the chance to at least attempt to attack those kind of receivers. Even recently, in the Rotterdam final, Jannik Sinner served-and-volleyed just enough to force Medvedev to alter his return position. Though Medvedev ended up winning, consider the potential long term gains for Sinner.

Best Learned Young

Still, for pros, the volley game becomes more of an add-on to a playing style that’s been well-honed and generated significant results. A far better time for volley education is in a player’s developmental stages, arguably up until age 15. Those years are the formative stages, when a child can start with consistent groundstrokes and, if taught properly, feel free to broaden the skill set with various volley drills, practice sets and experiments. Memo to coaches: Take that dazzling 12-year-old who’s already won the club championship and have him always serve-and-volley in doubles and occasionally play a practice singles match that way too. For by the late teens, a player has become heavily invested in a results-based playing style that will generate scholarship offers or, for a select few, the chance to bypass college and play as a pro. More bluntly, once the end of junior tennis nears, the broad pursuit of knowledge gives way to a narrow quest for victories.

Unfortunately, junior tennis is filled with stories of players who fail to see the long-term value of net play—be it in a practice match, tournament, or even over the course of a career. “Coming to net is about building cumulative pressure all match long,” says Shiras, himself a netrusher in the manner of Edberg. Perhaps one solution would be for players who come to net and lose the point to mentally give themselves a small tax credit, akin to a longstanding salesmanship notion: every no gets me closer to yes. In that 2021 Paris final, for example, Djokovic on 17 occasions intended to serve-and-volley but missed his serve. Surely, at least to some degree, Djokovic’s very intention to do that effected the opponent’s mindset. And if someone as accomplished as Djokovic can add new tactical wrinkles to his game, why not anyone else?

But sadly, we occupy a world where parents, players and, most treacherous of all, instructors, deploy terms as “the modern game” and “today’s game.” Today’s game? Of that, Djokovic is the master. Better yet, learn the game of tomorrow—the tactics and techniques that will at least attempt to derail contemporary greatness. Please, make the volley more part of the mix.