How do you serve wide to the ad court (if you’re a right-handed player)?—Constance, Perak, Malaysia

To do this well, you have to learn the kick serve. Here’s how to get started. Stand 5 or 6 feet behind the baseline and serve to the ad court. This will force you to brush up the back of ball. Make sure you don’t slow down your swing. Without racquet-head speed, your serve won’t have much spin, height or depth.

Are there any good volley drills that can be done against a wall?—Aaron Horwath, Beaverton, Ore.

Here’s one of my favorites. Get a partner and a few balls and find any wall (you could even use the side of your house). One player should stand with his or her back to the wall; the other player should stand about 6 or 8 feet away and face the partner. Now volley the ball back and forth to each other. This will help to shorten your backswing and force you to take back the racquet by turning your hips and shoulders, rather than using your arm. If you take the racquet back too far, it will hit the wall.

I need tips for hitting high backhand volleys.—Vic, Franklin, Tenn.

First, we must accept the truth: This shot ain’t easy. An advanced player can lay back his or her wrist and flick a one-handed backhand overhead. The best option, to me, is to simply block the ball to the open court. If you have to play another volley before you win the point, that’s fine.

Have a question for Nick? Write to him at asknick@TENNIS.com.

Nick Bollettieri of the Bollettieri Tennis Academy has trained many collegiate and professional players, including 10 who reached the world No. 1 ranking.