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Michael Llodra's High Backhand Volley

Published Jul 14, 2009

There are many challenges to the high backhand volley, so it pays to prepare quickly. Llodra shows us the perfect way to size up this shot. He immediately turns sideways, watches the ball closely, and lines his left shoulder up with the ball. Though he lifts his hands very early, he’s not tense: His off hand cradles the throat of the racquet, which allows his grip hand to remain loose (notice the traditional Continental grip). His elbow on his hitting arm is relaxed, too. Llodra takes short steps as he gets in position to maintain his balance and make minute adjustments if necessary.

Now that Llodra is in position, he prepares to strike. You can’t tell from this silhouette, but he stands halfway between the baseline and the service line when he hits this shot. He knows he has to hit the ball hard and deep or his opponent will have a lot of open court for a passing shot before he can close on the net. Llodra’s extreme shoulder turn, along with his knee bend, will provide adequate power. So will his wrist snap. As you can see, he starts to lay the racquet back so he can whip through the shot.

Llodra fully lays his racquet back, letting it rest on his off hand. His weight remains on his back foot, but his momentum starts moving into the shot. When hitting a high backhand volley like this, your legs and racquet must work together, otherwise you’ll ruin your timing. You can see that Llodra is on the toes of his back foot, while his front foot is off the ground. All the energy he stored up by coiling and bending his knees is about to be put to good use.

At contact, Llodra’s arms and legs are fully extended and both of his feet are off the ground. Recreational players take note: He is not jumping. Rather, the force of his swing lifts him off the ground. If your momentum propels you upward, that’s OK; if not, don’t worry about it. The knuckles on Llodra’s racquet hand face the net, and his hitting elbow is straight as he drives through the ball. Perhaps the most important thing for club players to understand on a shot like this is that all of your preparation, and your contact with the ball, happens after you turn sideways. If it doesn’t, you can’t hit a high volley with power or accuracy.

This photo would have made the great ballet choreographer George Balanchine proud. Llodra’s lead foot is now out in front of him, the edge of his racquet lines up with his arm, the knuckles of his hitting hand point at the target (crosscourt and deep), his off arm snaps back to aid his balance, and the racquet head faces the ground. Llodra carves through the ball and applies underspin, which he’s able to do because he uses a Continental grip.

Llodra lands firmly on his left foot while maintaining his balance (notice the upright position of his body). His shoulders are level and his follow-through continues out toward the target. I doubt this shot is coming back, but if it does, Llodra’s momentum is taking him toward the net, where he can knock off a much easier volley than this one.