1
00:00:00,419 --> 00:00:02,920
The serve and volley tactic is a great strategy to

2
00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:05,239
use to attack the net and surprise your opponent,

3
00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:08,000
but there's a very important footwork you must use to

4
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,189
help you win a lot more of these points.

5
00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:12,829
Now here we have Murat Saffin,

6
00:00:13,079 --> 00:00:14,029
former #1 in the world,

7
00:00:14,279 --> 00:00:15,470
two-time Grand Slam champ,

8
00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:16,559
and this is Gulbis.

9
00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:18,170
This is back in 2009.

10
00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,559
Let's watch this point and then we'll diagram it.

11
00:00:32,548 --> 00:00:32,688
Now,

12
00:00:32,708 --> 00:00:34,949
when Gulbis just served and volleyed,

13
00:00:35,028 --> 00:00:36,298
he split-stepped,

14
00:00:36,668 --> 00:00:38,548
and during that movement going forward,

15
00:00:38,589 --> 00:00:40,548
you wanna split step around the time your opponent hits,

16
00:00:40,629 --> 00:00:42,058
actually slightly after they hit.

17
00:00:42,388 --> 00:00:43,738
And I want you to guess

18
00:00:44,069 --> 00:00:46,548
where Gulbis split steps.

19
00:00:47,319 --> 00:00:49,990
Does he split step on the court

20
00:00:50,279 --> 00:00:51,619
here,

21
00:00:52,369 --> 00:00:53,000
here,

22
00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:55,040
or here?

23
00:00:55,439 --> 00:00:56,279
Does he split step?

24
00:00:56,290 --> 00:00:59,110
And this is a really important distinction to understand

25
00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,090
in order to win more certain volley.

26
00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,269
Does he split step in front of the service line as he's coming forward?

27
00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:07,830
Does he split step on the service line,

28
00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,800
or does he split step in the middle of no man's land?

29
00:01:11,449 --> 00:01:15,580
The answer to this is the key to winning more points

30
00:01:15,910 --> 00:01:17,669
during a serve and volley.

31
00:01:17,709 --> 00:01:18,459
So, let's look.

32
00:01:18,750 --> 00:01:19,860
Here's Gulbis,

33
00:01:20,029 --> 00:01:21,059
there's the serve,

34
00:01:21,269 --> 00:01:24,580
and let's watch Gulbis's feet as he's coming forward.

35
00:01:25,940 --> 00:01:27,250
There's the split step.

36
00:01:27,790 --> 00:01:28,699
That's his split step.

37
00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:30,129
The split step occurs

38
00:01:30,419 --> 00:01:32,709
in the middle of no man's land.

39
00:01:32,900 --> 00:01:36,040
Most recreational players I talked to about serving and volleying

40
00:01:36,699 --> 00:01:40,050
think they're supposed to get up to the service line at least

41
00:01:40,379 --> 00:01:43,129
by the time the opponent makes contact with the ball.

42
00:01:43,419 --> 00:01:45,500
It's basically impossible to do that.

43
00:01:46,089 --> 00:01:51,949
Unless your opponent is standing way back at the fence, or you serve so slowly

44
00:01:52,250 --> 00:01:55,470
that you buy yourself the time to get into the service line,

45
00:01:55,569 --> 00:01:58,559
which you wouldn't want to do because you're just hitting a very soft serve.

46
00:01:58,739 --> 00:01:59,650
Now you'll always get people say,

47
00:01:59,690 --> 00:01:59,769
yeah,

48
00:01:59,849 --> 00:02:00,730
but if you get a kick serve,

49
00:02:00,769 --> 00:02:01,400
you can get up there.

50
00:02:01,489 --> 00:02:01,809
You can't.

51
00:02:01,889 --> 00:02:03,639
It doesn't doesn't matter what serve you hit,

52
00:02:03,849 --> 00:02:05,089
they're all going to be too fast.

53
00:02:05,650 --> 00:02:10,169
So, what you want to learn is to split step in the middle of no man's land.

54
00:02:10,250 --> 00:02:12,929
What you might want to do when you're practicing serving volley

55
00:02:13,250 --> 00:02:16,119
is put like a drop down line or just a spot

56
00:02:16,330 --> 00:02:17,800
in the middle of no man's land.

57
00:02:17,970 --> 00:02:19,160
And when you serve,

58
00:02:19,369 --> 00:02:22,759
you come forward and you split step and you can see that he's straddling

59
00:02:23,220 --> 00:02:24,119
that spot.

60
00:02:24,610 --> 00:02:25,119
Then,

61
00:02:25,330 --> 00:02:27,250
he comes forward and volleys.

62
00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:27,399
Now,

63
00:02:27,410 --> 00:02:29,000
you'll notice his volley.

64
00:02:29,289 --> 00:02:31,039
So, he's making contact right there,

65
00:02:31,289 --> 00:02:33,520
his right foot is touching

66
00:02:33,729 --> 00:02:34,610
the service line.

67
00:02:35,059 --> 00:02:39,899
So, the split step happens in the middle of no man's land.

68
00:02:39,979 --> 00:02:41,380
Here's the split step

69
00:02:41,619 --> 00:02:42,169
line,

70
00:02:42,389 --> 00:02:45,529
and then the first volley is around

71
00:02:46,139 --> 00:02:47,130
the service line.

72
00:02:47,619 --> 00:02:51,330
Many players think the split step is here and the volley is up here and it's just not.

73
00:02:51,580 --> 00:02:54,809
If you're someone who serves in volleys and you don't think

74
00:02:54,809 --> 00:02:57,750
of the footwork that happens in between the serve and volley,

75
00:02:58,139 --> 00:03:00,460
what you're most likely doing is rushing the net.

76
00:03:00,889 --> 00:03:02,130
To lose at a faster rate,

77
00:03:02,210 --> 00:03:03,399
as Vic Braden would say.

78
00:03:03,559 --> 00:03:06,500
And then, you're making yourself susceptible to a pass because,

79
00:03:06,570 --> 00:03:07,339
or a lob,

80
00:03:07,570 --> 00:03:09,449
because you're running in so fast that you

81
00:03:09,449 --> 00:03:12,050
can't change direction to get to those balls.

82
00:03:12,130 --> 00:03:13,199
You want to serve,

83
00:03:13,529 --> 00:03:14,940
take two or three steps forward,

84
00:03:15,050 --> 00:03:18,039
and then split step in the middle of no man's land.

85
00:03:18,330 --> 00:03:19,600
That gets you balanced,

86
00:03:19,770 --> 00:03:23,520
so you can come forward and have a much easier time of winning the point.

87
00:03:25,679 --> 00:03:29,630
Now if you'd love to use the same strategies the pros use to win their matches,

88
00:03:29,759 --> 00:03:33,279
then you got to pick up The Singles Playbook by Fuzzy Yellow Balls.

89
00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,830
It's all broken down by the type of opponent you play against,

90
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,000
and it's over 50 pages strategy after strategy.

91
00:03:40,009 --> 00:03:44,039
And what's really cool is each page comes with a QR code, so

92
00:03:44,039 --> 00:03:47,440
you can watch a video of exactly how to use each strategy.

93
00:03:47,479 --> 00:03:50,429
Just use my link in the description and pinned in the first comment.

94
00:03:50,979 --> 00:03:53,710
And if you're looking for people in your local area to play against,

95
00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:54,320
practice with,

96
00:03:54,399 --> 00:03:56,869
or if you want to find a coach who's gonna be able to help you with your game,

97
00:03:57,039 --> 00:03:59,479
then use my link in the description and pin in the first comment,

98
00:03:59,679 --> 00:04:02,160
PlayYourCourt.com/2minuteTennis.

99
00:04:02,199 --> 00:04:02,679
With my link,

100
00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:03,949
you get 50% off.

101
00:04:04,910 --> 00:04:08,789
So, practice your serve and volley with a split step in the middle of no man's land,

102
00:04:08,809 --> 00:04:09,660
and there's no doubt

103
00:04:09,869 --> 00:04:10,759
you're gonna gain confidence,

104
00:04:10,830 --> 00:04:11,470
win more matches,

105
00:04:11,550 --> 00:04:13,190
and play much better tennis.

106
00:04:13,429 --> 00:04:16,440
This is Ryan Reidy from 2MinuteTennis.net.

107
00:04:16,988 --> 00:04:18,559
You got this.