The half-volley is the prettiest stroke in lawn tennis; it often saves valuable time, and it helps one out of many difficulties. There is only one remark more to be made about it, and that is, never play it if you can possibly avoid it. Unless played exactly right, it will give an easy return, and will allow your opponent to gain the advantage in position if he did not have it before. If he did, it will probably give him a chance to “kill.”
The worst part of the stroke is that it is a very fascinating one, and it is, therefore, played a great deal too often, especially by young players.
The stroke consists in taking the ball just as it begins to rise after striking the ground. It is simply a question of timing the ball. The player cannot watch the ball as he strikes it, and he must trust to his knowledge of the place where the ball will come. It is best made with the racket as nearly vertical as possible, with a short step forward and with a “lift,” or upward motion of the hand and forearm, at the end of the stroke.
To return balls that have already passed, one should step across with the opposite foot, and, stooping very low, should half-volley with a snap of the wrist. In such a case the racket is nearly horizontal. The great point is to time the ball so as to get it exactly in the middle of the racket.
My advice would be never to use a half-volley if the ball could be returned in any other way, and, if compelled to use it, to put pace on the ball and play it as a fast stroke, and not as a slow one.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE LOB.
A lob is a ball tossed in the air so that it shall fall far back in the court, and shall be out of reach of a player standing as far forward as the service-line.
The object is, of course, to make a stroke that cannot be volleyed, except from the back of the court, where the volley is seldom severe.