Supposing that the ball is returned to his partner, the man should not stay forward, or he will leave her to play the whole game against both the adversaries, but he should go back to her assistance till he gets a chance to come forward again.
She, in her turn, has to get the ball away from the man on the opposite side, who has no doubt come forward; and, if she fails, she and her partner must try to save the stroke as best they can. If she succeeds in passing the man opposite, there probably will be a chance for her partner to go forward and volley.
If the man is serving, he should follow up a severe service if he possibly can. For the return of a second service it is better for him to stay back at or about the middle of the base-line, for he can play most strokes better than his partner, and if he goes forward on a weak service the ball will probably come to her.
With both players back in the court, the lady at the corner and the man at the middle of the base-line, he should leave her to play all the balls that come to her. If he takes his partner’s balls, as many do, he must leave his side of the court wholly unprotected, and he is unlikely to gain enough to justify the risk.
If the ball comes to the man, his natural return is to the corner where the lady is standing. If her partner has come forward to volley there should be little difficulty in passing him in a double court, and if he gets out into the middle it may pay to try to pass him on the side away from his partner.
It is so easy to pass a volleyer in a 36 ft. court, that there is not much use in coming forward unless the last stroke has been to the lady, or has been unusually severe.
A man should take more risk in volleying than in the double game, because his partner is unable to do her share of the play, and he can at times go across the court for an easy ball. He should not, however, do this often. He leaves the space behind him unprotected, and is apt to lessen his partner’s confidence.
In cases where he does go across, there should be a distinct understanding as to the place in which his partner should stay. She can either stay where she is, while he goes back to his own side after the stroke, or she can cross and he stay on her side. The latter would, I believe, be the better plan for partners who played often together. The lady has more time to get across the court because she can start as soon as she sees that her partner means to cross himself. In spite of this advantage, I should prefer with most partners to have the lady always keep her own side and the man go back to his, after crossing for a stroke.
If there is no arrangement, the man may be afraid to leave any ball after he has once gone across, because he cannot spare time to see where his partner is.
The amount of risk that should be taken to reach a ball to volley varies with the strength of the adversaries and with the chance of winning the match. If your partner is not as good as the lady opposite, the match must be lost unless you can make up for her weakness. Again, if the man against you is one of the great volleyers, the ball must be kept away from him at any risk. If you let the ball go back to your partner he will get more chances than you can afford to give him. In such a case I feel sure that it is right to go across to volley on the least opportunity.