A ball hit high and deep in the court is an extremely difficult shot to deal with in tennis. There are three different options that will help you reply to this shot, and hopefully help you turn the point in your favor.
If the ball is going very slow and doesn’t have much topspin on it, try turning your shoulders and going back before the ball bounces. You want to go back a little further than you think and let the ball drop down to a comfortable height. This will allow you to use more of a normal swing. My advice is to try not to hit a slow, high ball back to your opponent since this is likely what they are hoping for. Try to hit a “normal” forehand or backhand and get the ball back to the player relatively quickly. This will help you avoid getting into a moon-ball type of rally.
Another option for dealing with this high, deep ball is to try to hit it on the rise. When you see the ball coming, turn your shoulders and move towards where you think the ball will bounce. You want to end up slightly behind, that spot, giving yourself enough distance between yourself and the ball to take a normal swing. It is very important to watch the ball closely all the way through the point of contact so you are able to connect with the ball solidly. In addition, shortening the backswing and also, the follow through can be helpful. This option is a good one when the ball has a lot of topspin on it.
The third choice is to move forward and take the ball out of the air. Since the ball is going to land deep in the court, a swinging volley might not be the best way to deal with this. I would recommend more of a traditional volley, keeping the ball deep and/or getting the opponent on the run. Players who are confident with their volleys can also try to hit this shot relatively low and short so it prevents the opponent from repeating that same high, deep ball again. If you feel like you hit the shot well, continue to move forward to put pressure on the other player.
Keep in mind that most players hit the high deep ball to give themselves more time. Moving forward, coming in to the net, or hitting a shot with less air under it as a reply, are all good ways to take that time away from the opponent. Try not to get frustrated and don’t go too far to the other extreme by trying to hit a winner off of this ball. If you can handle this type of situation in your matches it will give you a much better chance to play the match more on your own terms.
Steve Annacone, USPTA Elite Pro, is the Director of Annacone Tennis, www.annaconetennis.com and MyHamptonsPro, www.myhamptonspro.com throughout the Hamptons, NY. Steve, Jeevaj Bondalapati, and Gill Gross run the TOP (Tennis Optimization Players-Top Team) program at the Tucson Jewish Community Center (Tucson, AZ) for high level players ages 8-18. Please contact Steve at sannacone@tucsonjcc.org or 865-300-7323