Trying Out That Old School Serve and Volley
So, the other day, I was messing around, watching some old tennis matches online. You know how you fall down those rabbit holes. Ended up watching some Taylor Dent highlights. Man, that guy could serve and volley. Big serve, rush the net. Looked so simple, so effective back in his day.
Got me thinking. My own game’s been feeling a bit stale, you know? Just hitting from the baseline, rally, rally, rally. Boring sometimes. Figured, why not give that Dent style a shot? Seemed like a fun thing to try during my next practice hit, mix things up a bit.
Hitting the Court – First Attempts
Went out to the local courts later that week. Felt kinda silly at first, honestly. My usual routine is just working on groundstrokes, maybe practicing some serves trying to get them in. This time, I told myself, every decent first serve, you’re going in. Well, that was the plan anyway. Easier said than done, let me tell you.
Here’s basically what happened:
- The Serve Part: Trying to blast it like Dent? Yeah, not really happening. More serves than usual ended up kissing the net or flying way out. When I tried to hit hard, my control just went out the window. It’s one thing to watch him do it on TV, a whole different story trying to replicate it yourself.
- The ‘Rush’ to the Net: Okay, so maybe one out of every five or six serves actually landed somewhere near the box. Then came the mad dash forward. Felt super awkward, like I was going to trip over my own feet. My timing was completely messed up.
- The Volley (or lack thereof): Most times, by the time I stumbled my way towards the service line, the ball was already coming back. And fast. Usually right at my shoes or just blowing past me down the line. My volleys weren’t really volleys, more like desperate lunges or blocks. Pretty humbling, even though it was just practice.
Realizations and What Happened Next
Spent a good hour just trying this out. Got pretty tired too. That whole sprint-after-serving thing really takes it out of you. Realized pretty quickly that playing like Taylor Dent wasn’t just about having a big serve and running forward. It’s all about the timing, the footwork, reading the opponent, having soft hands at the net… stuff that takes ages to get right, not just one afternoon messing about.
It wasn’t a complete waste of time, though. It definitely made me think more about not just staying glued to the baseline. Maybe not full-on serve-and-volley all the time like him, but it reminded me that coming to the net is actually an option. Maybe I should try moving forward more after I hit a strong groundstroke, try to finish the point earlier.
So, did I suddenly master the serve and volley? Nope. Not even close. Probably looked pretty ridiculous trying. But it was a good kick in the pants to remember that there’s more to tennis than just hitting groundies. It was fun to try something different, anyway. Might even give it another go sometime, but maybe I’ll just focus on getting the serve in consistently first before I try charging the net like a bull. One step at a time, you know?
