The Half Volley And The Chop Stroke

The Half Volley.

It is a winning shot if played to perfection and a disastrous one if played with anything less than near perfection.  Perfect timing, racquet work and perfect eyesight have to go with it to be a success. The margin of safety in this shot is at a minimum while the possibilities of errors and disasters are numerous.

The Pick-up as its name implies is a shot that you pick up with the racquet face literally off the ground almost as the ball hits the ground and rebounds on to the strings. The pick up shot is best described as a short swing using a stiff wrist similar to a volley without any follow through. For the pick up, racquet face proceeds along the ground making a slight slant above the ball and directed towards the net while holding on to the ball at this low level all the time. In this one too, like in all other shots in tennis, the shot travels across the face of the racquet and along its short strings with the racquet face keeping a little away from the ball on its outside.

Remember the half volley only as a defensive shot since it is a shot that you are compelled to play as the last resort when you are caught way out of position to make any other meaningful shot. It is only a frantic attempt to free yourself from a disastrous situation without going back. You should never think of the Half Volley as a scoring shot for you to play under normal circumstances.

Chop Stroke

A chop stroke constitutes a stroke where the angle made by the back of the racquet with the line of the ball’s flight is higher than 45 degrees, though it could go up to 90 degrees. (It should be noted that the back of the racquet is facing the player, and that the racquet is proceeding to meet the ball down and across the flight path of the ball). The chop can be compared to the action of a man chopping wood. The chop shot in tennis is brought about with the racquet face passing slightly off the other side of the ball on the outside and down its side while the spin and the curvature is imparted with a right to left movement using a stiff wrist.

In the slice shot, the angle of 45 degrees as stated above in respect of the chop shot is highly reduced; and for this shot, the racquet face may pass either from inside or from outside the ball depending on the direction in which it is to be hit. The stroke is essentially a slap or a wrist twist. Whereas a skidding break is imparted to the ball by a slap, the chop has the effect of dragging the ball without break off the ground. 

For both shots, the rules for footwork theoretically remain the same as for the drive. However, unlike in the drive, both the shots are made with short swings with more wrist play; and without the necessity for weight shifting. Therefore, body positioning and footwork for these two shots do not assume any degree of importance as for the drive; and could be safely ignored.

Both the chop and the slice shots could be used to advantage for defensive and labor conservation purposes when the opponent is around the baseline. These two shots will effectively put an end to his driving game from the baseline since both the shots are extremely difficult to drive.

However, these shots will not be effective against volleys as they come too high or too slow to cause any appreciable worry. Nevertheless, they are good to drop short and soft shots near his feet as the net man comes in. Unless you have a sizeable opening, it would be folly to try to get the chop or the slice shot to go past a net man. 

The drop-shot on the other hand  is essentially a quite soft chop stroke with a sharp angle played entirely with the wrist that would be of some use only if it were to fall within 3 feet to 5 feet from the net. In hitting a drop-shot too, the racquet face proceeds from around the far side of the ball while keeping below it with a clear “wrist-turn.” However, the racquet should not be swung from the shoulder when playing a drop-shot though the main difference between a drop shot and a stop volley is that the former is made mainly with wrist work while no wrist work goes in to the making of the latter.

All of these wrist shots such as the chop, drop and the slice are merely secondary shots, and are only complimentary to the main traditional game. They are useful to disrupt the opponents with a variety of shots with a spinning ball, especially at times they are coming on top with steady match play.  

http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/What-is-a-Chop-stroke/696730

http://www.bidtennis.com/chop-half-volley-and-court-position-850.html

http://bzzbnnp.blogspot.com/2008/06/learn-tennis-techniques-half-volley.html