Approaching behind a slice: what the approach shot is really asking

The approach as a constraint rather than a weapon

An approach shot rarely wins a point outright, and a player who tries to hit a winner from mid-court usually finds the margins are not there. The purpose of the shot is to reduce the number of good replies available, so that the volley which follows is a simple one rather than a reflex. A ball that stays low forces the opponent to lift it, and a lifted ball is slower, more predictable and easier to intercept above the level of the net.

This is why slice remains the standard approach even in a game built around topspin, since the shot exists to control the reply rather than to impress. Judging an approach by its pace therefore misses the point almost entirely, because a slow ball that stays below the net band has done its job.

Why the slice stays low and what that costs

Backspin keeps the ball rotating against its direction of travel, which flattens the bounce and holds the ball beneath the height of the net for longer. The opponent must then generate both lift and pace from a contact point near his knees, which is the least powerful position on any groundstroke. The cost is that the shot travels more slowly, giving the approaching player less time to reach the net before the reply is struck.

That trade is the central tension in the shot, and it is why approach shots are hit hard on fast surfaces and floated on slow ones. A slice that sits up rather than skidding is the worst of both, since it is slow enough to allow recovery and high enough to be attacked.

Down the line rather than crosscourt

The conventional instruction to approach down the line exists because of distance rather than because of the angle it creates. A player who follows a down-the-line approach has a shorter route to the covering position, since the ball and the player travel in roughly the same direction. Approaching crosscourt means running diagonally across the path of the ball, which leaves the approaching player behind the play as he arrives at the net.

The exception is when the opponent is already displaced, because then the crosscourt approach travels into space rather than into a waiting player. The rule is therefore about covering the reply rather than about which side of the court the ball lands on.

Where the volleyer stands and why

The approaching player does not run to the net but to a position determined by the ball he has just hit and the replies it permits. That position bisects the angle between the two widest possible passing shots, which sits closer to the side the approach was hit toward. Arriving too close to the net exposes the lob, while stopping too far back means volleying from below the net cord, which surrenders the height advantage.

The split step has to be completed before the opponent strikes the ball, which usually means stopping earlier than instinct suggests. A player still moving forward at the moment of contact cannot change direction, and passing shots are aimed at exactly that inability.

The passing shot as the other half of the situation

The player being approached has three options, which are the pass down the line, the dipping crosscourt ball and the lob. The low approach removes most of the pace from the first two, so the dipping ball becomes the reliable answer rather than the outright winner. A dipping reply forces the volleyer to play upward from below the net, which converts the first volley into a setup rather than a finish.

This is why the approach and the first volley are best understood as one shot in two parts, with the second determined largely by the first. Points at the net are therefore usually decided in the moment before the volleyer has touched the ball at all.