The squash volley, striking the ball in mid-air before it bounces, is a hallmark of high-level singles play. An advanced player with strong volleying can dominate the centre of the court, apply constant pressure, and take away an opponent's time to respond.
Reflecting on his 1973 British Open final win over Gogi Alauddin, six-time champion Jonah Barrington said, "I knew I could control the centre of the court and that if I took the volley on he could not cope with that." This article looks at how to develop the squash volley, covering technique, biomechanics, tactical use, and drills.
The Importance of Volleying in Advanced Play
Volleying is one of the most reliable ways to take control of rallies. Taking the ball early keeps constant pressure on your opponent, cuts their reaction time (which forces errors and weak returns), and helps you hold the T, the centre of the court and the best spot to dictate play. As long as your volleys are accurate, you keep your opponent pinned behind you and control the pace.
It is also a double-edged sword: taking the ball so early raises both the risk and the physical cost, demanding split-second decisions and fast reactions, and volleying at every opportunity can tire you as much as your opponent. Choosing when to volley and when to let the ball bounce, conceding the bounce on balls so tight or deep that a volley would be a desperate lunge, is a critical tactical decision. Used with judgment, strong volleying imposes a high tempo that many opponents struggle to handle, and it is often the difference in competitive matches.
Technique: Mechanics of a Good Volley
A good volley draws on grip, stance, footwork, and swing working together for a quick, controlled strike.
Ready Position and Grip
A successful volley begins with your ready position: a balanced stance near the T, knees slightly bent, weight on the balls of your feet, racket up and in front. Get the racket back early, the instant you read where the opponent's shot is heading, since a racket hanging low costs fractions of a second and rushes the volley. Volleying uses your normal forehand and backhand grip, held around the middle of the handle with relaxed pressure:
- Gripping too low, near the butt end, makes delicate shots like a drop volley hard to control.
- Choking up too high sacrifices reach and power.
- A mid-grip balances reach and control, with a firm wrist at impact to stabilise the racket face.
On the forehand, pointing at the incoming ball with your non-playing hand as you turn your shoulders improves tracking; on the backhand, which generates less power, rotate your shoulders fully so you drive the ball rather than poke at it. A high ready position lets you meet the ball early with a short, punchy swing (the punch volley) that redirects the opponent's pace and disguises whether a deep drive, a soft drop, or a quick kill is coming.
Footwork and Positioning
Footwork is what lets you reach the ball in time. Hold an aggressive T position, hovering just behind or on top of the T rather than back near the service boxes, since even half a step higher can be the difference between cutting a ball off in mid-air and retrieving it off the back wall. Stay on your toes and split-step as your opponent strikes to prime explosive movement. When you see a chance to intercept, split-step and move laterally to the ball:
- Forehand side: a right-hander often side-steps right and lunges with the right leg, body facing mostly toward the front wall, an open-stance lunge that is the quickest way to stabilise and hit.
- Backhand side: lunge with the left leg (for a right-hander).
- Wider balls: a crossover step and lunge with the opposite leg gives extra reach but turns the body more toward the side wall.
Use minimal, efficient footwork, ideally two or three quick steps to intercept and two or three back: go to the ball, then recover. Keep a strong, low base when lunging, feet apart and knees bent, so you stay balanced and can push off powerfully back to centre.
Swing and Contact Point
The hallmark is a compact swing: a short backswing and short follow-through, as if punching the ball. It is faster to execute and more accurate, and it uses the opponent's incoming pace, timing the ball and rebounding it with a firm wrist and a little forward weight transfer rather than swinging harder. Meet the ball out in front with a stable racket face; for control, less experienced players should volley when the ball is alongside or just ahead of them, parallel with the body and side wall, which makes a straight, tight shot easier. As you advance, take the ball earlier, out in front of the lead foot, to cut your opponent's time further, which needs finer timing and often a wrist flick to steer sharper angles. Strike attacking volleys with a slightly descending blow and use a more open face for soft drop volleys, and still follow through, accelerating toward your target rather than jabbing and stopping. Let the finish flow into pushing back to the T for the next shot.
Biomechanical Keys and Stability
Biomechanically, the volley uses a shorter backswing, less trunk rotation, and a quicker kinetic chain than a drive. Motion-analysis research has found the racket is contacted significantly more in front of the shoulder on the volley than on the drive, and with a smaller trunk-rotation angular velocity, since there is no time to load up a big shoulder turn. Power instead comes from rapid shoulder and forearm rotation and a stable core, with a good lunge transferring weight through the legs. Stay balanced with an engaged core and an upright torso, and use the non-racket arm as a counterbalance (flung out on a right-hander's forehand volley, tucked across the body on a backhand) to check over-rotation and keep the swing compact. The volley also relies on sharp hand-eye coordination and reflexes, and research suggests more skilled players hit faster, with higher racket velocity at impact, giving opponents less time. The volley robs the opponent of time and uses a fast redirect to turn defence into offence in a split second.
Tactical Applications of the Volley
Knowing when and why to volley matters as much as how. The main tactical uses:
- Dominating the T: cut off loose drives and cross-courts early to hold the centre and force the opponent to do the extra running; a deep volley clinging to the side wall into the back corner traps them behind you and keeps the rally fast.
- Attacking opportunities: pounce on a ball that sits up mid-court with a volley kill (an emphatic low volley struck with pace to die in the front court) or a volley drop (a soft shot just above the tin), for example intercepting a high cross-court with a forehand volley drop into the front corner. High risk, but high reward when you have the control.
- Changing the pace: a volley lob lifts the ball high to the back to reset when you are under pressure, while a sudden volley drop, volley cross-court, or attacking volley boast breaks a pattern of hard drives and wrong-foots the opponent.
- Serve and return: aggressive returners volley the serve, going short to punish a loose serve or hitting a straight volley drive to grab the T; some players reposition at the T after their own serve to volley a weak return.
Volley wisely, since not every ball should be volleyed. If a volley would stretch you into a weak return or cost your balance, or the ball is extremely tight to the side wall, let it go to the back for a fuller swing. Adjust to the score and your physical state, since volleying is tiring, and volley with purpose, to attack, hold position, or disrupt rhythm, rather than reflexively or recklessly.
Training Drills to Improve Your Volley
Strong volleying comes from practice. Build these drills, some solo, some with a partner, into your sessions.
Quick-Reaction Anchor Drill (pairs)
One player stands in an aggressive position at or just in front of the T while a partner behind feeds randomised medium-paced shots, some at the body, some to the forehand, some to the backhand. The T player split-steps, reacts, and volleys each one straight back. As you improve, the feeder hits harder or places the ball wider, forcing you to volley on the run. Excellent for reaction time and split-second forehand/backhand decisions, and a strong workout.
Side-to-Side Figure Eight (solo or pairs)
From near the T, hit a forehand volley to the front wall so it comes off the side wall back toward your backhand, then a backhand volley so it returns toward your forehand, repeating so the ball traces a figure-eight between the front corners. Keep the volleys around service-line height at first and focus on rhythm; it builds soft hands and racket-head control. Let the ball bounce between shots at first if needed, then build up to long pure-volley runs, or do it with a partner each taking one corner.
Controlled Length Volleys (solo)
A few feet from the front wall, volley straight to yourself like a mini rally against the wall, and after every few volleys step back, gradually moving further out and hitting slightly harder to keep it going. See if you can reach the back wall while still volleying straight, then work forward again. It builds consistency and forearm and shoulder endurance, and teaches you to adjust swing length and power for different court positions. A variation keeps one foot inside the service box, forcing you to reach.
Boast, Lob, Volley Routine (pairs)
Simulate rally situations that force volleys: Player A boasts or drives to a back corner, Player B lobs high from the back, and Player A moves up to volley it straight, run as a continuous loop, boast, lob, straight volley, straight drive, repeat. It builds tactical volley choices (when to go short and when to go deep) and efficient movement in and out of the front court.
Each drill targets a different aspect, reflexes, control, consistency, or tactics. Practise volleying often, always with proper preparation, balance, and a compact swing, so that what used to be a difficult volley becomes second nature.
Conclusion
For advanced players, the volley is a core component of attacking squash, not an occasional trick. Volleying well lets you control the T, dictate pace, and keep your opponent under constant stress, but it demands both sharp technique, early preparation, agile footwork, a compact swing, and the tactical sense to know when to press with a volley and when to play safe. Players such as Jonah Barrington, Nick Matthew, and Mohamed ElShorbagy built much of their success on superb volleying, taking the ball early to suffocate opponents while still balancing aggression with smart decisions. Keep your racket up, volley at every appropriate opportunity, and with practice the volleys that once felt difficult become a genuine weapon in your match play.
