The Cross-Court Volley Kill is a very vicious low and fast shot played from one side of the court to the other.

The Cross-Court Volley Kill isn’t a shot you’ll use every rally but it can be a really nice shot to have available to you.

Like the Straight Kill and Straight Volley Kill, it is a really good shot for increasing the speed of a game in order to put more pressure on your opponent. It can also be very nasty for tall players, especially if used in tandem with Lob shots, as they’ll have to get down very low and then go up very high. Lastly, it’s a good shot in particular against players who don’t hold the T-Position very well, as if/when they start drifting away from the T-Position expecting a straight shot you can punish them.

Conversely, a well-placed opponent can deal with a Cross-Court Volley Kill, particularly if it’s not good enough. Just be sure that you time your Cross-Court Volley Kill well as the risk with it is that it’s going to come towards the middle of the court, meaning they can intercept it. You’ll need to ensure your opponent is very deep or as we said previously expecting you to play straight and so drifting in behind you.

Hit a decent Cross-Court Volley Kill in five steps:

When playing a Cross-Court Volley Kill make sure that you apply the same principles as you would to any Volley, namely hunting for Volley opportunities and taking it early.

You can find out more about basic Volley principles here.

• Timing – You should aim to hit the ball early and in front of you so that you can get your whole body behind the swing and helps achieve a Cross-Court angle. and It also further increases the pressure on your opponent, as you’re taking a little bit more time away from them.

• High Backswing/Racket above the ball – Get your racket high enough for it to be above the ball, as you need to be able to bring the ball downwards.

• Extreme high-to-low swing – Now your racket is above the ball, you need to swing with a steep high-to-low swing. This will get the ball down in the bottom areas of the front wall, which is where you need it. Be prepared to follow through as much as is needed to control the ball consistently.

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Changing the pace of the game, Watching the Return of Serve