It is not possible to lay down fixed rules for volleying certain balls and letting others bound; were it so, all players would play the same kind of game, and the difference between them would be only in speed and accuracy. Every player must judge for himself if he can volley any particular ball more effectively than he can play it off the ground.
Position is nearly everything in the present game, and a player’s first object should be to get into his place; once there, the chances are all in his favour. I do not mean that the player nearest to the net has necessarily the best of it, that must depend on the last stroke and on the place where his opponent is. If he comes up after making a good stroke that has driven his opponent back to the base-line, he has a great advantage, but if his last stroke has been slow and has struck inside the service-line, he is almost certain to be passed, if his opponent does not make a mistake. I cannot dwell enough on the fact that there is no use in volleying unless a distinct advantage can be gained by it, or, at the worst, that the back player must not have an easier return than he had the time before. The moment that a volleyer fails to make a severe or at least a well-placed stroke, he is at a disadvantage, and would be better off in the back of the court than where he is. It is seldom that the two positions can balance, so to speak, and if a volleyer is not distinctly up, he is pretty sure to go down. Of course I do not mean that every ball that is to be volleyed should be smashed; far from it, but I do say that a volley should always be played hard on to the base-line or across the court to the side-line. If neither can be done, it is wrong to volley the ball at all.
Smashing I hold in great disrespect. As a rule, it is a most unsafe stroke, and, when it can be played without risk, a hard volley will generally be just as good. It is a great satisfaction, both to the gallery and to the player himself, to see a ball smashed through an umbrella or a parasol, but it is an amusement that should be strictly confined to exhibition matches.
Do not volley a very low ball if you can possibly help it. For instance, one is coming forward, and meets a slow return that has passed just over the net and is dropping fast. Such a ball must be volleyed upwards to cross the net, and it will therefore be impossible to make a severe return, and the stroke itself is a difficult one. Let such a ball bound, unless time is of unusual value. Off the ground you will probably be able to make a stroke that will give you a greater advantage than if you had volleyed the ball instead of waiting.