Melbourne, Australia, 30 April 2013 | australianopen.com

Increasingly under-used in the modern game, the volley is nonetheless an important weapon in your arsenal.

It gives you the ability to shorten points, change up the play and directly attack your opponent by rushing them, and provides a whole new set of angles and pace to keep your opponent guessing.

Today in our “tennis tips” series, we take a look at how you can punch the perfect volley, with Tennis Australia’s developmental tennis manager Scott Draper taking you through the most important steps, including:

1) using a continental grip

2) staying nice and low, in the ready/recovery position

3) getting the racquet face up and in behind the ball

4) keep your head still and close to the racquet, and focused on the ball at contact

5) producing a compact swing (on both take-back and follow-through)

6) returning to the ready/recovery position to face the next passing shot

And for further reference, you can take a look at how all-time greats Roger Federer and Serena Williams execute their volleys, to see how the pros do it.