Transition: Advancing to Net From Backcourt
  1. Watch this point from a Pro Flight Tour women's pro match: Transition Point.
  2. Notice how the backcourt teams advance to net after they hit shots through the net team.
    1. They do not come up "side-by-side," but rather one player advances and the other stays back.
    2. The advancing player follows the ball & closes the net out aggressively & completely.
    3. The trailing player supports this by staying back to cover lobs & drives hit hard around the solo net player. This deep positioning of the trailing player allows the solo net player to close & be selective about which volleys to attempt.
    4. Any lob or ball hit around the net player will be an easy shot from the backcourt for the trailing player. 
    5. The trailing player casually comes to net once the solo net player has hit a shot that controls the net and buys time (typically an overhead into a side screen).
  3. Deciding which teammate should advance can be based on skill set and/or logical proximity. If confusion arises, it is better not to advance at all than to have one or both approach halfway.
  4. Experienced tournament level players are adept at driving off the back screens when retreating from the net. They are conditioned to look for balls that rebound high and give them an opportunity to drive down at the feet of the net rushers. This happens more often at higher levels because balls struck well enough to get through good, well-positioned net teams have a lot of pace and topspin.​
  5. When players come up side-by-side ... 
    1. Neither can close aggressively because no-one is covering the lob.
    2. This leaves net rushers standing at the service line.
    3. All volleys must be attempted because nobody is back to cover a through ball.
    4. Difficult volleys & reaching errors occur as net rushers try to figure out team positioning & execute shots on the move.
    5. All four shots of the net rushing team are equally exposed (forehand & backhand volley of each player).
    6. The retreating player has time and angles to work with -  high rebounding ball of back screen + no net player is all the way forward. 
    7. Experienced players calculate which advancing player & shot (forehand or backhand volley) is most vulnerable. They will find your team's weakest spot more often than not.

Backcourt to Net Transition Video: