Volley Momentum Rules

9.B.1. The act of volleying begins when the ball is struck out of the air before bouncing (volleyed) and ends when the player’s momentum from the volley ends (see 3.A.21).

3.A.21. Volley Momentum – Momentum is a property of a body in motion, such as a player executing a volley, that causes the player to continue in motion after contacting the ball. The act of volleying produces momentum that ends when the player is in control of the motion resulting from their volley and comes to a stop and/or initiates a new separate movement.

9.B.1 The act of volleying begins when the ball is struck out of the air before bouncing (volleyed) and ends when the player’s movement from the follow-through action (momentum) stops.

3.A.21. Momentum – Momentum is a property of a body in motion, such as a player executing a volley, that causes the player to continue in motion after contacting the ball. The act of volleying produces momentum that ends when the player regains balance and in control of their movement or stops moving toward the non-volley zone.

The revision of 9.B.1. for 2025 created a conflict with the definition of Momentum in 3.A.21. The 2025 version of 9.B.1. can reasonably be interpreted as saying that the only condition that must be met for a player’s momentum from their act of volleying to be ended is that their “movement from the follow-though action” stops. The definition of Momentum in 3.A.21 includes two conditions: (1) the player is in balance and in control of their movement; (2) the player stops moving toward the non-volley zone. Either can be met for momentum to have ended.

Further, 9.B.1. should rely by reference to the definition in 3.A.21 rather than attempting to restate the definition and doing so inaccurately. Guiding Principle #4 of the Official Rulebook says: “Avoid ambiguity… To this end, when a key word is used to describe when a rule applies, the word should be defined as either a part of the rule or in the Definitions Section of the Rulebook.” Since Momentum is defined in 3.A.21., it need not be restated in 9.B.1. unless that restatement is done accurately and completely. If the Rules Committee feels that restatement is desirable in this case, 9.B.1 should alternatively be worded: “The act of volleying begins when the ball is struck out of the air before bouncing (volleyed) and ends when the player is in control of the motion resulting from their volley and comes to a stop and/or initiates a new separate movement.”

3.A.21. should be restated, as proposed, to make the end point of volley momentum more clear as part of that definition. As a member of the Committee that developed the current definition of Momentum in 2020, this proposal is consistent with the intent of that Committee and addresses the questions that have arisen since that revision. Interpretation of “stops moving toward the non-volley zone” has been problematic since its introduction into the rulebook. Further, there have been debates over whether the conjunction “and” or “or” should be used to join the two conditions of current rule 3.A.21. The proposed revised rule accurately states that it is the motion as a result of the volley that must end, not all movement. The emphasis is on control, not motion; is the player’s movement compelled by the momentum resulting from the act of volleying, or are they in control of their motion?

The word “regains” in the current 3.A.21. is problematic since a player may be in balance and control throughout the act of volleying and thus cannot regain what they have not lost. The proposed definition addresses that problem by using “is in control” rather than “regains”.

The phrase “Initiating a new separate movement” adds the clarification that a player, after volleying and coming under control can, for instance, move volitionally toward the non-volley zone to play a ball that bounces in the NVZ or retrieve a dead ball.

Adding the word “Volley” to the heading of the rule clarifies that it is Momentum as a result of a Volley that is being described.  (note: may require renumbering of 3.A.21.)

There are two types of momentum involved in a volley: linear momentum (causing a player to move across the playing surface) and rotational momentum (causing a player to rotate forward and eventually step forward if that momentum is not dissipated). Both are accounted for in the proposed definition of Volley Momentum.

Scenario #1: A player hits a volley from their baseline. The ball is returned into their NVZ. They regain balance and control but do not come to a full stop before proceeding forward into the NVZ to play the ball or retrieve a dead ball. That could be considered a fault under the 2025 rule. The proposed revision recognizes that a player moving volitionally into the NVZ after a volley is not violating the intent of the Momentum Rule.

Scenario #2: A player hits a volley from mid-court. The ball is returned into their NVZ. The force of their volley causes them to move toward and into the NVZ where they play the ball off a bounce. Since they did not gain control of the motion resulting from their volley before entering the NVZ a fault is assessed on their volley.

Scenario #3: A player standing at the NVZ makes a volley. The rotational momentum from their volley causes them to windmill for some time before they eventually step forward into the NVZ. In this case the player is not in control of the momentum resulting from their volley before they step into the NVZ, and they have committed a fault.