Improving tennis footwork

[5th_league]

Hi all, last few months I checked many sites & videos how to improve tennis footwork i.e. how to become more agile & prepare better for the strokes.
The main problem with my son (9 years old) and me (44 years old) is our footwork i.e. we are too soft when making split-step and 1st step towards the ball - we are not agile enough in simple words.

Can someone really experienced recommend exercises & training for my son & me to improve this important topic in our tennis game?

Thanks a million!

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Rope skipping can help considerably with stamina and footwork for tennis (and most other sports). More explosive plyometric exercises should also be incorporated. Squat jumps and an ice skater (alley) drill are a couple that I use with my students. I just found this vid that shows versions of both of these plyo exercises.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Some inspiration for more robust court movement. Watch. Rinse. Repeat

 

[apjones01]

I just took a lesson from a very well regarded coach/facility in Palm Springs. He pushed back hard on the notion that footwork is so important. It runs contrary to what I’d learned previously but he made very good points

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

I just took a lesson from a very well regarded coach/facility in Palm Springs. He pushed back hard on the notion that footwork is so important. It runs contrary to what I’d learned previously but he made very good points

You are expecting us to buy into this w/o passing along those "very good points"?

 

[apjones01]

You are expecting us to buy into this w/o passing along those "very good points"?

No, I’m not expecting you are anyone else to buy into it. Did it sound like I was trying to sell it? As noted above, it’s not consistent with what I’ve learned in the past and don’t think I buy it either.

His main point was that nothing trumps contact. Backswing, follow through, footwork- none of it matters if you’re not making proper contact with the ball. You can do everything else right, but if you hit the frame, point over. He demonstrated by having a ball machine fire balls at him while at the net- once with good footwork, then standing flat footed and on his heels. The results didn’t vary, if at all. He did of course acknowledge that he’d need to lunge for the ball on some shots.

My personal view is that chance favors the player who does all the “other things,” including footwork, properly. Said another way, a pro (like the instructor) can compensate for bad footwork. Lower level players cannot.

 

[sureshs]

I just took a lesson from a very well regarded coach/facility in Palm Springs. He pushed back hard on the notion that footwork is so important. It runs contrary to what I’d learned previously but he made very good points

He is correct.

If you read old USPTA manuals, there were precise footwork patterns prescribed for each stroke - how each foot much move and through what angle for every stroke. If it was at all necessary, it was probably because proper footwork was crucial to good tennis in the wood era. Today, pros hit awesome shots with open stance and without much footwork and get away with it due to the powerful rackets.

Only a few simple guidelines are needed today: outside foot first towards the ball in unit step, shuffle/crossover steps based on distance to the ball, big first steps and small adjustment steps after that, the crossover step moving backwards for an overhead smash, split step, move diagonally to balls in front to reduce distance.

And probably few more. Rigorous footwork rules are passe.

In some cases, modern frames generate so much speed and spin that trying to get to the ball is futile. That has further reduced the need for textbook footwork.

 

[Gemini]

I'm going to watch this thread because I think the idea that nothing trumps contact is highly misleading and is just bad information. According to apjones01, even the pro admitted that he would have to lunge at some shots because of where the ball was going.

People need to stop thinking of footwork as having to have your feet positioned a specific way to execute a shot. In my opinion, footwork these days is more about explosive movements that allow you to reach a shot, recover and execute another explosive movement in sequence over and over again. The goal of those movements is to hopefully get you into the best position to make good contact with the ball.

I'd agree with him if he's saying that the rules on form relative to how you get there aren't important, but I'd never say contact trumps all when getting to the ball is my priority. For a beginner, learning what good contact is step #1 but tennis is a game of movement.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

@apjones01

He is correct.

If you read old USPTA manuals, there were precise footwork patterns prescribed for each stroke - how each foot much move and through what angle for every stroke. If it was at all necessary, it was probably because proper footwork was crucial to good tennis in the wood era. Today, pros hit awesome shots with open stance and without much footwork and get away with it due to the powerful rackets.

Only a few simple guidelines are needed today: outside foot first towards the ball in unit step, shuffle/crossover steps based on distance to the ball, big first steps and small adjustment steps after that, the crossover step moving backwards for an overhead smash, split step, move diagonally to balls in front to reduce distance.

And probably few more. Rigorous footwork rules are passe.

In some cases, modern frames generate so much speed and spin that trying to get to the ball is futile. That has further reduced the need for textbook footwork.

Sorry, but this is just pure nonsense. Or, at least, partial nonsense. As one who actually teaches the sport, I can tell with absolute certainty that there is a lot of footwork employed by rec players, and even some high level players, that is flawed or sub-optimal. Footwork can be efficient or inefficient. It can be explosive or sluggish (or lethargic or even downright lazy).

Many players will often overrun the ball, employing too many 'momentum' steps rather than employing a Mogul move or some other suitable pattern for a quick direction change and/or recovery.

Footwork is more than just foot orientation or stances. Tho optimal orientation and suitable uses of stances is part of it. It is also about footwork patterns and movement (type and quality). Specific patterns. Sure, modern pros do use a variety of stances, patterns or types of movement. This should not be construed to mean that they will (normally) use just any old random pattern or movement.

From the IMG Academy recently (within the last 6 months): Technical and tactical elements remain the focus, along with footwork, conditioning, mental toughness, vision training, leadership, nutrition, and speed and agility training.

TennisPlayer.net had a multitude of articles dedicated to footwork:

https://www.tennisplayer.net/public/footwork/footwork_public.html


Other recent footwork sources:

https://www.optimumtennis.net/tennis-footwork.htm

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[SystemicAnomaly]

A couple more things came to mind after my last post. Novice and intermediate players often spend too much time on their heels when hitting and moving. Or, sometimes, they are just flat-footed too much of the time. I teach them to spend more time in the balls of their feet instead.

Many will employ an extreme closed stance way too often. Others go to the other extreme and employ a full y open stance on nearly every FhH (and some BHs). To my mind this can be very stressful to the dominant hip. And, a full open is not actually optimal in all situations.

Many students run/move with a very heavy foot. Their footstrikes are quite loud. This can put added, undue stress on the foot and other body parts.it can also make a player's movement slower or less explosive

 

[AlexSV]

Sunday afternoon a coach who has worked with ATP and WTA professionals was teaching on the court next to us. At one point I saw them working on footwork and movement for one or two specific forehand shots. So I would say knowing the patterns is important.

 

[MathGeek]

The legs feed the wolf. But watching the pros today, there are lots of different approaches. The commonalities that recreational players can learn from are:
1. A quick first step.
2. Intentional and consistent foot placement right before/at shot.
3. Footwork is as good (or nearly so) in the 3rd set as in the first.
4. A more conservative stroke if the feet aren't right.

Even most rec players with decent footwork in the first 20 minutes are sucking air and getting lazy later in the match. Slower first steps lead to lots of leaning and bad footwork as the match progresses. Video can be a valuable tool to help a player see what they are really doing compared with what they think their feet are doing. Things to look for:

1. When do you really start moving back to position after your shot?
2. How much have you moved between when your opponent hits the ball and when it crosses the net?
3. If you're feet aren't right at your stroke, is it because of a lazy first step, or because you got lazy as the ball got closer?
4. How many UEs are more due to bad foot position than a bad stroke?
5. Do you have the presence of mind to use a more conservative stroke when your feet are wrong?
6. Is your footwork as good in the last 20 minutes as it was in the first 20 minutes? If not, conditioning is likely the real issue.