Footwork

[derickyan]

I've been playing tennis these past couple days. Well since I'm not in any camp or have a tutor, I can't really ask anyone. Well anyways is there a specific footwork or how my foot is suppose to move/stand during a tennis game? I don't think I'm using my foot correctly because I'm so slow. And I couldn't find any videos

[10s talk]

there must be videos on YouTube

[Wilander Fan]

Originally Posted by derickyan

I've been playing tennis these past couple days. Well since I'm not in any camp or have a tutor, I can't really ask anyone. Well anyways is there a specific footwork or how my foot is suppose to move/stand during a tennis game? I don't think I'm using my foot correctly because I'm so slow. And I couldn't find any videos

If you dont already have it down, its going to be difficult to learn without really repetitive drilling. This is why alot of the pros have football/soccer backrounds...they got their drilling in that sport. One quick way to improve is to strengthen your legs. Most of the time sloppy footwork comes from tired legs.

[Head Pegger]

Always remember to split-step, prepare early, and use efficient footwork to move around court and hit your strokes
Here is a start:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5CWAwtijVI

[In D Zone]

Heres' one -

Bailey method
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAZ56xR5-OM

There's lots of foot work to remember, best to learn 1 or 2 steps at a time - the hardest part is to have someone feed you the ball so you can work on the drills time and time again. If you can learn one or 2 of these steps, you'll definitely see improvement on your game.

[anubis]

For me, footwork has to do with always moving your feet. If you find yourself running to the ball, planting your feet, and waiting for the ball to come to you, then you're likely doing something wrong.

You should be making small steps, small movements to better put yourself in a position to hit the ball. Don't plant yourself down and make adjustments by how far away or close to your body you swing the racquet. Get your body to the ball where it belongs and swing normally.

[ATP100]

ALWAYS be moving (even if just walking) when the ball is in play.
If you do this, you will be ahead of most recreational players.

[ShoeShiner]

Three fundamental footworks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7YarYi1y84

[derickyan]

Originally Posted by ATP100

ALWAYS be moving (even if just walking) when the ball is in play.
If you do this, you will be ahead of most recreational players.

Yeah, I see that in tennis games a lot (that's probably the only thing I knew!)
But thanks everyone for comments and videos!

[3fees]

As foot work , 1st get sideways to the ball always, then go semi-open and open stance foot work, like the fixx song - one thing leads to another as too moving around the court is done by small steps.

[TennisA]

If you need examples of footwork, just youtube some random professional matches, and only pay attention to the footwork of each pro. I'd probably recommend watching Davydenko or Federer off the top of my head. Really interesting to watch their movement, really.

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by TennisA

If you need examples of footwork, just youtube some random professional matches, and only pay attention to the footwork of each pro. I'd probably recommend watching Davydenko or Federer off the top of my head. Really interesting to watch their movement, really.

Note that most of your footwork movement in tennis is done on the balls of your feet -- not unlike a sprinter. You should land your split steps on the balls of your feet. (Quite a few examples of split steps featured in the videos below). Most of your movement to intercept the incoming ball and your recovery footwork after hitting the ball is also executed on the balls of your feet. Most of that recovery footwork should be a side-step shuffle (like a chassé pattern) as seen in the videos below.

Where you move after hitting is also as important as how you move. Note that most of the balls that you hit should be cross-court. When you hit a x-court shot, your ideal recovery position is not the middle of the baseline -- the position is a bit shy of the middle. Only when you hit a ball to the middle of your opponent's court (the middle third or so), should you actually recover to the middle of your own baseline. When you hit a shot down the line, your ideal recovery position is a little bit past the middle of your own baseline. (This can be seen at 0:27 in the first link and at 0:48 in the 3rd link). The vids below should illustrate this positioning quite well as featuring many important footwork details.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVwPRKh1Mdk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxJLR-IzxEY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tZhQi8aDcg

[Bowtiesarecool]

You can (and should) watch videos 'till you're blue in the face. The only way you're going to improve is by playing A LOT against people that can make you run around.

I don't see it mentioned too often because it's a subject where most people focus on the actual technique but, a very large chunk of the knowing-where-your-feet-should-be-and-actually-getting-them-there battle is about knowing precisely where the ball is going to be when you hit it. That only comes with practice.

[Bagumbawalla]

In addition to all the drills you might find on youtube- you might consider taking a dance class. A friend (who played for UCLA) said a dance class helped his movement- and he learned to dance, as well.