Achilles question

[[d]ragon]

Alot of times when I'm playing tennis, I will run around my backhand and hit an air forehand. That is, when I uncoil I come off the ground alot like you see Federer doing in this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3EaGo4rhKk

Now when I land, I land on my left foot such that it really stretches my left Achilles tendon. You can see what I mean in the video above as Fed lands on his left foot. I doubt it bothers him but when I do it (our mechanics are probably very different), the way I land makes my left Achilles kind of tender. I'm not sure how else to explain it.

Any thoughts on this? Would an ankle brace help?

 

[El Diablo]

Ankle brace would likely not limit that sorth of stretching, and I doubt it would be a good idea if it did. The force of landing has to be dissipated somewhere in your body, and if it wasn't dissipated in your achilles, it would likely be in your knee and/or hip, creating the potential for other problems. Better to just hit a backhand.