Crossover step

[Znak]

I'm trying to better my footwork and recently to incorporate more crossover step into my game, but I'm getting conflicting messages from different sources. Right now the most common time I'll use it is on my approach shot. But I want to start using it more on my baseline attack. When's the right time to shuffle/ crossover/ run along the baseline? And to confirm, crossover step lets you cover more ground correct? Because I had a friend that was telling me you use it is for smaller movements? Do you have any good drills or scenarios to practice this out?

Thanks as always.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I'm trying to better my footwork and recently to incorporate more crossover step into my game, but I'm getting conflicting messages from different sources. Right now the most common time I'll use it is on my approach shot. But I want to start using it more on my baseline attack. When's the right time to shuffle/ crossover/ run along the baseline? And to confirm, crossover step lets you cover more ground correct? Because I had a friend that was telling me you use it is for smaller movements? Do you have any good drills or scenarios to practice this out?

Thanks as always.

BTW: when you wrote you use the crossover on your approach, are you sure you didn't mean cross-behind? I occasionally do a cross-behind with my slice BH. But not a cross-over/forward.

I would generalize it to:
- short distance, use shuffle
- medium distance, use crossover
- large distance, run

Check out this great video:

 

[Znak]

cross-behind?

Yes! I did mean that, apologies.

- short distance, use shuffle
- medium distance, use crossover
- large distance, run

Aha, okay that's what I thought. Thanks for the video I'll hopefully get some of that in my training!

 

[Pete Player]

On that vid, by the way, are the elements, that differentiate a player from a cottage goon thinking of being a player.

The movement shows, if you have understood the requirements of the game and making shots from different parts of the court relative to your initial positioning.

The different steps and shuffles lets you maintain good posture and readyness to swing the racket and make good shots. Stomping around will only allow hitting the ball.


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On pain meds - all contributed matter and anti-matter subject to disclaimer

 

[Znak]

So watching more vids, would you say the crossover is more a recovery step after you've hit or is it used to get out to the ball as well?

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

So watching more vids, would you say the crossover is more a recovery step after you've hit or is it used to get out to the ball as well?

I think it's an "and" rather than an "or".

It also depends on how far you have to move.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

I'm trying to better my footwork and recently to incorporate more crossover step into my game, but I'm getting conflicting messages from different sources. Right now the most common time I'll use it is on my approach shot. But I want to start using it more on my baseline attack. When's the right time to shuffle/ crossover/ run along the baseline? And to confirm, crossover step lets you cover more ground correct? Because I had a friend that was telling me you use it is for smaller movements? Do you have any good drills or scenarios to practice this out?

Thanks as always.

drills,.. have your friend hand feed you balls of varying distance from the center hash.. where you have to recover back to the center hash...
you should experiment with the various footwork patterns to see when/where you should use each.
it's gonna vary for every person, obviously, because everyone's speed, and stride are different.

 

[fundrazer]

As a righty, if I'm running around backhand to hit a forehand I usually do the karaoke step (same as crossover I think?). I dunno... It's not even necessarily something I think about. But my right foot comes behind my left one, then left foot steps over. It's faster and feels more natural than moving with the left foot first.

 

[Raul_SJ]

I was taking a volley at a clinic and the coach said I have to use a cross-over step (it was a slightly wide volley but I reached it with shuffle step). The footwork was not something I ever thought about. I think I shuffle step all the time. The cross-over does not come naturally to me and not sure I even do it on the baseline. But definitely at net I think I never do it. It's something I have to force myself to do at net, although not every coach has pointed it out to me on volleys.

 

[mad dog1]

I was taking a volley at a clinic and the coach said I have to use a cross-over step (it was a slightly wide volley but I reached it with shuffle step). The footwork was not something I ever thought about. I think I shuffle step all the time. The cross-over does not come naturally to me and not sure I even do it on the baseline. But definitely at net I think I never do it. It's something I have to force myself to do at net, although not every coach has pointed it out to me on volleys.

Volley footwork is super important.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I was taking a volley at a clinic and the coach said I have to use a cross-over step (it was a slightly wide volley but I reached it with shuffle step). The footwork was not something I ever thought about. I think I shuffle step all the time. The cross-over does not come naturally to me and not sure I even do it on the baseline. But definitely at net I think I never do it. It's something I have to force myself to do at net, although not every coach has pointed it out to me on volleys.

How far away from you was the contact point? I don't see any problem using a shuffle when the ball is close [ie one step]. The further away it is, the more likely I'll turn and lunge. I don't think I do a cross-over.

When the ball is coming directly at me, I sometimes do a cross-behind to get out of the way.

 

[Raul_SJ]

How far away from you was the contact point? I don't see any problem using a shuffle when the ball is close [ie one step]. The further away it is, the more likely I'll turn and lunge. I don't think I do a cross-over.

When the ball is coming directly at me, I sometimes do a cross-behind to get out of the way.

You never do a cross-over (sideways) on the volley?...
IIRC, it was a backhand volley, about 5 feet to my left. He said, "No, no, no. Step across sideways with the other foot."

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

You never do a cross-over (sideways) on the volley?...
IIRC, it was a backhand volley, about 5 feet to my left. He said, "No, no, no. Step across sideways with the other foot."

I define a cross-over step as keeping one's chest facing the net. What I do is turn my chest at least partially in the direction I'm moving. At that point, I'm not sure if would qualify as a cross-over step; more like a forward step.

Maybe we're describing the same thing.

 

[ubercat]

Simon from TT does the more traditional nips to the net crossover step. Jeff S from TE seems to have started that way in his early vids. And now seems turn hip in that direction and will cross over like a giant step. So if you are moving to deuce side the left hip will and the left leg steps over the right.

One thing I have found helps my defence tremendously is wide split step and then dropstep.