Feet seem glued to court

[goeblack]

I play one guy who, granted he is a good player. He is fast and can run around his backhand. His forehand has a lot of pace with huge topspin. Add to that he can go either way with it and I can not read it.

I understand he is going to beat me with that shot a lot. However, I feel I am giving him way too many points by not getting to shots I should get to. I mean if I could just get started and get to the ball, I could get back into the point but my feet just feel glued to the court. This usually starts by me hitting a pretty deep shot that is not enough to his back hand that he can not run around it. I watch as he swings thinking I am ready to go either way but when the ball comes off his strings I am stuck. No other player does me this way.

How can I overcome this?

 

[blastforehand]

You are probably back on your heels, your mind governed by fear and stupidity. (No offense intended.) You need to be on your toes, world class ready, eager and ready to spring like a cat. It is fun to play a guy with big shots.

 

[stormholloway]

^^^I agree with this dude.

I think it's better to be on your toes and guess then back on your heels and chasing shots you'll never get to. It's okay to be pushed beyond the baseline if the point dictates it but there's no reason for your weight to be on your heels.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Are you recovering after your own shots and then syncing up to your opponent's shot with a well-timed split-step?

 

[papa]

Are you recovering after your own shots and then syncing up to your opponent's shot with a well-timed split-step?

So important to do - most rec/club players don't. For many players its probablt not easy to split step. However, too many probably think it silly and fail to understand the basics involved - too bad.

Recovery is so very important also. You have to get back into position after each shot - can't admire your own shots and stand there flat footed.

 

[mxmx]

I play one guy who, granted he is a good player. He is fast and can run around his backhand. His forehand has a lot of pace with huge topspin. Add to that he can go either way with it and I can not read it.

I understand he is going to beat me with that shot a lot. However, I feel I am giving him way too many points by not getting to shots I should get to. I mean if I could just get started and get to the ball, I could get back into the point but my feet just feel glued to the court. This usually starts by me hitting a pretty deep shot that is not enough to his back hand that he can not run around it. I watch as he swings thinking I am ready to go either way but when the ball comes off his strings I am stuck. No other player does me this way.

How can I overcome this?

You need to recover to the correct position after you have hit your stroke. Your opponents best possible persentage stroke is the are you would want to recover to. You can then force him to play at directions you are not standing at...

examples:
standing on duece side, hitting forehand crosscourt, would mean you should remain more or less in same position. Whereas, if you would have hit the shot down the line from the same position, youd need to recover to your backhand side, even before he has made contact.

If you hit from the advantage side, crosscourt, the angle you need to cover, is the backhand side...ie, the position you are at. But if you had hit it to the duece side, you need to recover to your open forehand court.

These are few examples. But this is why pros seem to have all the time in the world. They recover into position way before their opponent has struck the ball. Federer is a master at this

Secondly:
He may be strong on the inside out forehand. Try hitting to the forehand on the deuce side to open the backhand side. he may not be as comfortable moving to his forehand as opposed to moving inside out.

Thirdly:
If he uses extreme western or semi western grips, he may be uncomfortable with lower and shorter balls.

 

[LeeD]

I'm often guilty of that as well.
Smaller, quicker steps to start.
Split as opponent starts his swing.
Anticipate and cover his CC shot, allowing him some room if he can hit a DTL winner, something few can do repeatedly.

 

[charliefedererer]

Thought you might be interested in these Essential Tennis videos:

Tune-Up Foundation #1: Ready, Read, Response http://www.tennisone.com/membership/coursepromo/1.tuneup/tuneup.a.php


Tennis Footwork, Split Step Lesson 1 of 3: Technique http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2xAK9p2hIM&feature=player_embedded#!

Tennis Footwork Split Step Lesson, 2 of 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtWMP75377k&feature=relmfu

Lesson 3 on the Split Step should be out later this week.

 

[Maui19]

When I get out of shape, my feet feel like they are glued to the court. It takes a week or so of agility drills to start feeling fast again.

 

[danno123]

Split step every time until it's a habit. I'm working on this right now because my habit is to stand on my heels until my opponent hits. During warm-up, I've been working on consciously split stepping onto my toes every time my opponent hits the ball and it's slowly becoming a habit.

 

[charliefedererer]

Ian's third Essential Tennis video on the spit step is availale:
http://www.essentialtennis.com/vide...work-split-step-lesson-3-of-3-pivot-and-fake/

It's the best one yet:

"My first two videos in this three part series focused on the technique and the timing of a split step. Today we’re going to take a look at how the pros use the split step during competitive points to move around the court as efficiently as possible.
I’ll also be showing you two different examples of when you do NOT want to use a split step, something that often gets left out of tennis footwork instruction.
The details shown by the pros in this video really explain why they look so smooth and effortless moving around the court. Your average person has no idea all of this is going on during the points that they see on TV, even if they play tennis a lot themselves. If you can start implementing these patterns even a little bit on the court then I promise your court coverage will increase dramatically!"

 

[bhupaes]

^^^ I agree - this is one great instructional video. I was able to refine my split stepping some more after watching this video, and the improvement was noticeable, especially on serve returns. Previously, I was trying to time it so that I landed exactly at contact. Turns out it's much easier... it's okay to be in the air at contact, so the jump can start as the opponent is making contact or getting close to making contact. Beautiful!