how to slide(not slice......) on hardcourt?

tennisfa

tennisfa

Rookie
i've always tried to slide on hard court like Blake does, but it feels like my shoes just have great traction to the court surface. i just can't quite seems to do it...
does anyone have any ideas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbNInOKpdp4
like in that video, at 0:15 after the forehand,at 0:40 after the forehand,at 0:55 after the forehand...etc. it looks pretty cool to slide on hard court...
 
Last edited:
tennisfa said:
i've always tried to slide on hard court like Blake does, but it feels like my shoes just have great traction to the court surface. i just can't quite seems to do it...
does anyone have any ideas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbNInOKpdp4
like in that video, at 0:15 after the forehand,at 0:40 after the forehand,at 0:55 after the forehand...etc. it looks pretty cool to slide on hard court...
Click to expand...

It's hard enough to slide on cheap clay. Don't bother learning how to slide on hard courts. You'll sprain an ankle.
 
Play in Southern California. Wait for massive fires to coat the courts with a fine layer of ash. Don't clean the courts before you play. Sliding and injury are almost guaranteed.
 
Sliding on hard courts is never on purpose, and definitely never safe. It usually results from a quick acceleration and a subsequent push off from the outside foot to get to the next shot.
 
tennisfa said:
okey......thanks for the warning....but still, there's just no way to do it if i'm not natural at it?......
Click to expand...

From watching the film, it is clear that Blake has his weight fairly evenly balanced on both feet and his shoes rather flat on the court when he is sliding. You also need to move very aggressively to build up speed if you want to go into a slide.

Stay low, get a lot of speed, use both feet to maintain your balance and change directions very quickly. Still, it isn't something that should be attempted just to look cool.
 
AmericanTemplar said:
I always thought that it would be kinda cool to wear a cape on court. Think about how awesome it would look to slide all over the place with a cape flying behind you.:p
Click to expand...

Wow, you are right! I've been thinking about this all wrong. I think I'm going to take a belt sander to the bottom of my shoes to make it even easier to go into a full slide. Imagine if you could slide in a full 180 and then have to take several slipping strides before you start moving in a direction, almost like a cartoon character.

Imagine how cool diving volleys would look while wearing a cape!
 
Good call on the belt sander! Although you might want to start a new thread asking whether or not Adidas/Nike/whatever will take them back first.
 
In tennis, some of the major factors that go into playing well are timing and balance. While some people posess the tools to control these while sliding, it puts you at a *distinct* disadvantage in forcing you to compensate for these factors while doing everything else required in a stroke. Instead of working on some silly aesthetic move, work on fitness, so you can get there and plant firmly without sliding.
 
blake scuffs up his shoes before he plays a match so it is not like he is wearing brand new shoes, and also the austrailian open material is not like your regular gritty hardcourt it is smooth
 
Keep in mind that you can't do this on all hard courts. Some courts have a heavy top layer of sand, which is to slow them down (I've been told). I would imagine sliding on a court like that would be suicidal. But it is possible to slide on hards. Make sure you don't have touchy ankles (prone to rolling/sprains/strains/breaks). I've done it plenty. For me, I have to build up a lot of speed, and then put on the brakes like in the cartoons. And I can only do it when running to my FH, as I will surely roll my L ankle.
 
On hard court, the only time I've "slided" was when I have to sprint for a ball. I return it (it's usually the backhand slice), and then I do a momentum change to the other side. This wears out the bottom of my shoes, thus causing a sliding motion eventually. I wouldn't advise it though, sliding seems only useful on clay and only if you're an expert at it.
 
the only time i ever slide on a hardcourt is when i am chasing down a drop shot. i am generally at full speed as the ball is dropping to the ground. i slide into the shot (which is usally just a tap over the net). it is much easier when your shoes are worn down and don't have a ton of traction left. i don't do it often, but when i do, that is the situation.
 
my friends were playing a set on these somewhat dirty courts (park), and i think there was a lotta dust or dirt on the ground, and they were sliding a bit when goin after balls.

You could slide if it's raining i suppose ;) . but yea not too smart (yea im pretty dumb :p ) anyways, yea like ppl said ^^^^^^^.
Probly not a good idea to try it on purpose.
 
You'll need new shoes every week. Not a smart idea to slide on hard courts... 1st'ly you have a high chance of getting injured... 2nd- you wreck your shoes
3rd. It's a waste of time and energy learning to slide on hardcourts.
 
Blake slides because he is twice as fast and strong as you are, and wears similarly griping shoes, so his shoes cannot hold when he plant to turn.

If you want to "slide," run suicides and jump rope all day to double your quickness
 
Techniques said:
You'll need new shoes every week. Not a smart idea to slide on hard courts... 1st'ly you have a high chance of getting injured... 2nd- you wreck your shoes
3rd. It's a waste of time and energy learning to slide on hardcourts.
Click to expand...

he's right i slide often on hard courts and i get new shoes almost every month. but the key to sliding is the speed you build up.
 
sliding tends to just come from a quick change in direction...either laterally or front to back. i've been sliding a little bit w/ my barricade 4s, but i feel the shoes are stable enough to support that. with my BF2s, it was more of slipping...not sliding
 
I used to play on clay and slid a lot, I bust up my ankle pretty bad when I made the transition to hardcourt for the first time. Don't try it, it looks cool but its just not worth it
 
Heelys.............i'll be sliding alright...........................
i used to slide when i was playing badminton in those gym, i can get a little bit of how it feels to slide
(by the way, which ankel was injured when you(forgot who it is) slide?)
 
Something is going on with the pros shoes that no one is talking about. I am going to put a call into the guy who strings Feds shoes and find out how the heck everyone is sliding around like it is a hockey rink out there. Cause i sure can't slide on the stuff.
 
The "safest" way to slide on a hard court if you have to (i.e. drop shot and you have to sprint to it) is to use your back foot to do a 180 degree turn so as it moves it absorbs energy via friction and you can use less energy to push off therefore not harming you physically.
 
The amount of misinformation in this thread is hilarious. So many "facts" here that are completely false. And then this joker goes and says you need to buy orthotics to do it. Also untrue.

Source: Myself, considering I don't have orthotics and I still slide.
 
Bjorn99 said:
Something is going on with the pros shoes that no one is talking about. I am going to put a call into the guy who strings Feds shoes and find out how the heck everyone is sliding around like it is a hockey rink out there. Cause i sure can't slide on the stuff.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same: i.e. each time I've watched Djokovic slide, he doesn't seem to be wearing Barricades (that got great traction, preventing sliding, as per design), but rather a lighter shoe, like Addidas Feathers or something...
 
Why not to slide on hard courts:

broken-ankle.jpg
 
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