My hypothesis on how sliding works.

[Deleted member 768841]

For a long time, sliding has confused me. For the past 6 months I have really gotten into watching tennis, and have seen Nadal, Djokovic, and every next gen in existence slide on HC and other surfaces. So, I have wondered the process of how to slide. I have narrowed it down to a few things:

1. Shoes

2. Your Foot

3. Court (material and speed/maintenance)

4. Footwork

5. Speed

Now, the first point is easily explained. Shoes that have a herringbone will have a harder time sliding because it is gripping no matter which way. However a shoe that has a thicker, less accentuated(flatter, less grooves) pattern will generally grip less, therefore slide easier.
Edit: one point I forgot is the rubber compound. For those new to the concept, rubber compound is just the chemical makeup of the rubber. This affects the entire performance of the rubber. For example, it affects traction, durability, thickness, weight, everything. A rubber compound can be made to have traction no matter the traction pattern, or it can be made to be extremely durable and have to have a pattern to be grippy. Basketball shoes have changed from the 80’s to now because the rubber was much more durable but needed a pattern to keep grip. Nowadays the rubber is less durable but the rubber itself grips, not necessarily the pattern.

Example 1. Cage 3 (thicker pattern, less space between groves, therefore glides across surfaces easier)

http://www.nielsenanimal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/womens-nike-air-zoom-cage-3-tennis-shoes-platinumblue-trainers_1.jpg

Example 2. Adidas barricade 2018 (perfect herringbone, thin grooves that grip surfaces easier) https://thevolleyllama.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Addidas-Outsole.jpg

Point 2 is more complicated. This is harder to explain because it is a natural movement of sliding; raising your back foot when you are sliding in a direction. For example, look at this picture of Nadal sliding at the USO: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c6/25/d6/c625d670352fb93e417b35e7c17d5b57.jpg

If you look at his left (our right) foot, you see it is getting close to a 90 degree angle. What my theory is is that raising your back foot in whatever direction raises the foot up, meaning that entire shoe’s outsole is not making contact with the court. I think this is a subconscious decision that improves sliding, especially on hard court.


Point 3 is also difficult to explain to a person new to the science of sliding. The basics is clay is easiest to slide on, hard court has grip for almost everything because it is concrete, and grass is grass and dirt, which is not the most grippiest surface. However, for hard courts specifically, the concrete is covered in a sand to make the surface grip. However many clubs and schools(that I know of) do not maintain this sand surface. Therefore, it becomes a smooth, softer surface. This makes the ball move faster because the ball just bounces off this smooth surface. With a brand new court the ball is “slower” meaning that it doesn’t maintain speed as much. When the surface is smooth, it is harder to keep a grip on these surfaces, meaning it is easier to slide. When it’s new, it is harder to slide.


Point 4 is easiest to explain. Sliding, from what I believe, is a sign of bad footwork in a certain direction. For example, Tsitsipas talks about his sliding problem being due to him preferring to slide rather than take small steps. So, people used to wanting to lunge towards a ball to the sideline or towards a drop shot will be more used to sliding. However, it has become so widely adopted, that it has become a technique. It’s no longer considered bad footwork if you slide, it is just a way to get to the ball quicker, which at the end of the day is what we do.
Picture of Tsitsipas sliding: https://d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.n...tefanos-Tsitsipas-sliding-from-PA-752x428.jpg


Point 5 is more towards tour players. Tour players move much faster than most of us, and are much more fit than us. Being able to run quickly and stop on a dime and sprint is something pros do all the time, while us normal people can’t do this. Due to them sprinting like crazy, they are able to put much pressure on their shoes. They run so fast, the shoes cannot grab enough of the court in time for the next step. For example, this Djokovic clip shows him slipping simply because his shoes cannot grip the surface fast enough:

Tl;dr. So, what can we learn from this? Besides the fact I care too much about learning how pros slide, sliding is a very intricate, detailed strategy in professional tennis used by almost everybody on tour.

 

[henrytennisadelaide]

Great post... The only thing that I would question is that "Shoes that have a herringbone will have a harder time sliding because it is gripping no matter which way." I have found in my personal experience that I have an easier time sliding (as someone who can slide on HC naturally) with shoes with a herringbone pattern as opposed to shoes with a normal HC outsole.

Other than this great post.

 

[MasterZeb]

Think of it like tyres on a f1 car. The dry compounds are slick for maximum traction. And wet is grooved to allow for water displacement. So if you want to slide on the court, the thinner the tread the better, not the other way round. You want less of the shoe to be in contact with the court, not more.

 

[[d]ragon]

Sliding is actually advantageous and better on the body. It allows players to recover much faster and stay in better position on the defense. With the force generated, if you don't slide, you would need another step to stop your body. That extra step puts you well out of position if you're running down a ball. Your video is of Djoko slipping, not sliding.

 

[[d]ragon]

Also, force is lowered with increased distance. Sliding increases the braking distance and is energetically favorable (lower impact) over a hard stop. Its most likely why clay is better on the joints despite being harder than hard courts (some people think clay courts are soft). See this article.

 

[[d]ragon]

Of course for lower level players, they don't generate enough force to overcome the initial friction of the stop so we don't see them sliding around. There is also a minimum amount of strength in the legs and core to allow for proper sliding that isn't there either, not because its not achievable, but because they usual don't condition outside of tennis like competitive players do. And less bio-mechanical control in general.

I do agree that some shoes are more conducive to sliding though (sole pattern and rubber compound).

 

[TennisD]

Honestly it has a lot more to do with general strength and speed than the shoes/courts - you can slide in any shoe and on any court if you're going fast enough and you're strong enough to hold your body position. In the Djokovic video he slips because he doesn't have enough of a 'contact patch' under his right foot (it looks like he catches the outside edge of the shoe - you can see this at both 0:41 and 0:49) as he's trying to change direction and the entirety of his body weight is leveraged well right of where the shoe is actually meeting the ground.

 

[travlerajm]

I don’t slide. If I do, it’s because I lose my footing and end up landing hard on my hip.

 

[Liam Grennon]

I can slide in any direction. If you can create enough speed and keep your center of gravity low, your shoe's really do not matter. If you have shoes with enough lateral support you can slide with any tennis shoes.

I always have had good balance and have done a lot of skiing and ice skating so it comes pretty naturally for me.

My question for other people who slide, do you drag your non dominent foot on the side of the shoe to help maintain control? I destroy every shoe I wear like that...

 

[henrytennisadelaide]

I can slide in any direction. If you can create enough speed and keep your center of gravity low, your shoe's really do not matter. If you have shoes with enough lateral support you can slide with any tennis shoes.

I always have had good balance and have done a lot of skiing and ice skating so it comes pretty naturally for me.

My question for other people who slide, do you drag your non dominent foot on the side of the shoe to help maintain control? I destroy every shoe I wear like that...

Depending on the slide, sometimes I'll drag my non-dominant foot at 90 degrees to the ground and sometimes I will keep it upright.

 

[red rook]

Flexibility is oddly missing from your list. That is where I’m at right now. It’s no coincidence the best sliders on the tour can do the front splits or very close. I am okay with the side splits but am way behind in the front splits.

There’s also some variation on the back foot and also that’s what I’m working on. You can slide it back doing more the splits or bend your knee in what looks like your coming close to touching your knee to the ground. Either way your pelvis has to get way down. I’m sliding now after much work but not there yet. Maybe 5 or 6 more 20-30 minute sessions and another month of stretching.