Why the unit turn is so counterintuitive for anything above 3.0

marian10

Rookie
Sounds like you're describing open stance.
I already do that. Simple. Turn your shoulders during takeback.

But, I am talking about turning the feet to point sideways (neutral/closed), not at the net (open)
To do that, you need to STEP, which is not easy while a ball is coming at you.
We've established that a full turn is allowed to have you step backwards, not just stepping towards the ball

Who told you to do that?

You either turn the shoulders and go open stance or do the same sequence and add a step IN FRONT for a neutral stance. You never ever turn your whole body at once as a unit. The only difference Is the distribution of the wight on your outside leg: open stance -> weight on the outside foot + leg pushes up vs neutral -> outside leg helps bring your center of gravity above the front foot + front foot anchors your weight down and in front.

Of course if you're in a lateral sprint, ok your body is totally sideways but you're supposed to avoid that situation.
 

S&V-not_dead_yet

Talk Tennis Guru
Who told you to do that?

You either turn the shoulders and go open stance or do the same sequence and add a step IN FRONT for a neutral stance.

To get into a neutral stance, you can either step forward with your non-dominant foot or step backwards with your dominant foot. All other things being equal, you'd like to step forward but that isn't always practical. This came up in a thread about receiving fast serves.
 

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
Most 3.5 and 4.0 stand flat footed. They have not been coached.
Nothing natural about it, which is why there are instructional videos about it.
Notice there are no videos on how to bounce the ball while serving setup?

Most people never get past 3.5, and stay at the same level their entire lives.
Taking a lesson 1-2x a week is a complete waste of time.


Again, you are projecting your deficient game across all players, which is completely incorrect. This is why everyone keeps pegging you for very limited real match experience.
 

S&V-not_dead_yet

Talk Tennis Guru
LOL, Fed settles it!

This was a good thread.
"No 100% rule" is what I needed to hear.

I now see that I need to simply focus on getting turned.
How I get turned is not the point. Just get turned.

I guess that means I need to practice BOTH ways of turning from split step
1) Move rear foot back.
2) Move lead foot forward.

Thanks Shroud!

Watch Li Na on the left side of the split-screen at 7:42:


Note where her feet are when she lands from her split step: dominant foot just slightly in front of non-dominant foot. But by the time she's ready to contact the ball, she has done her unit turn but now look at her foot position: her dominant foot has not moved forward at all while her non-dominant foot is well behind the BL.
 
Thanks. At this point, I can't relearn how to walk, so I will just focus on making sure I turn, one way or another.
Whatever happens happens, and I can't micromanage to this level.
As long as I am side ways, and feet turn a little bit, somehow, and that will have to be good enough.
 

Slicerman

Professional
Most 3.5 and 4.0 stand flat footed. They have not been coached.
Nothing natural about it, which is why there are instructional videos about it.
Notice there are no videos on how to bounce the ball while serving setup?

Wait, now you're supposed to turn while in the air? Like the girl in the video?
But you don't know the direction when you jump.
Are you saying you jump and then somehow twist sideways while in the air?
That's some real serious hang time. Several seconds.

I'm around a 3.5 level, but I use split step all the time and also haven't been coached either.

If you time the split step well, then you should be able read the direction of the ball and also initiate the unit turn on the landing.
There's also various ways to do split step too, depending on your balance and which direction you want to move in.

What I really don't understand, is why do you always create threads asking for advice/feedback but reject everything anyone says? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose. You either seem quite closed-minded or you're already set in your ways.

Possibly @Slicerman meant "as you land" [?].

Thanks S&V. Yes, this.
 
Last edited:

Off The Wall

Semi-Pro
Marian10 has it. The unit turn is the shoulder turn. You see a shot, you turn and go. That's it. It's not the feet setting up.
 

mad dog1

G.O.A.T.
Thanks. At this point, I can't relearn how to walk, so I will just focus on making sure I turn, one way or another.
Whatever happens happens, and I can't micromanage to this level.
As long as I am side ways, and feet turn a little bit, somehow, and that will have to be good enough.
Sure you can. how you've played all your life nipples to the net, you are now working on undoing the wrong muscle memory and learn it the right way AND ARE MAKING PROGRESS GRADUALLY. You can do the same with your footwork and movement. Just need to keep working on it. It's a long process. Learn to embrace it and enjoy it.

Btw, when @Power Player said you aren't coordinated, this is what he was referring to. You don't move your feet like a tennis player. It's not a criticism at all. It's just the reality when you try to learn a high agility/coordination sport like tennis later in life unless you played soccer, basketball, or fencing at a high level. Running a marathon doesn't require much coordination. It requires a ton of stamina and endurance but not much coordination. In fact, you could run the entire race flinging and flopping your arms about and still finish just fine. Golf requires good eye hand coordination to hit the ball but the ball is stationary. The ball isn't bouncing nor is it varying with sidespin, topspin, or underspin away from you or into your body requiring agility and quickness to turn and move your body into position to properly hit the ball. Golf requires a good kinetic chain but it's only from one side whereas tennis requires the kinetic chain to fire from both sides. Then add in the different spacing of the ball from your body depending on the stroke you are hitting.
 

S&V-not_dead_yet

Talk Tennis Guru
Sure you can. how you've played all your life nipples to the net, you are now working on undoing the wrong muscle memory and learn it the right way AND ARE MAKING PROGRESS GRADUALLY. You can do the same with your footwork and movement. Just need to keep working on it. It's a long process. Learn to embrace it and enjoy it.

I wrote much the same thing in the other thread:

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-short-ball-drill.593169/page-2#post-11357672

I even figured out WHY his footwork was off [small adjustments were happening in the middle of the movement rather than at the end] but it's up to him whether he wants to pursue it. I think he can do it.
 
Top