Tennis Footwork Techniques - Improve your tennis with online instruction.
Tennis Footwork and Movement defines great tennis players from average players.
If you could improve this one area of your game, you could easily start playing better tennis. It begins with understanding the core concepts
of great tennis movement
Great Tennis Footwork is Efficient, Eleagant and Explosive
I call it the 3 E's. These 3 key points are present in all the top professional movement "specialists" on tour today. You'll notice
that great players will have excellent tennis footwork. They move around the court similar to a dance, they appear as if they are always
smooth-sailing around the court. They are always in balance.
Utilize the lower body to support the stroke
Top pros learn to utilize the lower body to support their stroke. The lower body plays a role in the "coil" element. Too frequently, lower level
players do not use the lower body or use it incorrectly. Poor lower body tennis footwork will affect the upper body elements (stroke) as well.
The Big Secret
Great Tennis Footwork starts with the first move or "reaction move." This subtle first step begins as soon as the opponent strikes the ball.
This critical move is difficult to see and easily missed, because it happens split-seconds as during the opponent's contact of the tennis ball. No matter
where in the court they are, top tennis professional players learn to adopt a technique I call a "drop and lower" footwork move. This happens at the end of the split step.
Depending on the difficulty of the incoming ball and the location it is heading, professional players will either use a drop-step or a step-out in the
intended direction of movement. This important move will dictate the rest of the move toward the ball.
Low Center of Gravity
All great tennis footwork movers have one thing in common. They keep a low center of gravity throughout their movement toward the tennis ball. After
the split step, the center of gravity is lowered into the area of the hips, and the base (lower body) is wide throughout. They stay low throughout
their move toward the ball.
"Load and Explode" "Sit and "Lift" Model, "Coil and Uncoil" Tennis Footwork techniques
Each of the three above tennis footwork elements are present in the footwork of top professional players. Watch James Blake and Roger Federer's demonstration
of the sit and lift tennis footwork technique.
The sit and lift tennis footwork technique entails the following:
1. A "Sit" component. Here, The lower body is lowered as if sitting in a chair. Stance is widened, bend in the knees as if "sitting in a chair."
2. A "Lift" component. The lower body lifts or "explodes" out of the stance (works as a torque component as the hips fire away) as contact is made with the ball and through into the tennis followthrough.
Learn More About Tennis Footwork Techniques and Improve Faster
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