Footwork and Stability

In this lesson we examine the effect of footwork on stability. In particular if you are running to make a shot and you begin your stroke while your feet are off the ground and the stoke concludes when of after you land, the racquet with undergo a dipping moment similar to when your car hits a pothole. The result is a miss hit (off center, frame, shank etc.). If this occurs during an approach shot the result is usually a poor approach shot which can cost a point should win. Nothing is so demoralizing as creating an opportunity to win a point and then loose it due to a simple error.

In the video at the right, we illustrate the movement (in slow motion) that the racquet undergoes when the stroke starts when both feet are off the ground and finishes after one foot (or both feet) hits the ground. As can be seen in the video, the racquet will bobble up and down making it nearly impossible to hit a clean shot.

If you need to hit a very high speed shot to win the point, then this bobble will likely result in a disastrous miss hit. The solution is to be sure that the shot is concluded before you make contact with the ground, or only start the contract stage of the shot after you are firmly balanced. Agassi is a good role model to follow.

When practicing approach shots or practicing hitting on the run, be very aware of the coordination that is needed between your foot movement and the racquet movement in order to keep the racquet sufficiently stable to assure clean contact during the strike stage. For high speed strokes, this is of the utmost importance.

A point to keep in mind is that these bobbles and other unstable movements are not registered by our sensory system, so you will not even know that they have occurred. As a result you may be shocked at how badly you miss hit a ball as a result of an unstable racquet movement when, in fact, it is no mystery at all.