Secrets of Spanish Tennis: Footwork and Balance

[arturohernandez]

Thanks again

I just wanted to thank Chris for opening this door for all of us. I have been beating myself up for ways to teach my kids the fundamentals of tennis. We don't have a lot of time on the court as I have a day job that keeps me occupied and all of them are in advanced academic courses.

The idea of integrating multiple aspects (balance, footwork, positioning, contact, acceleration) all in a set of simple drills has made life a lot easier. There is no need to try and train all of it separately. Integration makes it easier and it also transfers to real match situations. I also like the idea of reducing verbal feedback. I watched a lesson in which the pro was continuously talking to the student about some physical adjustment. It was exhausting and I was not the one taking the lesson.

There is one thing that I think really would change training in the US and the UK.

Clay!

After 25 years of play on hard courts I had to spend three summers in Germany on clay 5 years ago.

It was a revelation. My game has never been the same since then even when I got back to hard courts.

Thanks again!

Arturo

[gzhpcu]

Arturo,
Playing on clay is better for the body: softer, no jolting stops, you can slide. I grew up playing on the concrete courts in L.A and now am playing on Swiss clay courts since ages. It also has another benefit: tennis balls stay fresh much longer!
Roland Garros is my favorite Grand Slam tournament, since the serve is not so dominant.

[arturohernandez]

Phil,

Lucky you! Will be back in Germany for a year starting in August of 2015. So I'll get at least two partial summers of clay court tennis.

I have noticed one thing about playing on clay and I am wondering if you have any thoughts about this.

Before I played on clay I would stand very close to the baseline and take everything on the rise. I also came to the net a lot and tried to attack short balls as much as possible. I was always pressing forward.

On clay I would get killed for hitting that way. I would either misshit the ball or get passed.

Eventually, I learned to step way back and just hit lots of topspin.

I noticed that most hard court players like to hug the baseline. That works well when playing an inferior opponent or when the ball is short.

But if I step back about 3-5 feet behind the baseline on hard courts, then suddenly I have more time and space to move into the ball.

It seems to get me adjusting forward and back more. This gives my ball more weight.

When I play people who just stand on the baseline, I can see how after three or four balls they will miss hit something or give me a short ball.

Having played on hard courts for so many years and now playing on clay, I am wondering if you have noticed the front/back difference in movement.

I notice this a lot in Wawrinka and some in Verdasco. They will move back and then move forward.

That is the plus side of things. The minus side is that one is further from the net.

But even there. When I get a short ball, I am very used to moving forward into every ball so I rarely run through my approach shots.

Any thoughts?

Arturo

[gzhpcu]

Yes, Arturo. I think also because the loop on the groundstrokes is bigger, needing more time.- Partly because of topspin, and also because you have to generate more pace as clay slows the ball down. So consequently, you stand farther back, take a lot less balls on the rise...

[stotty]

Phil,

Lucky you! Will be back in Germany for a year starting in August of 2015. So I'll get at least two partial summers of clay court tennis.

I have noticed one thing about playing on clay and I am wondering if you have any thoughts about this.

Before I played on clay I would stand very close to the baseline and take everything on the rise. I also came to the net a lot and tried to attack short balls as much as possible. I was always pressing forward.

On clay I would get killed for hitting that way. I would either misshit the ball or get passed.

Eventually, I learned to step way back and just hit lots of topspin.

I noticed that most hard court players like to hug the baseline. That works well when playing an inferior opponent or when the ball is short.

But if I step back about 3-5 feet behind the baseline on hard courts, then suddenly I have more time and space to move into the ball.

It seems to get me adjusting forward and back more. This gives my ball more weight.

When I play people who just stand on the baseline, I can see how after three or four balls they will miss hit something or give me a short ball.

Having played on hard courts for so many years and now playing on clay, I am wondering if you have noticed the front/back difference in movement.

I notice this a lot in Wawrinka and some in Verdasco. They will move back and then move forward.

That is the plus side of things. The minus side is that one is further from the net.

But even there. When I get a short ball, I am very used to moving forward into every ball so I rarely run through my approach shots.

Any thoughts?

Arturo

I have only played on red clay about a dozen times. I found the bounce long and slow. For me, it's the long bounce that allows you to stand further back and let the ball come to you...and more easily soak up aggression than on other courts.

Clay never really suited my game because I wasn't brought on it, but I do like the surface. It's kind on the joints.

I find acrylic a soulless surface that does little to encourage any kind of artistry.

My favourite is grass. We had many grass courts here in the UK once upon a time, but in the end clubs found them too difficult to and expensive to maintain, and one by one they became replaced by astro-turf.

[tennis_chiro]

So you actually have a lot of astroturf courts??

...
My favourite is grass. We had many grass courts here in the UK once upon a time, but in the end clubs found them too difficult to and expensive to maintain, and one by one they became replaced by astro-turf.

Do you actually have a lot of astroturf courts? I thought you had predominantly soft courts, meaning either clay or grass with the clay in the UK being predominantly green clay like the HarTru here in the States (crushed slate). My experience is limited. The only courts I ever played on there were the courts at Queens Club while I was there during the tournament. In fact, we might even have had to play on the club's hardcourts during the tournament. But my belief was that hardcourts, including artificial turf were much less prevalent over there.

don

[stotty]

Do you actually have a lot of astroturf courts? I thought you had predominantly soft courts, meaning either clay or grass with the clay in the UK being predominantly green clay like the HarTru here in the States (crushed slate). My experience is limited. The only courts I ever played on there were the courts at Queens Club while I was there during the tournament. In fact, we might even have had to play on the club's hardcourts during the tournament. But my belief was that hardcourts, including artificial turf were much less prevalent over there.

don

Astro-Turf, or artificial grass as many call it, has become extremely prominent over the last twenty years here in the UK. The average club player loves the stuff. The LTA hate it as they are convinced (rightly so) that it's hard to develop good tennis players on it. For general club players they are kind on the feet, good in all weathers, and are aesthetically pleasing to look at.

The LTA will not loan or give grants to club who install artificial grass. They will go overboard to lend money (at very favourable rates) to clubs who install acrylic.

Some LTA performance centres have the green clay but these are rarely seen at tennis clubs where the maintenance they require is seen as hassle.

Thirty years ago we had red shale courts and many good players were developed on that surface. This surface has all but become extinct now due to the maintenance they require.

These days it's either acrylic or astro. Often clubs have a blend both...satisfying the club players' preference and the LTA loan requirements.

Most clubs need cheap loans and grants from the LTA as they often don't raise enough money from membership fees. This makes them dependent on the LTA for charity, which in turn means the LTA can control what surfaces a club can have in return for their cheap loan or grant. Complicated, but it works well for the consumer as tennis is cheap over here. My club costs $400 a year to join with coach run activities thrown in....cheap I think...how is it over there?

[bobbyswift]

Watching the anticipation reaction hand feeds the two backhands seem well balanced. The forehands seems off with footwork and balance. Wondering how you correct these problems on court. When I have done hand feeding it is easy to say what I want but hard to correct what I see.

[hockeyscout]

Watching the anticipation reaction hand feeds the two backhands seem well balanced. The forehands seems off with footwork and balance. Wondering how you correct these problems on court. When I have done hand feeding it is easy to say what I want but hard to correct what I see.

Do what we do, hit, squat, hit, frog jump, hit, sprint, hit, drop, hit, left shoulder roll, hit, backflip, and more. Then you will get an idea on real balance, and truly develop it.