Tennis: Footwork Drills | As a young Tennis player practising strokes to get better at the game is very important. But it doesn’t end here. To improve your game you need to move well, fast and correctly on the court. This means your footwork should be good.
It is essential that one develops good footwork as a young or as early as possible. The earlier you train yourself the better and faster you will develop proper footwork.
Young Tennis players as well even beginners should not neglect footwork and footwork drills.
The direction drill is a drill that helps a player in backward, forward and even lateral movements. Side shuffling and skipping movements are done together with forward running as well as backward running in this drill. This drill is very useful as all these movements are used in a tennis match.
In this drill, the player starts from the baseline and moves to the sideline and back to the centre and then to the other side. He/she then does the same in a forward movement till the net and back to the baseline.
Moving diagonally is very essential in Tennis. In this drill, the player should start from the centre of the service line (also known as the T). Then the player should run laterally to each corner one by one, but he/she should also make sure to come back to the starting point after reaching a particular corner.
This drill is essential for lateral movements along with the ability to play the next shot smoothly and without any difficulty in reaching it. Here the player will stand in the centre of the baseline, while a co-player or coach will direct the player as to which side he/she has to move after which, the player will return back to the centre.
On reaching the direction the player has to move, he/she should do a shadow stroke with his/her racket.
A proper balance should be maintained and the player should learn to make the stroke and step sideways quickly.
Ladder drills and cone drills are very important for a Tennis player to include their footwork training. It helps a player be agile as well as helps a player to move their feet quickly. This means a player will be able to react faster to his/her opponent’s shots.
This can be done off the court as well and a player doesn’t have to depend on the availability of a court to perform these drills.
The more a player focuses on improving their footwork skills, the better they will be able to react and play. Good footwork creates a solid foundation for a player.
