December 2002 -- Question: I have heard
you say that movement is the name of the game. I tend to agree, but would you elaborate on this issue and also explain how people can improve their movement?
Answer: Yes, I believe movement is critical to playing tennis well, at any level. Players often spend so much time working on their strokes that they forget to practice the other parts of their game including movement, general fitness, mental toughness and tactics. My philosophy regarding movement has always been that if you are not in the right place at the right time, it doesn’t matter how great your strokes are.
Over the years I have observed two types of movers: good ones and not-so-good ones. To demonstrate this point, imagine a video camera set up behind a player. The image shows the ball coming off the opponent’s racquet and the subsequent movement of our player. The not-so-good movers seem slow to react in the direction of the ball, seeming to “process” where the ball is going and
then initiating any motion. The good movers seem to explode to the ball as soon as it comes off the opponent’s racquet. But there is hope for the not-so-good movers!
The key to great movement is the first step. Show me a player with a slow first step, and I will show you a slow tennis player. So, what is speed in tennis? We have all seen players who have fairly good times in a 100-meter dash but are slow on a tennis court. In contrast, we’ve seen slow 100-meter sprinters who are pretty quick during a tennis point. That’s because you don’t run 100 meters on a tennis court. Studies have shown that the average distance run is about 4 meters, making the first step most critical because the distance is so short.
Training to be explosive and fast on a tennis court will take place in several steps. The first is awareness training. Your students need to learn what they are looking for, how to prepare and then how to explode to the ball. I have used the following phrase with students to assist them with awareness training: Ready, read, react and explode. The second process is to literally work on the “first step.” The most common drills used for this can be found in any current tennis book where movement is emphasized. They are ball reaction drills, toss and catch drills, roll and catch drills, alley hops, hexagon drills and so on. Third, you have to train the musculature to accomplish the task at hand. This begins in the fitness center with leg extensions, leg presses, hamstring curls, gluteal exercises, calf work, along with core training in the abdomen and lower back. An intermediary step that we use between the gym and the court is to visit a sand pit and work on movement there. Our coaches will direct the player or toss a ball in a certain direction and the player tries to “explode” out of the sand toward the ball. After these “sand pit” workouts, players feel as light as butterflies when they hit the court for their on-court drills. Finally, I recommend you become very specific with your on-court training. Players should practice running the court much like they would during a match. Make the drills or point simulations anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds in length and always change the direction to sprint to the next area of the court.
One attitude I love to see players develop is this: Try to hit every ball in your strike zone. The strike zone is from mid-thigh to mid-trunk. How much better would any player be if the majority of balls could be hit in his or her strike zone? In fact, one thing we see is that the better the players, the more often they hit the ball in their strike zones.
Remember that movement is only one part of a tennis player’s repertoire. However, it becomes very important as one competes. Movement can make a big difference in hitting a passing shot, an approach shot, serve and volley, chip and charge, recovery back into the court after being pulled wide, and on and on. But, it must be practiced!
Send questions to jgroppel@LGEPerformance.com.
