Modern Tennis Footwork... Learn how to move like Federer and Nadal

http://www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/

One of the things that makes Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal such good tennis players is their footwork. Their footwork doesn't just get them from A to B... it's actually a weapon!

FYB head coach Will Hamilton and Yann Auzoux (a 2008 and 2010 Washington Post coach of the year and former Davis Cup player for Cameroon) walk you through the footwork patterns that Federer, Nadal, and other top players use during a match... in other words, modern tennis footwork.

Will here... This is one of the best footwork videos online (granted, I'm biased). It's actually one of the best videos we've ever produced. Yann is a great coach and he shows you exactly how to move quickly, efficiently, and in a way that helps you prevent injuries.

Please let us know what you think of the video in the comments below!

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• modern
• tennis
• footwork
• roger
• federer
• rafael
• nadal
• open
• neutral
• closed
• stance
• walking
• cross
• over
• recovery
• step

[SadegoGG]

Nadal and Federer don't move by thinking of the mechanics. Rather they move by creating pictures of where they want to go and their end result. Anybody who stresses mechanics lack an understanding of what athleticism is and how movement is produced.

[ryanrenesis]

A factor of why Federer is so good is because he reads every hip and leg movement in everyone's shot and kills people who can't hip fake or shoulder fake. That's why Federer is better than "modern footworK" because he reads it in everybody. Notice only unorthodox players like Nadal can beat Federer?

[jroman715]

@ryanrenesis And Nole

[euroclyde]

@SadegoGG hit shots with more power.

[euroclyde]

@SadegoGG if your feet aren't in the right place, this amount of force you can transfer to the ball is reduced. in my opinion, the most important thing a player can do is get the outside foot (the foot nearest the alley) loaded in preparation for the shot. once that's done, the entire body can be unloaded into the ball.  there are definite techniques a player can learn to help them get to this point. the faster, quicker, anticipatory, they are, the more consistently they can...

[euroclyde]

@SadegoGG you're kind of right now when you say "whatever method [i] learned isn't right". i didn't learn a method, which is huge difference in developing a player today. of course someone's natural athletic ability is key, but it can only take someone so far. there are some fundamentals that must exist, and as you said, probably the biggest one is "to maximize the force that is transferred from the tennis racket to the tennis ball."

[crasshelmet]

@SadegoGG I think its safe to assume that you do not play tennis, but you do some sort of sport like track (and that you do not like to listen to your trainer!

[crasshelmet]

@SadegoGG I think you will find that what you consider to be natural talent was actually taught to Nadal and Federer at a very early age. It is 15% grace and 85% learned muscle memory. Perhaps the pros do not have to think about their footwork, but thats only because some coach they had when they were young did the thinking for them...

[HawaiiProTennis]

take a beginner to top 50 in the country in 3 years. Then you will have credibility with the viewers. "cameroon davis cup"haha the guy cant even demonstrate a proper backhand. "modern footwork" haha read your tennis history silly. i think michael chang knew how to move. someone shut down these silly videos and rhetoric

[mikie6453mikie]

Will, good info but WAY too long. Get it down to 3 or 4 minutes. Check out Brent Able's instructions, to the point with no rambling or repeating everything 2 or 3 times. If necessary, break it up into more video instructions rather than one 38 minute video.

We'll go back over and over if 3 minutes long, we won't go back to a 38 minute video and try to find exactly where the instruction we're looking for is.

[mikie6453mikie]

Wrong SadegoGG, the top pros work on their mechanics till they are a habit and don't need to be thought of, just like 'racket back' or balance, usually as juniors and well before you see them on TV. Check out The Bailey Method, just one of the methods the juniors work on. It's work, not 'creating pictures.' Most of us can 'create a picture' but unless you work on mechanics you won't have footwork like the pros. It doesn't take long to get these mechanics down so you don't need to think of them.

[cynexist]

@ryanrenesis what about djoko u fool