Tennis Footwork: Importance of Proper Footwork

Series Summary

Tennis originated in Europe in the late 1800's and spread quickly throughout the English speaking world, particularly among the wealthy. It is now an Olympic sport and is played by people of many countries and social classes. Played on a flat court usually made of grass, clay or concrete, tennis players use a stringed rackets to pass a rubber, felt-covered ball back and forth over a net. The rules of tennis and the basic techniques of the players have remained relatively unchanged since the beginning of the game.

A tennis player's footwork is key to his success on the court. Footwork will determine whether or not your strokes are consistent. You may still hit a winner now and again with bad footwork, but your game will never be as good as it could. Often the point is won by the player with the better footwork. Tennis pro Jason Gerardo can help you get your footwork in tip top shape. In this free tennis video series, Jason will show you different steps, stances and strategies for improving the footwork aspect of your tennis game.

Video Transcript

"Hi this is Jason Gerardo from Gold Key Racquet Club in beautiful Phoenix Arizona. And Gustavo Sanchez right here to help you out. We're going to, we're going to talk to you about the footwork a little bit today and how important it is and how to move to certain based on upon all levels of plays; all ages and all levels. And we're just going to show you some different ideas, and how to move to the ball. Make sure that you're efficient with your footwork and preparing to, for the shot, so you can be in a precise spot you need to be, to make sure you get your shot in. What it is, is a lot of times, when you make a mistake it's either shot selection or it's not being in the right spot at the time. And if you're a little bit off balance, it's going to make you off balance for your shot, and it's going to make you a little bit inconsistent. You have to, you have to, overwork it with your hands. And so, the idea again, is making sure for every single ball that there is, making sure that you're using the right footwork for each one. I'm going to show you a few different tips that you can apply to your game, it's very important that you know that, any player can use this. Any level, any age can use this. That you know, that you can use this type of footwork, little tips, in addition to your game, and you can kind of grow from there. It's not changing anything; it's basically just giving you some suggestions. So we hope you enjoy. Let's roll."