TennisOne Lessons

Secrets of World Class Footwork
Part 3

by Jim McLennan

Open Stance Running Recovery

Andre Agassi has dominated the men's game throughout the 1990's, not exactly a Pete Sampras with 12 grand slam titles, but Agassi has won each of the Grand Slams, and his resiliency if not ability to reinvent himself after long droughts has truly been amazing. I remember being skeptical after he played a challenger event in Las Vegas two years ago, losing in the finals, and had someone asked me then could he finish 1999 with two slams and a number one ranking, I would have laughed.

Agassi's extraordinary power is obvious. His court coverage and speed afoot are more subtle yet equally impressive. Power players, like Agassi, have reduced recovery time since their shot gets to the opponent so quickly. Normally, when stretched wide and out of position, most of us float this shot to increase recovery time. Agassi pounds every ball, whether playing from the corner or from the center of the baseline, so his open stance running recovery is an absolute necessity.

Agassi uses his inside foot to initiate his running recovery.

When moving to the outside ball, and hitting with an open stance, Agassi uses his inside foot (closest to the center of the court) to initiate his running recovery. Hitting with the weight either evenly balanced or on the back foot (depending on the ball), he unweights the inside foot on the follow through. The rotation of his hips and shoulders through the ball, coupled with the unweighted inside foot, creates a nifty gravity drop step. His first two steps are running strides, then he squares off to the net with two finishing shuffle steps. The opponent could play behind him (difficult to reverse direction when running); however, that rarely happened as his shuffle steps occurr just prior to the opponents moment of contact.

The photo sequence captures Andre Agassi stretched wide for a backhand. He runs to the ball, stops on the outside foot, turns through the hit, and continues his turn for the running recovery step. Note, the inside foot drops beneath him.

Jim McLennan's fascinating new video revealing "The Secrets of World Class Footwork" is now on sale in the TennisONE proshop.

Check it out!

Players practicing the open stance running recovery should initially separate these two skills. Practice open stance hits on wide balls. Practice gravity starts on all running movements. After mastering these two skills, you will find them coming together nicely on the wide shot when you want to recover quickly.

Gravity Motion: The First Step

What is it: A special technique causing a sudden start, exceptional quickness, and effortless movement. Gravity motion occurs as follows: Wide and erect stance in the ready position

Once the player reads the ball then a unit turn and simultaneous bending the knee nearest the ball.

The turn and knee bend unweight the foot nearest the ball. The leg farthest from the ball remains on the ground (serving as a post).

The center of gravity (CG) moves in the direction of the ball. The foot nearest the ball then strikes the ground beneath the moving CG.

The leg farthest from the ball crosses over.

Why use the Gravity step: Stepping out to shuffle widens the stance and prevents gravity from pulling. Stepping under and losing balance (for just a moment) enables gravity to accelerate running steps to the ball. Also known as a drop step, sprinters start, or floating pivot, this first move produces quick starts and saves energy.

This is the first in a series of articles on footwork. The material is derived from a new video by Jim McLennan, “The Secrets of World Class Footwork - Featuring Stefan Edberg”.

The gravity turn is presently the subject of a research project at the Stanford University Biomechanical Engineering laboratory. The results will be published (in abridged form) on TennisONE.