Burst Footwork that Wins in TennisBurst footwork is critical to the success of every player. The problem is that many players (at every level) don’t realize the importance of this aspect of court coverage. When I watch players they often flow with the pace of the ball. They don’t burst and “beat the ball to the bounce,” thus they’re always a step behind.
The split step is the first part of this type of movement. You need to time the jump step so that you land on the ground when your opponent makes contact with the ball. See the “Burst and Glide” video at VTA. This allows you to push off in the direction of the ball. If you are still in the air, you won’t be able to push off of anything. You want to land on the opposite foot from the direction you want to go. Allow the Achilles heel to act like a rubber band to sling-shot you toward the ball. The foot should stay on the ground only long enough to push off. You can pretend that the ground is "on fire" to make this move more quickly. The foot moving toward the ball out of the jump step stays low to the ground.
After the initial big, fast, first step that propels you toward the ball, you’ll want to slow up in order to make the adjustment steps needed to get in the correct position to strike the ball. There’s a ballet type rhythm to this movement. Watch Roger Federer to get an idea of how you should attempt to move. The recovery footwork coming back into position is just as important as the initial move. You want to eliminate extra steps (hop steps) at all costs, so you can be efficient with the cross over burst coming back into position. If your center of gravity is balanced, you will be able to transfer your weight from right to left (right handed forehand) and push off the right foot.
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