How to Cover More Tennis Court

Have you ever felt that you were lunging for too many balls while playing tennis? Here are some tips to help you out and cover more tennis court by being efficient with your footwork.

Things You'll Need

  • A Tennis Racquet
  • A Tennis Court
  • Tennis Balls
  • Someone to play against
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Instructions

    • 1

      When playing tennis, during any given point, whether you're playing singles or doubles, you should have your knees bent. This will allow you to be ready to sprint towards a ball, or shuffle your feet to get to a closer ball. Either way you will be ready to hit the ball when you get to it. This is called your ready position.

    • 2

      Lets say you are on the left side of the tennis court and the ball is hit towards the middle of the tennis court. While you could sprint towards it and then hit the ball, since the ball isn't too far from you you don't have to sprint. In this case, you should get your racquet ready to hit a groundstroke, and shuffle your feet towards the middle of the tennis court, to the ball. In other words, instead of taking long, lunging steps, take shorter, quicker steps across the tennis court, towards the ball. This will allow you to effectively cover the court and hit the ball properly.

    • 3

      If the tennis ball is going further away, then it is recommended to sprint across the tennis court to the ball. However, if possible, when you get closer to the ball, you should try to shorten your steps so you do not have any excess any energy put into the ball when you swing. When you have too much energy going into the ball, it is more likely to lift the tennis ball and go out.

    • 4

      Now lets talk about volleys. Lets say you start at the baseline and know you want to go up for a volley. You are going to want to run at a normal pace up to the service box (which is in the middle of the tennis court), but once you get there, you have to shorten your steps. This is called "split-stepping". Both your feet should be on their toes and you should try not to lunge towards the tennis ball. This way you can plant your feet and make an effect forehand or backhand volley.

    • 5

      And thats it! To summarize, basically you want to shorten your strides whenever you get close to the ball as this will make your strokes better, and more consistent. Now that you know how to cover more tennis court, go out and practice!