Recovery Footwork

Recovery footwork must begin as soon as the tennis ball has left your tennis racket strings and it should end before your opponent executes their tennis stroke.

The Side Step

When you have completed your stroke and your feet are somewhat parallel to one another it is time to recover back to the center of the court. The most common way to recover back is the side step.

The side step is performed by pushing off of your outside foot to step with your inside followed by bringing in your outside foot. When performing the side step your feet should not touch one another and your body posture should be similar to that of the ready position.

The reason why tennis players choose to side step back to recover rather than run back is due to a few factors. First, due to your body posture, being similar to that of the ready position, it is easy to transition into the split step from the side step. The side step also allows you to change direction quickly, where as running back would make it easy for your opponent to hit behind you and capitalize on your inability to change direction effectively.

The Cross Step

Tennis players often utilize the cross step combined with the side step to recover back in certain scenarios. The cross step is commonly utilized when you are pulled off the court and need to cover more ground to adequately recover. After you have completed your stroke with your feet somewhat parallel in relation to the baseline you can initiate the cross step.

The cross step is performed with the same body posture as the ready position and side step. First, you want to push off with your outside foot and step across your inside foot, while maintaining your posture and having the core of your body facing the net. After you take one cross step, it is important to transition into the side step. The cross step is great for when you need to cover a good amount of court quickly in order to recover.

Ensure you only take one cross step prior to transitioning to the side step. With the legs crossing each other on the cross step, you must be able to split step prior to the opponent contacting the ball. Taking more than one cross step would complicate your timing of the split step.

The Run Step

Another option to recover back is the run step which is similar to the cross step and the first step reaction. The run step in initiated after you complete your stroke and you have your feet near parallel in relation to the baseline. Similar to the first step reaction, you want to pivot your feet in the direction you want to move, which will naturally turn your shoulders and hips perpendicular to the net. Next, push off your outside foot and take a run step.

After one run step, make sure to transition back to the side step so that you can split step prior to your opponent making contact with the ball. This will give you the opportunity to be on balance and react quickly in any direction that you choose.