Hi. I was reminded of this question when I read the thread on split drops. I am not aware of when we should put our left foot in front. When do we ever do this? Sometimes I want to put my left foot in front but I don't know why and I force myself to do the taught, and standard, right foot forward position. Can anybody expand on this idea? I usually just force myself to have my right foot forward all the time because I was taught that was good. I guess when we have our left foot forward, our right foot will be quicker to shuffle or step to the back court since our right foot creates the first step back. Because when my right foot is forward, getting to the rear forehand corner requires me to do that small "adjustment step" that was discussed earlier in another thread.
The left foot should be in front when you anticipate a lift to your forehand corner (if you're a righty). As for the "standard" position, the racquet foot should be slightly in front so that your non-racquet shoulder does not get in the way of your racquet when trying to take the shuttle in front of the body. Your racquet foot shouldn't be too far forward unless you're anticipating a net shot.
exactly what stumblingfeet said. if the opponent is heavily attacking your forehand rear corner, you place your left foot first so you can guard against it. right foot is usually first because of what stumblingfeet said, but also because it makes moving to the backhand rear corner easier. since this is the most targeted area in singles, it is natural that you should guard against it the most.
Agh I see. I can't believe I didn't think of that myself. Such common sense. Thanks a lot. But does the split drop turn my feet to a left right position? Or does my right foot remain front? I now guess that since even after my split drop, I keep my right foot a bit to the front, that is why I still need another "adjustment step" to get to my forehand rear court. Is this correct?
after the split drop, your feet should be pointing in the direction of your intended corner. in this case, your right foot should be behind your left foot. if you stand with left foot slightly forward, you are already in position to push off to your forehand rear corner, hence it reduces time and guards against any flat clears that go that way.
you have missed the point. i suggested this foot placement only if they were heavily targeting the rear forehand corner. if they were targeting the forehand, then you have less to worry about on the backhand. yes, it becomes awkward, but only if they play heavily to your backhand corner (in which case you would be foolish for standing left foot first). the OP asked me when we have our left foot in front. and i gave him a reason: when they are deliberately targeting the rear forehand. the fact that it isn't done often is irrelevant. if it happens, this is how you'd stand to cover that corner better. people most often target the backhand corner, which is one of the reasons why we stand right foot first.
hmm..left foot first...reading this thread it seems that its used when people attack ur deep forehand corner...personally ive never had a problem though, just turn your body after your hop?
i had a 'bad habit' of doing the racket foot back for my ready position, it is pretty difficult to get rid of it as it proved to be core problem in increasing the level of my play
my bad habit is opposite of yours. Racket foot tend to be in front at the wrong time. Learned it the hard way when this bad habit become apparent to some opponents. But i have since overcome it, and so can you. You gotta make an effort to change, otherwise you'll never change. Good luck!
I agree with the reasoning. With your non-racquet foot placed in front, I don't feel there is too much of a problem moving to the backhand baseline - rather I think going to backhand front corner is a bigger challenge.
