I am more of a doubles player than singles, but starting to do more singles. The first thing I notice is that my footwork need some work. I wonder how you improve footwork. Do you do a lot of shadow movement on the court?
Exactly, what are you looking to improve? You have to be real specific because the word footwork expands into alot.
To my experience, "shadow drills" are very effective in improving footwork and court coverage (especially in singles). Place say 3 shuttles at each of the 4 corners of the court. Starting in the middle of the court, run (2 steps in each direction) to the 1st shuttle, pick it up, back track to starting position putting the shuttle down in the middle of the court ending with a split step and continue with the remaining shuttles until all shuttles have been collected and placed at the centre of court. The placement of shuttles can be varied to suit which ever section of the court that you feel you need help with. For doubles, a lot more jumping and hopping is involved, especially at the net. Try jumping for a tap (alternating between forehand and backhand) and back to the fore court position again. I find that by timing myself and trying to improve on my personal best time really helps in my court coverage and footwork. Hope this helps