Good footwork without thinking

Hi Alois,

When I do footwork drills, I know that I have to focus on the footwork, so I do and I play well.

But during matches, there are a lot of other things that I have to think (type of serve, placement, speed, opponents return etc.) and I often find myself not moving well and resorting to stretching to reach the ball. When I see this, I again put my attention towards my footwork and then I am playing excellent again. But as soon as I start thinking other strategies, I lose my movement.

How do I overcome this. How do I develop myself so I don't need to constantly focus on footwork to do well. I want it to work naturally. Clearly drills are not working as I am focused on footwork there.

Thanks.

Hi Chandrachur,

You are on the right track.  It will just take longer...

Practice is the first key.  Then practising in a more open rally where you don't know where the ball is coming.  Then starting to put some focus on it in a practice game situation is the next step.

It will take time but with some focus every now and then you will start to feel it click into action.