Petr Korbel bouncing on his toes
Footwork
Ilia Minkin Asked 9 years ago
Hi Alois,
I've just watched this recent match of Petr Korbel (!) against Patrick Franziska. I noticed that Petr often intensively bounces on his toes while Franziska tosses the ball and serves. See, for example, the point played out from 1:12. Why is he doing that?
Alois Rosario Answered 9 years ago
Hi Ilia,
That constant movement helps him to move. Often players will find that if they are static, it is more difficult to get into motion. By starting with the bouncing the next movement is a little easier.
You will notice though that his top half is quite stable. His eyes are not bouncing up and down even though his legs are moving.
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Ilia Minkin Posted 9 years ago
Hi Alois,
Some coaches say that good players even keep bouncing in between shots, for example Larry Hodges writes about it here. What do you think about it?
Yes there is a small bounce that the tops players do in between shots. It allows them to move into position easier rather than starting from a stationary position.
Miklós Fazekas Posted 9 years ago
This reminds me of a hula hoop metaphore i saw in a badminton video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Ij-b0wexc&feature=youtu.be&t=145 I know badminton an TT footwork are different, but the idea of you're quicker to react if you're already moving sounds to apply both.