weak footwork during the match

Hi Alois

It is about 1 year and some 4 months i have been playing with a friend of mine. He is training me & advises me whenever required.But still i would like to ask u that On the serve when i attack with a topspin then it is placed by the opponent on my left, which i return with a back hand topspin on opponents left on turn he block it to my right ,which i'm unable to return properly as i couldn't reach there my legs get cramp & i couldn't move to my right to return it as a gud forehand topspin, & i loses the point as the ball is send out of the table or mis placed.what to do how to move there and return the ball.during the rally it is not posible for me to Move right & left ,Ya but in practice i do well.I really move both the sides to return the ball,But during match i couldn't .

Please suggest

Thanks

Hi Shahin,

Keep working on the footwork drills during training.  Now though during your training start to make the drills more random.  So get your partner to hit the ball to random parts of the table at a slow pace and practice moving sideways to get to the ball.

Make sure you are moving first before playing the strokes.

We will make a lesson on more advanced footwork but for now take a look at the lesson on Footwork Basics.

Sometimes during a match the problem with our moving is  that when we get nervous one of the first things to fail is our legs.  So work at getting your legs more active before and during a match to get rid of your nerves.