Don't Bail Out!

To bail...a modern verb often used to suggest quitting, walking away, giving up, leaving, or simply, "bailing out". This could have multiple applications regarding coaching tennis. It could refer to staying in the point, fighting for every ball, and giving 100%. It could refer to committing to the entire event, never quitting because you are now in the back draw, or not deciding that since you perceive you can't win, reducing your effort. It could also refer to staying focused in your training, and not letting the heat, the competition, the barking coach, or the recent results sway you from your long term goals.

But in this instance, we are going to talk about "bailing" as it relates to footwork. In our years of training players, we have often observed a footwork issue that happens to highly accomplished players and novices alike. It has to do with the well documented concept, (split and three) of using adjusting steps to improve your alignment to the ball, up until the moment you plant your feet and commit the racquet to the shot. When players don't succeed at that, they often continue to adjust their feet while swinging, which sometimes results in "balling"out of the shot.

We refer to this as a "bail step", and it usually happens like this. A player is moving left or right along the baseline, or is giving ground on a backward diagonal, and struggling to align to a difficult ball. That struggle may be due to sloppy footwork habits, wind blown balls, late or inaccurate flight reads, or a bad bounce. For whatever reason, the player, when it's time to set their feet and strike the ball, is out of position and probably too close to the ball. Picture a player setting up for a forehand in a semi-open stance. As they begin the swing they feel too close to the ball, and stepping away with the front foot as they swing, in order to create some space for the swing. This results in the opening of the shoulder and hips, the distortion of the point of contact, the movement of the head and eyes off the ball, and a weak or shanked delivery of the ball. At it's worst, it results in a misguided flight pulled hopelessly wide by a badly distorted racquet face. In truth, this is caused by a player trying to do the right thing. They are trying to continue to adjust and re-align balance and position until setting the feet to strike the ball. The problem is this player didn't get the adjusting done on time, so they unfortunately continue to adjust their feet and position AS THEY ARE SWINGING. These adjustments are steps that should've been done BEFORE they plant to strike, but they didn't get it done. These late adjustments while swinging invariably result in bad contact, or weak shots.

The bottom line is this. Those adjusting steps should've been taken prior to the swing. Being set in the right position is critical to the quality of the stroke, and "bailing" at the time of swinging is sure to bring errors. The " bail step" is a widespread issue that can be managed by working on your agility and footwork patterns, and getting your alignment done before starting the forward part of your swing.

Stop bailing on your footwork, and start making more balls!