learning to slide on hardcourts/new article

[joeldrucker]

It was fascinating to learn about this movement technique from our own Giancarlo "GC" Andreani: sliding on hardcourts.

https://www.tennisplayer.net/article...your-own-risk/

Your thoughts?

[giancarlo]

Hi All:

Would love to hear your thoughts re: sliding on hard court. For most of us, it's not something that we'll add to our game now, but I am interested to hear what you see at junior tournaments, and how coaches are preparing juniors for this learned skill.

Thanks!

[nickw]

Nice video article Giancarlo, this is definitely something that can't be ignored by coaches any longer. Two areas I'd love a bit more insight into:

Would you suggest any specific shoes to aid sliding on a hard court? Would a brand new pair of hard court shoes be just as easy to slide with as a partially worn our pair?

Also, in your opinion or based on any evidence, how much do you think that current top players who slide on hard courts have practised and learned the skill, versus have naturally transferred their clay court sliding skills onto the hard through necessity without having put any focused attention on it?

Thanks

[giancarlo]

Nice video article Giancarlo, this is definitely something that can't be ignored by coaches any longer. Two areas I'd love a bit more insight into:

Would you suggest any specific shoes to aid sliding on a hard court? Would a brand new pair of hard court shoes be just as easy to slide with as a partially worn our pair?

Also, in your opinion or based on any evidence, how much do you think that current top players who slide on hard courts have practised and learned the skill, versus have naturally transferred their clay court sliding skills onto the hard through necessity without having put any focused attention on it?

Thanks

Would you suggest any specific shoes to aid sliding on a hard court? Would a brand-new pair of hard-court shoes be just as easy to slide in as a partially worn-out pair?

If you are new to sliding on a hard court, I would suggest a pair of slightly worn shoes with a sole that is fairly slippery, and ideally an older court with less friction. I would also start with running-line drills and perhaps mini-tennis to experiment. Safety first!

As for shoe brands, most newer Nike hard-court shoes use a different rubber compound that can make sliding easier.

Asics, Adidas, and New Balance also make excellent shoes with sliding in mind; however, in the early stages, choosing a shoe (and court) with less friction is key. It may also be smart to wear ASO ankle braces to provide additional support.

Also, in your opinion, or based on any evidence, how much do you think current top players who slide on hard courts have practiced and learned the skill versus naturally transferred their clay-court sliding skills onto hard courts without putting focused attention on it?

That’s a great question. I am not aware of any scientific studies, nor have I seen any surveys on the topic.
Here is my take:

For the Federer generation of players born around 1981, growing up on clay courts likely provided a natural advantage when transferring sliding skills to hard courts. However, even for that generation, sliding was still a learned skill that required practice, confidence, and refinement. As you know, sliding is highly situational, and in some cases it is actually slower than simply taking more adjustment steps.

Sliding also became easier as new rubber compounds were introduced in professional shoes specifically to facilitate controlled sliding. As far as I know, Federer never significantly changed the sole pattern of his Nike hard-court shoes after 2003. Based on my memories from Indian Wells, I did not see Roger slide extensively until around 2016–17, whereas Monfils was experimenting with sliding off both wings as early as 2007–08.

For the newer generation of players, we have to acknowledge that virtually all of them—regardless of where they were born—train extensively on both hard and clay courts as part of their development. Most high-level academies have both surfaces available. I spent some time in Barcelona, and even the Spanish national training center had more hard courts than clay courts.

Perhaps most surprising is how commonplace hard-court sliding has become among Northern California juniors. At sectional tournaments, both boys and girls slide routinely on hard courts. Given that there is now only one green-clay court in San Francisco and just a few more near Palo Alto (and some in the East Bay), most of these players are learning the skill entirely on hard courts once they develop sufficient strength, balance, and coordination.