Roger Federer’s Warm Up

Ever go out to play a match and in the warmup your opponent is blasting at top speed from ball one? Or maybe you are that player?

How important is the warmup? If you watch the top players they almost all start slow, build rhythm and confidence, and speed up from there.

Miss Roger? I do. But here is one more great lesson from him that applies to all players, from footage we shot a while ago in Montreal. It’s also the way some players play in an entire practice. The obvious contrast is Roger versus Nadal.

The words that seem to apply here: relaxed, slowly building, fun, almost joyful. So take the time to really look at, even feel the clips. They are in 8 to 1 slow motion. Let them soak into your brain and body by osmosis!

Groundstrokes

At the start of his groundstroke warm ups, Roger is all relaxed slow swings primarily with the arms and shoulders. He is getting his timing.

There is little knee bend and no wide, deep split steps. He is casual with his stances. He doesn’t move around a ball directly at him and hits a tweener with a slight smile.