To me, Wang Zhengming has the "smoothest" footwork. His movement is the most fluid, most natural, and least physical. Chen Long is extremely physical and strong movement, because he is strong.
Agreed that among the current players CL is definitely one of the smoothest. But as many have mentioned, his height I'm sure does help him with that. If he was the same height as LCW, he may not be quite as smooth.
for me hafiz hashim has the smoothes footwork, he seems like not moving but he is moving, end of the matchs also not much sweat !
LHI has very smooth, "textbook" footwork I would say. One that is extremely fast is Chong Wei Feng, watch some of his workouts and his match with Lin Dan at the WC. Too bad other parts of his game isn't of that high standard. CL has to be mentioned if the "smoothness" and effectiveness are interchangeable.
This clip is more a fun rally than a demonstration of perfect footwork. But look beyond the strong backhand and the diving, and you realize that Taufik stays in this rally because of his feet (even in 2012!). He pivots and turns quickly; he keeps a low wide base and never needs to take multiple running steps compared with his opponent; and SDK ain't no slouch! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RedOaxFwZmA [more and better video examples welcomed]
I have one slight problem with LCW's footwork. His feet, especially right feet, is not always pointed outward, whereas LD, LHI and LXR always do.
Doesn't matter , he has the most time in the world , can just walk to baseline and backhand. When he wants to up pace , just need 1 step then leap backwards and smash . Amazingly fast , not forgetting his height !
just re-watched some Jiang YJ's video. Her footwork is very similar to those of Lin Dan and LHI. [video=youtube;ySD3C3PNbFk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySD3C3PNbFk[/video]
Agree with qidong,tian hou Wei got good footwork,but his stroke is still isn't as advance as LD or LCW...
Maybe my interpretation of smooth is different than others. To me smoothness is about looking unhurried and effortless. Looking almost nonchalant. The Indonesians seem to have a near monopoly on this for me. TH, SDW and Simon Santoso all have this. Recently Tommy Sugiarto has had this look about him too. Not all the Indonesians have it of course, Hendrawan was a great player but he wasn't particularly "smooth" in my mind. Ardy Wiranata was great too but his movement seemed almost laborious. Outside of the Indonesians maybe Chen Long, Hu Yun, Han Jian and Chen Hong come to mind. Muhammed Hafiz Hashim should be there too.The blazing fast ones are impressive, but not so effortless. LCW, Du Pengyu and Tien Minh Nguyen all seem this way to me. Lin Dan strikes me as not really in either camp as would most players. Xia Xuanze and Zhao Jianhua had great court coverage but seemed neither especially smooth nor blazing fast.
Not quite as famous as some of the players mentioned but Hsueh Hsuan Yi of Chinese Taipei. Maybe it's just me but I find his movement on court to be extremely fluid
