Still quite new to the game, and realized I was not standing in same ready position as others when my partner is serving. Watching international players they stand legs apart, possibly one leg a little forward. I was standing with my right leg well forward. I notice the non-receiving partner stands with one leg well forward. Why the difference in ready position between the partner of the server and the non-receiving partner?
Normaly when you serve/receiving serve your non racket foot going forward & your racket foot going backward. The reason is that on serve you play half court thus you dont need much lateral left/right movement but you need a push to the front or back.
Just to clarify, I'm talking about the ready stance of the two other players than the server and receiver in doubles.
When your partner serves (low), he usually stays in front covering the net, so you have to cover the full width of the rear court. For that reason your leg position should allow you to move fast to the left and right. Legs apart and one leg just slightly forward. If your partner is receiving, your position depends on his return. If he can put pressure on a low serve, he will move in blocking any short return, so you will move to the back. If he gets a flick serve, he might jump backwards and attack with a smash or drop. In that case he'd probably stay back and you need to go in front, killing the opponents block to the net. That's why you need a starting position that allows you to quickly go forward or backward. That means one leg well in front and the other in the back. This is just a starting position however. If you watch professional players you will notice that their feet are constantly moving during play, always adjusting to the actual situation.
