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If you follow Men's tennis you are aware that Novak Djokovic falls more than any other player on tour.
At this year's Wimbledon he tried to overcome this by adding treads to the sides of his sneakers. As a result, the All England Club asked Djokovic to change his Adidas shoes after his quarterfinal win over Tomas Berdych because the nubs on his shoes gave him an unfair advantage. The Grand Slam Handbook states that grass court shoes “with pimples or studs around the outside of the toes shall not be permitted.”
From that point forward he was slipping and sliding and hitting the turf with more frequency than his previous matches and this may have cost him the title.
When you look at Djokovic's impressive record you will note that he has far greater success on hard court (4 Grand Slams) versus Grass or Clay (1 Grand Slam against an injured Rafa Nadal) where there is less traction.
Falling occurs when a person's center of gravity (located at sacral level 2) moves beyond their base of support (the feet). This occurs in In Djokovic's case when his looses base of support a portion of his foot comes off of the ground.
From what I could see in pictures, it looks like Djokovic's left foot is the one with greater dysfunction and will present with a premature loss in base of support.
To test this on Djokovic's foot I would perform an evaluation that I call foot clocks.
Foot Clocks can be tested in multiple directions, in Novak's case I would test the 6 o'clock motion as he often falls when he is in a anterior/posterior position of the feet. The 6 o'clock position tests plantar flexion in the closed chain. People who lack range in this direction will often fall when they slip.
Click the following link for a video demonstration of this evaluation showing dysfunction.
This is easily treated with mobilization once it is determined where in the range of motion base of support is lost. It would behoove Djokovic's team to evaluate and likely treat the mechanical dysfunctions of his foot so he won't have to compensate with illegal footwear and can spend more time hitting the ball and less time hitting the ground.
In any sport including tennis, a fraction more balance and speed on one movement could be enough to make the difference between victory and defeat.
If anyone out there has the opportunity to evaluate Mr. Djokovic, throw me an email and let me know if I was right, physicaltherapy@hotmail.com
