The subject of the “split step” drives me nuts because I feel as if I completely understand how it works for me and my own game, but trying to articulate it to my students in a way that helps them and their game is one big time challenge.
I’ve heard lots of theories on the split step and most of them are so over simplified that it just doesn’t apply to the real world when we play a match.
I just don’t believe that the split step should occur at the exact same time for every situation in the game. Some pros say to split just prior to your opponent making contact, some pros say to split as your opponent makes contact, and blah, blah, blah…
And I don’t believe that every split requires the same depth of split step knee bend.
It’s not that simple.
The purpose of a split step is to do what? It’s to be able to be in a position with your feet and moving balance so you can react as quickly as possible to the direction, speed, and shape of your opponent’s next shot.
And the timing of when you go into your split step is really what’s up for discussion.
To me, the timing of your split step is generally based on three factors.
- the actual distance you are away from the ball when your opponent makes contact (either far away, close, or something in between)
- the ability of your opponent to get into a good hitting set up position for their upcoming shot
- the predictability of your opponent’s shot selection
Here’s a response to an email one of your fellow subscribers, John from Modesto, CA, who wanted to know more about the timing of the split step. He had been taught that the split should happen each and every time just prior to contact by his opponent.
Here’s what I wrote to John:
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If I split too early in this example, I waste time moving forward, and I may not be able to come out of my split and get to my opponent’s shot as quickly as if I split just a little later.
You’re right, I’m risking that my later split step after he makes contact means that I have literally less time to react to the direction of his shot, but it’s a calculated risk based on the quality of my shot that has created poor court position for him PLUS his inability to get into a good hitting set up position where he can really tee off and hit with power.
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Your distance away from the ball (your opponent’s contact point)
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PLUS your opponent’s ability to get set up to have shot choices
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PLUS your opponent’s shot predictability for that specific situation
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EQUALS when you split step.
If I can safely anticipate where my opponent is going to play their shot, I can risk splitting later.
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In singles if I’m playing serve and volley behind a 2nd serve (moving closer to their contact point)
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PLUS my opponent receives my serve early inside their baseline (I’m now close to the contact point)
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PLUS my serve goes directly into their ideal strike zone (good set up positin for them),
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PLUS my opponent has already shown up the line, cross court, and shots directly at me during the match in this situation (shot un-predictability)
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EQUALS I’d better split step really early prior to their contact to be able to cover as much court as possible.
Make sense…?
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I admit that it’s probably impossible to give you a specific formula for each and every situation, but the important thing to embrace is that practicing not only the mechanics of the split step plus the different timing situations is vital.
Grab a practice partner, go out on the court, and tinker with your split step timing for the different scenarios you find yourself in based on your style of play. Remember to keep loose hands when you go into your split step so you’ll see the ball better and you’ll come out of your split step being more on balance.
If you haven’t seen my split step tips series, it’s free, and here’s where you can get subscribed to it:
http://www.webtennis.net/split-step-subscribe.htm
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