Being very interested in tennis movement I realized that coaches often don’t spent much time on the split step. What I have done in my latest research is to look into the differences in split step timing on 3 different split steps between higher and lower ranked ATP Players.
The split step:
1) At the return
2) After the serve
3) During groundstrokes
If you compare e.g. Roger and Rafa to Taylor Fritz in 2017 there is a significant difference on how close, they are to the top of the hop when the opponent is hitting the ball.
The lower you go, especially if you compare to junior players, you’ll see players have more difficulties with the timing of the split step.
I have been surprised to see how many players don’t know when to go “up” at the right timing, they are not able to rotate their hips and open their feet. Their hips get locked which means that the lower abs can’t help the pelvis rotation.
The split step can be corrected early on and it will provide the players with a little bit extra time in every point they play
So as early as possible we should teach the players to do a split step through different games. We can’t think that they will all learn to do it properly by themselves.
So how do you do a proper split step in tennis?
1st, it’s important to know that you need to be at the top of the hop at the moment when the opponent is making contact with the ball.
2nd, how the player lands after the hop. If we e.g. see the ball going to our forehand side. Then we would like the players to land on the left foot. They then push from the left leg laterally towards the right side of the court by doing the first step with the right leg. The more you put into the push the more you will get back — simply physics, which is important to teach kids.
3rd, the split step after the serve. When you are landing after the serve you are landing on one foot and you are flexing your upper body. What we saw in the research is that the more players flex after the serve the slower they are getting ready for the next ball. Therefor the aim is to stand straighter when you hit the ground like e.g. Roger is great at doing after the service motion.
How to work on the split step in tennis?
1) I like to use a basketball
It’s important to link the motion with a sound. We would like to link the movement with sound and a visual stimulus, and the basketball is a great tool to do so. A simple way to practice using a basketball is for the player to jump when you throw the basketball towards them and it bounces offthe ground. You are then looking for the player to be at the top and catch the ball while in the air. The player can also be bouncing the ball him/herself and then practice catching the ball in the air at the top of the hop after the bounce.
I often see coaches use hurdles to practice the split step. What sometimes happens is that the kid then after the jump over the hurdle stands still for a second or two before they have to hit the ball or move into a new direction and we don’t see any stimuli.
2) A jumping rope
Creating a rhythm when you jump. Challenge yourself on speed with hands and feet and adjust your stance. Every time the rope is underneath your feet you need to go up. Naturally what the jumping rope teaches us is to have a wide base, so there are a lot of good natural side effects of using the jumping rope for tennis players.
3) Music
Tennis is a rhythmical sport. It’s not about the music itself, but about the rhythm and the beats.
4) On court feeding
Have the player serve, you sit in front of them on the court and you feed a ball to either side. The purpose is to minimize the time between the serve and the first shot.
5) Use video
Film players doing the split step or get them to watch video of some of the top players performing the split step and let them try to imitate the pro’s.
A final note is that we shouldn’t as coaches think that the split step will just happen and the players will learn it by themselves.
Want to listen to the full episode with Dario Novak? 👇🏻
🎧 https://bit.ly/dNovak