The ready position is the athletic stance you hold between shots, and the split step is the small hop you make from it as your opponent hits. In a lab study, tennis players reached a target faster with a split step than without one, as long as they didn't land too early. This is footwork, so the app reads your body movement and timing, not the incoming ball.
Athletic ready position
Stand facing the net with your feet about shoulder-width apart or a little wider, knees slightly bent and weight leaning forward onto the balls of your feet.
balanced and springy, not sitting back on your heels.
Hold the racket up and in front of your body, centred so you can turn to either side.
the racket is already up, not hanging by your leg.
Split-step hop
As your opponent swings forward to hit, make a small hop off both feet. Keep it low: the point is to get your legs loaded, not to jump high.
a quick, light bounce, like a skipping-rope hop.
Land on the balls of both feet, a little wider than shoulder-width, with your knees bent and your weight even.
your legs compress like a spring as you touch down.
Time the landing
Leave the ground around the moment your opponent hits, and land just after, once the ball has started its flight. On serve returns, world-class players took off within a few hundredths of a second of the serve contact and landed about 0.15 seconds after it.
you're landing as you see which way the ball is going.
As you land, turn your shoulders and racket together toward the ball's side and push off toward it.
the landing and the first step blend into one move.
After your shot, recover toward a good court position and get back into the ready position before your opponent's next hit.
every shot ends with you set again, not watching your ball.
Feel it
Light, loaded feet that let you push off in any direction. The timing is the skill: you should still be in the air, or just landing, as the ball leaves your opponent's racket. Landing early and standing flat-footed wastes the spring. In the lab study, landing too early made steps quick but less accurate. Split step before every opponent shot, in rallies, on returns and at the net.
Fix-its
- No split step: you're flat-footed and late Make a small hop every time your opponent swings. Say "split" out loud as they hit until it becomes a habit.
- You land too early Start the hop later, around your opponent's contact, so you land after the ball is struck and can see its direction.
- You jump too high Keep it a small hop. You want loaded legs on landing, not height.
- Your feet land too narrow Land a little wider than shoulder-width so you can push off sideways.
- You stand tall between shots Recover to the ready position after every shot: knees slightly bent, weight forward, racket in front.
Drill
- Shadow split steps: from the ready position, hop and land wide on a partner's clap or count, then take one push-off step left or right. Keep the hop small.
- Direction call: a partner stands across from you and swings a racket, then points left or right after the swing. Land your split as they point and push off that way.
- Split-and-volley: stand at the net while a partner on the service line drop-hits balls to you. Split step as they hit, then volley. Switch roles after six balls.
- Rally and split on every single ball until you don't have to think about it.
Sources
- Mecheri, Laffaye, Triolet et al. — Relationship between split-step timing and leg stiffness in world-class tennis players when returning fast serves, J Sports Sci (2019, accepted manuscript)
- Uzu, Shinya & Oda — A split-step shortens the time to perform a choice reaction step-and-reach movement in a simulated tennis task, J Sports Sci (2009)
- USTA — Warrior Tennis Curriculum (2018)
- USTA — Tennis 101 for Adults (2018)
- Randy Reynolds, Tennis Nation — Ultimate Tennis Footwork Guide (2021)
Last checked 2026-10-25.