INTRODUCTION: The efficiency of the split step is usually observed and taught from the aspect of force production. But without the acknowledgment of the hitter`s stroke intention, split step is performed as a neutral preparatory vertical jump with the body weight equally distributed and without lateral preference. Due to the high spatiotemporal demands of the tennis game, expert tennis players tend to decide of the movement direction and intensity while still being above the ground (Uzu et al., 2009). The decision of how the body weight will be distributed at the time of the landing presents the crucial decision for the split step efficiency at the landing sequence (Melvill-Jones & Watt 1971; Lees 1981; McNitt-Gray 1993) METHODS: We observed the split step performance of two expert players, Federer and Djokovic, at the Wimbledon finals match. The speed of play should be highest on grass (ODonoghue & Ingram, 2001) demanding the most efficient movement responses. Expert performance observed in situ should provide the most relevant information of the essential behavior needed for the performance to be successful (Ford et al., 2009). Guided by the Mecheri et al. (2019), we observed receiver`s split step from the two phases, dependable on the hitters stroke movement: 1. Split-step take-off (air phase) when receiver`s foot in contact with the court left the ground initiating the split-step; 2. Split step landing phase when the receiver`s foot touched the ground and lateral step as the directional movement is initiated. To create intensified lateral step (pivot), experts tend to supinate ankle joints (inwards) during the air phase enabling more explosive pronation (outwards) during the landing. By pivoting the leading foot towards the ball direction, players initiate rotations of the whole unit of the body (toe-knee-hip-shoulder) towards the impact zone (Vaverka et al., 2003). Obviously, if the receiver has intention of intensifying the lateral movement when landing, the decision of supination made at the pre-contact phase of the stroke should be based on the perception of the hitter`s movement at the stroke set-up phase, or even before. Therefore, the SUP movement should be considered as crucial aspect of the anticipatory movement competency of the expert tennis players with decision of its execution made based on the observation and prediction RESULTS: Our expectation was that the supination to pronation (SUP) sequence is the most frequent pattern in the anticipatory split step response. The sequence timely relates to the receiver`s air phase (decision about the response) and hitter`s pre-contact movement. Our data show that efficiency of the responsive decisions made at the air phase (accuracy of the SUP split step pattern) could be of highest importance for the outcome of expert`s performance CONCLUSION: Training split step from the decision-making perspective should improve movement competency of tennis players, speeding up the reaction time by observing the game context and its dynamics.
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