Late Split Step

This is the mirror image of going early. Instead of touching down too soon, the player jumps and lands after the opponent has already made contact. The spring-loaded landing arrives too late to help. In the worst cases, the player is still in the air when the ball is already traveling toward them. That forces a delayed, off-balance first step once they finally do land. Even a small delay erodes the entire purpose of the movement, which is to have the legs loaded at the precise instant information becomes available.

The cause is usually watching the ball rather than the opponent's racquet and body. The player waits to see where the ball is going before starting the hop. The hop should instead trigger off the swing, so the landing coincides with contact. Fatigue also contributes, since a tired player's hop-and-land cycle slows down without them noticing. As with going early, the fix is training the eyes to trigger off the opponent's racquet motion. The player then lands precisely as contact occurs, not once the ball is already visible in flight.