Differences in visual search behavior between expert and novice individual sports athletes: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT: This systematic review and meta-analysis examined expert-novice differences in visual search behaviour in individual-sport athletes, addressing a gap in a literature that has focused primarily on team sports. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we searched EBSCO, PubMed, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases up to November 1, 2025, identifying 26 eligible studies (total N = 611 athletes). Key outcomes included chronological age, years of practice, number of fixations, fixation duration, number of fixation locations, fixation positions, and quiet eye duration. Meta-analyses were conducted using standardized mean differences (SMD) with random-effects models in Review Manager 5.4. Experts had significantly more years of practice than novices (SMD = 3.45, 95% CI 1.82-5.08, p < 0.0001; very large effect).Compared with novices, experts showed fewer fixations (SMD = -1.52, 95% CI -2.38 to -0.65, p = 0.0006; very large effect), longer fixation durations (SMD = 0.93, 95% CI 0.44-1.41, p = 0.0002; large effect), and fewer distinct fixation locations (SMD = -1.27, 95% CI -2.26 to -0.28, p = 0.01; very large effect).Subgroup analyses by sport type showed no significant moderating effects. Visual search strategies are highly task-specific. Combat experts prioritize central body regions to optimize peripheral vision, whereas badminton and tennis experts focus on distal cues (e.g., arm and racket) and kinematic information (e.g., trunk and hips), respectively. These variations reflect selective processing of key perceptual cues under unique sporting constraints. Risk of bias, assessed using RoBANS, indicated moderate concerns in confounding variables. Overall, these findings suggest that experts employ more efficient visual search strategies, supporting the development of perceptual-cognitive training interventions in individual sports.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261280358, identifier CRD420261280358.