Drop shots and lobs in recreational tennis.

Steady Eddy · Jun 3, 2021

In tennis literature I read things like, "the drop shot is a low percentage shot", that depends a lot on what level you're playing. At lower levels it's a high percentage shot because most low level players lack mobility, especially when it comes to moving forward. They just like to move side-to-side.

The same thing is true for lobs. They are slow to move back also, and with a lob, even if they get to it, it doesn't matter because they can't smash, (they NEVER practice it).

At higher levels the SOP for a short ball is to hit an approach shot, and then volley the return. I think a better strategy is to drop it over the net for an outright winner.

For your basic rally shot, just moonball. If you play like this you can beat most people without even exerting yourself.

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 3, 2021

Steady Eddy said:
In tennis literature I read things like, "the drop shot is a low percentage shot", that depends a lot on what level you're playing. At lower levels it's a high percentage shot because most low level players lack mobility, especially when it comes to moving forward. They just like to move side-to-side.

However, lower level players lack the touch so their DSs could very well end up into the net or becoming a sitter in the mid-court.

The same thing is true for lobs. They are slow to move back also, and with a lob, even if they get to it, it doesn't matter because they can't smash, (they NEVER practice it).

That presumes the players come up to the net. Unless you DSd them, many lower level players avoid the net. But I agree that the OH is rarely practiced.

At higher levels the SOP for a short ball is to hit an approach shot, and then volley the return. I think a better strategy is to drop it over the net for an outright winner.

Not an easy shot: it takes even more finesse to DS as you're moving forward because you have to subtract your forward momentum from your shot.

For your basic rally shot, just moonball. If you play like this you can beat most people without even exerting yourself.

Have at it.

zaph · Jun 4, 2021

You don't even need a true drop shot, a short slice will nearly always do the trick and it is an easier shot. Rec players are bad with short low balls.

As for the lob, a serve volleyers want told me, can't smash can't come to the net. People will complain endlessly about lobs and it not being real tennis. When the reason they face constant lobs is they can't be bothered to practice their overheads.

toth · Jun 4, 2021

I am clumsy for dropshots.
I would like to be better, but it is not easy to practise it for me.

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 4, 2021

toth said:
I am clumsy for dropshots.
I would like to be better, but it is not easy to practise it for me.

What makes it difficult to practice? You don't need a hitting partner: you can drop feed [although not ideal because the feed lacks the spin that an opponent's shot would have and this makes a big difference] or hit against the wall [truer spin but you don't get to see how high the DS bounced or how far into the court it moved].

toth · Jun 4, 2021

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
What makes it difficult to practice? You don't need a hitting partner: you can drop feed [although not ideal because the feed lacks the spin that an opponent's shot would have and this makes a big difference] or hit against the wall [truer spin but you don't get to see how high the DS bounced or how far into the court it moved].

I dont like drop feeding
Wall practise can be more useful, i aim to practise it at the wall
In Middle-Europe there are not walls at all tennis courts.

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 4, 2021

toth said:
I dont like drop feeding
Wall practise can be more useful, i aim to practise it at the wall
In Middle-Europe there are not walls at all tennis courts.

Drop feeding is not my preference either because of the spin issue I mentioned. However, it's a lot better than nothing.

ChaelAZ · Jun 4, 2021

Steady Eddy said:
In tennis literature I read things like, "the drop shot is a low percentage shot", that depends a lot on what level you're playing. At lower levels it's a high percentage shot because most low level players lack mobility, especially when it comes to moving forward. They just like to move side-to-side.

Agree. I use it a lot in play and it pays dividends either immediately because many struggle with movement forward and back, or in the long term in just overall fitness and exertion if they have to run a lot. Overall, the first exploit I always try is short balls and drop shots, which at my lower level seem to work more often than not, both in being able to do it and percentage of points won using it.

The same thing is true for lobs. They are slow to move back also, and with a lob, even if they get to it, it doesn't matter because they can't smash, (they NEVER practice it).

Agree. Where drop shots expose fitness and movement issues, lobs expose technique issues. Many people can't hit overheads well, and certainly lack the patience to properly adjust and wait to hit a lab ball dropping. The lack of pace is truly a HUGE mental game for pace players, and the concepts of "not real tennis" was born from lobs.

At higher levels the SOP for a short ball is to hit an approach shot, and then volley the return. I think a better strategy is to drop it over the net for an outright winner.

I use a drop for a few reasons. Yeah, it can be an outright winner and that is kinda the goal, but if you use it with someone who has good movement and fitness, it is also to extract a return they have to pop-up and you can easily put away. I try this in dubs a lot because you have someone on the net to close. Singles it can work, but not as readily I find.

For your basic rally shot, just moonball. If you play like this you can beat most people without even exerting yourself.

Moonballing has more margin and is a higher percentage tactic for sure, and then exploits the most common technique issue and mental issue. We specifically played a dubs team for practice the other who moonball constantly to get ready for some playoffs. We lost in some close sets, but I was happy how well we were able to handle the pace and style of play.

Dartagnan64 · Jun 4, 2021

All tennis shots have a time and place. Practice them and use them. I don't understand people that won't try to improve every type of tennis shot. It would be like a golfer not learning how to hit out of the sand or hit a 3/4 pitch. Yeah you may only need to do that 3-4 times a round, but you should have that in your tool box of you want to consider yourself a golfer.

So you should practice lobs, drop shots, overheads, volleys. But I see guys that only practice groundstrokes and serves and think they are complete tennis players. I watch the high performance juniors practice and they all spend time hitting the touch shots at some point in their practice sessions.

Ans watching a lot of pro tennis, the drop shot has become a substantial weapon to beat the power baseliners of the world. You especially see it in the women's game where foot speed is a bit slower. That would totally translate to the 40+ mens rec game.

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 4, 2021

Dartagnan64 said:
All tennis shots have a time and place. Practice them and use them. I don't understand people that won't try to improve every type of tennis shot. It would be like a golfer not learning how to hit out of the sand or hit a 3/4 pitch. Yeah you may only need to do that 3-4 times a round, but you should have that in your tool box of you want to consider yourself a golfer.

Most rec players don't practice. The few that do don't practice that much. Time is limited: should I divide a precious resource equally among shots or should I prioritize? An extreme example would be triage.

So you should practice lobs, drop shots, overheads, volleys. But I see guys that only practice groundstrokes and serves and think they are complete tennis players. I watch the high performance juniors practice and they all spend time hitting the touch shots at some point in their practice sessions.

What if you spend the vast majority of your time on the BL? Wouldn't it be a better use of my time to work on serves, returns, and GSs instead?

I'm not arguing not to work on improving, just that reality poses constraints that I have to recognize.

Ans watching a lot of pro tennis, the drop shot has become a substantial weapon to beat the power baseliners of the world. You especially see it in the women's game where foot speed is a bit slower. That would totally translate to the 40+ mens rec game.

Are you saying that a typical 40+ rec male is as fast as WTA?

Dartagnan64 · Jun 4, 2021

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
Most rec players don't practice. The few that do don't practice that much. Time is limited: should I divide a precious resource equally among shots or should I prioritize? An extreme example would be triage.

What if you spend the vast majority of your time on the BL? Wouldn't it be a better use of my time to work on serves, returns, and GSs instead?

I'm not arguing not to work on improving, just that reality poses constraints that I have to recognize.

Are you saying that a typical 40+ rec male is as fast as WTA?

1) I see lots of rec players that only practice at my club. I don't think I've ever seen them play an actual match. And each and everyone is just hitting from the baseline. Lots of people go out for a "hit" and don't play points. They still all just hit from the baseline.

2) If you spend all your time at the baseline and only practice that, how do you deal with the guy that throws the drop shot - lob combo at you? I'm not suggesting you need to achieve mastery at all tennis strokes but you should have competence. Unless you can serve so well that you never have to hit another shot. Then just do that.

3) Many power baseliners in the women's game are not fast. Pliskova, Muguruzu, Kvitova, Williams. What I'm saying is I think most 30 year old male tennis players would be faster.

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 4, 2021

Dartagnan64 said:
1) I see lots of rec players that only practice at my club. I don't think I've ever seen them play an actual match. And each and everyone is just hitting from the baseline. Lots of people go out for a "hit" and don't play points. They still all just hit from the baseline.

Are they practicing [ie doing targeted drills] or just hitting?

I was referring to practice.

2) If you spend all your time at the baseline and only practice that, how do you deal with the guy that throws the drop shot - lob combo at you? I'm not suggesting you need to achieve mastery at all tennis strokes but you should have competence. Unless you can serve so well that you never have to hit another shot. Then just do that.

It boils down to how you want to spend your time. I used to be in the "balanced" camp and wanted to work more on shoring up weaknesses. I've changed my approach and am emphasizing more my strengths. Yes, if my opponents can isolate my weaknesses and hammer them, I'm screwed. But being a jack of all trades but a master of none can be problematic also.

3) Many power baseliners in the women's game are not fast. Pliskova, Muguruzu, Kvitova, Williams. What I'm saying is I think most 30 year old male tennis players would be faster.

You originally said 40+. OK, 30 is a different ball game but there are still young'uns that are out of shape and/or not that athletic. And comparing them to the slower women is cherry-picking. Osaka, Swiatek, Sabalenka, Andreescu, et. al. are power BLers too and aren't slow.

Also, a power BLer is hitting shots against which it's difficult to execute a good DS. If that was the key to beating Serena, she wouldn't have won 23 slams.

Dartagnan64 · Jun 4, 2021

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
Are they practicing [ie doing targeted drills] or just hitting?

I was referring to practice.

Anything that is not a match is practice.
Your body will learn something from just hitting even if you don't call it practice.\

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
You originally said 40+. OK, 30 is a different ball game but there are still young'uns that are out of shape and/or not that athletic. And comparing them to the slower women is cherry-picking. Osaka, Swiatek, Sabalenka, Andreescu, et. al. are power BLers too and aren't slow.

I said 40+ because 30+ seemed too low since most guys in their 30's are still close to their peak speed.

I think at 30 I could have beat all those other WTA baseliners in a foot race too. At 56, not so much.

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
It boils down to how you want to spend your time. I used to be in the "balanced" camp and wanted to work more on shoring up weaknesses. I've changed my approach and am emphasizing more my strengths. Yes, if my opponents can isolate my weaknesses and hammer them, I'm screwed. But being a jack of all trades but a master of none can be problematic also.

I'm not sure anyone's time is so limited they can't be a "jack of all trades and master of some". If you merely spent 5 -10 min before your hour long baseline hitting session drilling some volleys, half volleys overheads and lobs, you'd become competent reasonably fast. Then you can spend the rest of the time mastering your strengths.

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 4, 2021

Dartagnan64 said:
Anything that is not a match is practice.
Your body will learn something from just hitting even if you don't call it practice.\

If I want to learn a new skill, hone an existing one, or tweak something, I wouldn't waste time trying to accomplish it with "just hitting": I would design a drill to target that one specific thing. Could I accomplish what I want by just hitting? I'm not even sure I could but if I did, it would be way less efficient and take a lot longer.

I don't think your clubmates are practicing in the way I defined it. I think they just like smacking the ball around.

I'm not sure anyone's time is so limited they can't be a "jack of all trades and master of some". If you merely spent 5 -10 min before your hour long baseline hitting session drilling some volleys, half volleys overheads and lobs, you'd become competent reasonably fast. Then you can spend the rest of the time mastering your strengths.

I guess it's hypothetical since so few people [want to] do it: most people don't enjoy practicing something they aren't good at which is why they don't practice it.

socallefty · Jun 4, 2021

There are two common categories of adult rec players and one very rare one.

1. Those who only play matches. The most common type.
2. Those who only hit with friends or do group drills. They are not practicing to get better for matches as this is the only form of tennis they play. 2nd most common type and usually these are people who hate to lose so much that they don’t want to compete in any matches. They also haven’t hit a serve or return in ten years typically as all their rallying is off drop feeds. 95% of the time, they are doing aimless hitting from the baseline.
3. The extremely rare adult player who practices focused drills or takes lessons to get better, improve weaknesses, further buttress their strengths with the purpose to win matches more frequently. This species which does practice and plays matches weekly is almost extinct over the age or 40 or if he/she has been playing adult rec tennis for more than 5 years. This is likely the only kind of player who will work on all kinds of different shots in focused practice including finesse shots.

vex · Jun 4, 2021

Steady Eddy said:
In tennis literature I read things like, "the drop shot is a low percentage shot", that depends a lot on what level you're playing. At lower levels it's a high percentage shot because most low level players lack mobility, especially when it comes to moving forward. They just like to move side-to-side.

The same thing is true for lobs. They are slow to move back also, and with a lob, even if they get to it, it doesn't matter because they can't smash, (they NEVER practice it).

At higher levels the SOP for a short ball is to hit an approach shot, and then volley the return. I think a better strategy is to drop it over the net for an outright winner.

For your basic rally shot, just moonball. If you play like this you can beat most people without even exerting yourself.

Couple thoughts:
- Consistently hitting outright winners with a dropshot against a player with even average athleticism requires incredible technique. Good players will get to it and lob/pass you if you don’t disguise it AND place it. Not easy. Dropshots from deeper in the court are generally a terrible idea unless you’re Novak Djokovic.
- you aren’t wrong that dropshots, lobs and moon balls are particularly effective in rec tennis. The problem is the moon balls and lobs turn into weak shots against decent players and if those are the only tools you develop you’ll hit a ceiling where they aren’t helping you and you’ll be forced back to the drawing board to develop your offense. That said, accurate moon balls to backhands pretty much never become ineffective!

vex · Jun 4, 2021

ChaelAZ said:
Agree. I use it a lot in play and it pays dividends either immediately because many struggle with movement forward and back, or in the long term in just overall fitness and exertion if they have to run a lot. Overall, the first exploit I always try is short balls and drop shots, which at my lower level seem to work more often than not, both in being able to do it and percentage of points won using it.

Agree. Where drop shots expose fitness and movement issues, lobs expose technique issues. Many people can't hit overheads well, and certainly lack the patience to properly adjust and wait to hit a lab ball dropping. The lack of pace is truly a HUGE mental game for pace players, and the concepts of "not real tennis" was born from lobs.

I use a drop for a few reasons. Yeah, it can be an outright winner and that is kinda the goal, but if you use it with someone who has good movement and fitness, it is also to extract a return they have to pop-up and you can easily put away. I try this in dubs a lot because you have someone on the net to close. Singles it can work, but not as readily I find.

Moonballing has more margin and is a higher percentage tactic for sure, and then exploits the most common technique issue and mental issue. We specifically played a dubs team for practice the other who moonball constantly to get ready for some playoffs. We lost in some close sets, but I was happy how well we were able to handle the pace and style of play.

My dubs partner and I have been playing a team whose number 1 weapon is the deep moonball. We finally reached a point where our overheads forced them to stop moonballing but it took ALOT of work learning to hit mid-court overheads worth a dammn.

Steady Eddy · Jun 5, 2021

vex said:
Couple thoughts:
- Consistently hitting outright winners with a dropshot against a player with even average athleticism requires incredible technique. Good players will get to it and lob/pass you if you don’t disguise it AND place it. Not easy. Dropshots from deeper in the court are generally a terrible idea unless you’re Novak Djokovic.
- you aren’t wrong that dropshots, lobs and moon balls are particularly effective in rec tennis. The problem is the moon balls and lobs turn into weak shots against decent players and if those are the only tools you develop you’ll hit a ceiling where they aren’t helping you and you’ll be forced back to the drawing board to develop your offense. That said, accurate moon balls to backhands pretty much never become ineffective!

Yep. I'm talking about rec. tennis, the kind of tennis that 98% of "players" play. It's a very different game than good tennis, and the techniques are opposite one another. For example, if you work on hitting topspin drives, that makes life easy for your opponent. The ball bounces nice and high. Slice or sidespin will give your opponent fits, though. If you try to fire a passing shot by them, all they have to do is stick their racquet on it, and they can use your pace against you. Float the ball, and see if they can generate their own pace.

I've noticed that many rallies end with the ball bouncing twice. No dropshot, just a ball hit a little short. I'm using the word "dropshot", but really it's just a dink shot. If I get a short ball, I just 'dink' it over the net, and usually they don't even try for it.

In high level tennis they don't hit many short balls, so the player has to attempt the dropshot from behind the baseline. In rec. tennis, you don't have wait long for a short ball. Also, in rec. tennis, whoever gets to the net is at a DISADVANTAGE. You want your opponent at the net, that's where they're the most vulnerable. So if you get a short ball, and hit an approach shot, you'll probably get lobbed and lose. Instead, just dink it over the net and usually you'll win!

P.S. If you've been invited to play Davis Cup or a college scholarship, this doesn't apply to you, But it does apply to the rest of us.

GuyClinch · Jun 5, 2021

Rec players time is limited.

So time spent working on drop shots and lobs is not being used on serves and returns. Which shots actually matter more to win matches - serve and return. If you go through a match - hit solid first and a good second serve - and hit solid returns on every single serve.. I'd be shocked if you didn't win that match.

Like a lot of rec players - I am plenty happy with my drop shot and lobs. It's the serves and returns I would like to improve.. Sure there is a time and place for all shots. But you only live once - you have to spend the majority of practice on what works for you.

Dartagnan64 · Jun 5, 2021

GuyClinch said:
Rec players time is limited.

So time spent working on drop shots and lobs is not being used on serves and returns. Which shots actually matter more to win matches - serve and return. If you go through a match - hit solid first and a good second serve - and hit solid returns on every single serve.. I'd be shocked if you didn't win that match.

Like a lot of rec players - I am plenty happy with my drop shot and lobs. It's the serves and returns I would like to improve.. Sure there is a time and place for all shots. But you only live once - you have to spend the majority of practice on what works for you.

Limited? Really? A rec player has his whole life to work on tennis. A tennis pro's time is limited. They have to achieve mastery by young adulthood.

The rest of us schmoes have all the time in the world. Likely we hit our ceiling on serve and return practice pretty much within the first 10 years of play. What are we going to do the next 10 years? Might as well learn drop shots and lobs since you are going to use them as you transition to more doubles play.

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
I guess it's hypothetical since so few people [want to] do it: most people don't enjoy practicing something they aren't good at which is why they don't practice it.

I guess everyone is different. I'm the guy that wants to fix things that are broken not avoid them and hope they go away. So if I'm struggling with a part of my game, I'll spend time working on it so it's at least competent for my tennis group. Fortunately I have a spouse that's happy to hit with me and help me work on things other people hate to work on.

And in the words of the great Jolly, "You practice overheads so you don't have to hit them." People will find what you are good at and what you aren't. The way to avoid having to play shots you don't like is to make them competent enough that the opponent doesn't know you don't like them.

GuyClinch · Jun 5, 2021

Dartagnan64 said:
Limited? Really? A rec player has his whole life to work on tennis. A tennis pro's time is limited. They have to achieve mastery by young adulthood.

The rest of us schmoes have all the time in the world. Likely we hit our ceiling on serve and return practice pretty much within the first 10 years of play. What are we going to do the next 10 years? Might as well learn drop shots and lobs since you are going to use them as you transition to more doubles play.

I dunno some of us have jobs and such bro. All the time in the world.. Normal people don't have unlimited time for a hobby. Pros are getting paid to play - so they dedicate everything to being better at tennis. Amateurs are playing a few hours a week so they are best spent working on the basics. But hey if you want to spend all your time practicing drop shots - go for it..

ZanderGoga · Jun 6, 2021

GuyClinch said:
I dunno some of us have jobs and such bro. All the time in the world.. Normal people don't have unlimited time for a hobby. Pros are getting paid to play - so they dedicate everything to being better at tennis. Amateurs are playing a few hours a week so they are best spent working on the basics. But hey if you want to spend all your time practicing drop shots - go for it..

There is nothing in the world wrong with organizing your life such that you only have a few hours a week to spend on tennis. Hell, it's probably a more productive lifestyle than one dedicated to improvement.

But a few hours a week gives you time for maybe a couple sets and a quick hit-around. Or to practice a little bit, and then not use what you've practiced at all. It's utterly unproductive in the pursuit of any meaningful goal.

If that's the style of life one chooses to live, kudos. I hope the time you've spent not playing and practicing has left you fulfilled beyond your wildest dreams in the arenas you've devoted your time to.

But if that's the way you've chosen to divvy up your time on a weekly basis, you're wasting precious hours practicing or in here pretending to learn the game and improve at it. Tennis, like virtually every other real-life, non-fantasy endeavor, demands great swaths of honest time and dedication to see genuine improvement. Get rich quick schemes are for schmucks, and only exist to enrich the peddler. Either be happy living the life of the ball bunter or prepare to dedicate significantly more time than a few hours a week to improvement. Neither is a wrong choice. Lots of people find happiness in ball bunting and using tennis primarily as a social vehicle.

The only way to really go wrong is to have a burning aspiration to improve, but then not decide to dedicate the time necessary. That way lies disappointment and hopelessness.

toth · Jun 7, 2021

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
Drop feeding is not my preference either because of the spin issue I mentioned. However, it's a lot better than nothing.

My main problem with dropshot is, that it is advised in such situations, where i am in a good position anyway, and i win the most points anyway: short and not low incoming balls. In case of short and low incoming ball - where i am much more vulnerable and would like to have more opcio - the dropshot opcio is NOT ADVICED on the Net.

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 7, 2021

toth said:
My main problem with dropshot is, that it is advised in such situations, where i am in a good position anyway, and i win the most points anyway: short and not low incoming balls. In case of short and low incoming ball - where i am much more vulnerable and would like to have more opcio - the dropshot opcio is NOT ADVICED on the Net.

Probably for sound reasons, though?

toth · Jun 7, 2021

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
Probably for sound reasons, though?

Of course
But i dont need dropshot opcio for short comfortable incoming balls...

HBK4life · Jun 8, 2021

If I come across someone that isn’t in great shape the drop shot is going to be used a lot. Even if I don’t win the point they start to add up. A lot of younger guys stand far behind the baseline looking to crank FHs so it is useful there as well.

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 8, 2021

Dartagnan64 said:
I think at 30 I could have beat all those other WTA baseliners in a foot race too. At 56, not so much.

It just occurred to me that a foot race is not a good test because it measures speed. I'm more interested in quickness [acceleration]. A pro will have better recognition of the short ball and start moving sooner than a rec male so while you may win the 100m race, you might get smoked getting to the short ball.

Steady Eddy · Jun 8, 2021

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
It just occurred to me that a foot race is not a good test because it measures speed. I'm more interested in quickness [acceleration]. A pro will have better recognition of the short ball and start moving sooner than a rec male so while you may win the 100m race, you might get smoked getting to the short ball.

Yeah, you don't really run in tennis. Instead, you make quick steps. You need to recover and get back to the center. If you're all out sprinting, your momentum will take you way out of position.

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 8, 2021

Steady Eddy said:
Yeah, you don't really run in tennis. Instead, you make quick steps. You need to recover and get back to the center. If you're all out sprinting, your momentum will take you way out of position.

Sometimes sprinting is the only choice. Better than not reaching the ball. Sure you're out of position but you might get lucky.

Steady Eddy · Jun 8, 2021

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
Sometimes sprinting is the only choice. Better than not reaching the ball. Sure you're out of position but you might get lucky.

Yes. There is that exception. In singles, if they get it back you're pretty much screwed. In doubles, your partner is supposed to cover the court as you just made a valiant effort to stay alive. Usually though, their on "their side" so all the opposition has to do is block it into the open court.

I have a problem with doubles players who think, "my side, your side", and no "our side".

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 8, 2021

Steady Eddy said:
Yes. There is that exception. In singles, if they get it back you're pretty much screwed. In doubles, your partner is supposed to cover the court as you just made a valiant effort to stay alive. Usually though, their on "their side" so all the opposition has to do is block it into the open court.

I have a problem with doubles players who think, "my side, your side", and no "our side".

They are doubles players only in name; what they're really playing is singles with 2 people per side rather than 1. The team concept hasn't yet sunk in.

LOBALOT · Jun 8, 2021

A few years back I had an amazing singles player on one of my teams who had great hands. He was a one trick pony which was drop shot, lob, drop shot, lob, drop shot, lob, drop shot, lob, drop shot, lob. I have never seen anyone execute it like he did.

We made it to the district finals that year on a hot late summer day and I was watching his match.

He won the first set 6-0. After winning the first game of the second set his opponent walked up to the net and said "I am not doing this any more".

His opponent walked to the parking lot, got in his car, and drove off. He didn't even report his score.

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 8, 2021

LOBALOT said:
He was a one trick pony which was drop shot, lob, drop shot, lob, drop shot, lob, drop shot, lob, drop shot, lob.

Wouldn't that make him a "Two Trick Pony"?

LOBALOT · Jun 8, 2021

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
Wouldn't that make him a "Two Trick Pony"?

Exactly! It was the funniest thing to watch. Imagine a bunch of the goofballs (including me) on our team watching the match and trying to stop chuckling...

S&V-not_dead_yet · Jun 8, 2021

LOBALOT said:
Exactly! It was the funniest thing to watch. Imagine a bunch of the goofballs (including me) on our team watching the match and trying to stop chuckling...

It would have been even better if you added sound effects: "oooh" for every DS and "aaah" for every lob.

Fintft · Jun 8, 2021

Dartagnan64 said:
2) If you spend all your time at the baseline and only practice that, how do you deal with the guy that throws the drop shot - lob combo at you? I'm not suggesting you need to achieve mastery at all tennis strokes but you should have competence.

It still happens, in those....BL rallies you mention, so one has to try to chase all the balls and come to the net to finish points etc.

Cashman · Jun 9, 2021

Steady Eddy said:
In tennis literature I read things like, "the drop shot is a low percentage shot", that depends a lot on what level you're playing.

I would say it depends more on where in the court you are hitting it from

In my experience rec players mostly resort to the drop shot because they get into a long point with someone they can’t hit through, panic and try and end it. This means they are often hitting the dropper from a neutral or defensive position on or behind the baseline - which inevitably ends badly.

A high percentage drop shot is hit from an attacking position well inside the court. But then, if you’re in a dominant court position it’s arguable you usually have better options.

The only droppers I tend to hit are drop volleys - I would rather kill short balls, or knife them deep for a net approach.

toth · Jun 10, 2021

HBK4life said:
If I come across someone that isn’t in great shape the drop shot is going to be used a lot. Even if I don’t win the point they start to add up. A lot of younger guys stand far behind the baseline looking to crank FHs so it is useful there as well.

But usually the player who is not in good shape plays not behind a baseline and who plays ways behind the baseline is very quick and fit.

Drop shots and lobs in recreational tennis.

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