drop shot fiends - share your tips!

Ross K

Legend
Calling all you dropper fiends!... you with the Andy Murray-like habit of mixing up your game with a regular percentage of lethal droppers!... you who can impart a quite evil Santoro-like side and backswing to leave your opponent swinging and missing quite oafishly!... Er... care to share some very good tips with us who perhaps haven't got such a natural flare and feel for the sacred art of 'releasing the dropper'?!

Cheers good ppl!

R.
 

Ballinbob

Hall of Fame
was going to make a thread like this but you beat me to it. I'm a counter puncher with really steady strokes, and I find that bringing other baseliners to the net and passing them works really well.

Unfortunately my drop shots arent that great, but hopefully this thread will help
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Watch ball. Step in like a groundie. High to low backswing. Hit it square.
Best to go over lower middle, but depends how good your opponent can low volley.
Be ready to move forwards to counter his drop, and keep in mind where his backhand overhead is, so you have that lob in your mind.
 

Ballinbob

Hall of Fame
leed, i'm going to be using the drop shot off my backhand side 99.9% of the time.

I know how to hit a slice backhand, but how does a drop shot motion differ from a slice backhand? Is the follow through different, swing path different, do you swing really softly or hard...?or is at the same but swing softer maybe?

I really need to be able to hit this shot by now. Drop shots are underrated and they can really be used as something to hurt your opponent if you do it right.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Since I prep high on my SW forehand, I use the drop off both sides, mostly over the lowest middle of the court, with lots of backspin.
Best used when your opponent stands back from your topspin deep shots.
Steep high to low, hit solid but brush the ball with backspin.
Alway be aware your backup shot after your opponent fetchs deep back towards your baseline, the lob over his backhand side, best with top, of course.
You're not necessarily trying to win the point outright, but to make him run, fetch, and get tired (mentally more than physically).
I'd do it when I'm just inside the baseline, never farther back, as it takes time to get over the net, and men's tennis, they get there most times.
 
also if your bad just hit them from closer to the net and don't go for to much. i use mine as a shot to bring weak volleys in and nothing else
 

halalula1234

Professional
i did practice this unique one. Its when u pretend u're smashing the ball when its in the service box but i just tap it above my head and the ball just drops into my opponents service box. I stopped doing that cus it looks sily.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Err.....
I think Bob wants a real drop shot that can be used in tournament play against other 4.5 and above players....top high school levels and beyond.
Of course high to low underspin motion. Make it land between net and service line and clear the net by 2-3' for margin of error. You opponent WILL get it back if it's deeper than half way to the service line. So plan for your NEXT shot, which should be your choosing, since you KNOW he'll be crowding the net after digging up your drop shot.
My second year in tennis, I'd often play doubles with one ArtLarsen (like GrandSlamChamp in the '50's guy). When playing for fun, off a short groundie, he could spin the ball back onto his own court, making for a tough retrieve for the opponent.
Now he was an old fart by the time I got to him (he was 51), but angled slices, drops, deep loopers, AmericanTwist serves was his game. He always used a backhandy continental grip for his drops, similar to what I preach for all overheads, serves first and second and twist.
He took me under his wing because I was also a lefty.
 

zacinnc78

Professional
i did practice this unique one. Its when u pretend u're smashing the ball when its in the service box but i just tap it above my head and the ball just drops into my opponents service box. I stopped doing that cus it looks sily.

lol i know whatcha mean but a point is a point and id rather make that shot then miss a proper overhead
 

SirBlend12

Semi-Pro
One of my favorite techniques is the dead volley. It's when you really, really loosen your grip when hitting a volley close to the net (almost like the ball would just knock it out of your hand... you sort of intentionally shank and let the racquet twist.) The result is a ball that at best goes 2 feet and bounces 6 inches. It's an instant point if your opponent isn't within 12 feet of the service line.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Problem with showboat stuff like that, and the vid of the guy deliberately missing his overhead to bounce the ball short for a winner at the followtru is......
You make the opponent MAD ! Not only questionable sportsmanship, but they hitch up their game to another level and beat the pants off you...not only on the court, but also by your car after the match !:shock::shock:
Hey, I play tennis in the ghetto sometimes for the competition, so I have to respect their hood!
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
SirBlend...
That's a perfect drop volley.
Problem is, it works on every point until it really counts, then you drop too short into your own court or the opposition knows it coming, rushs forward and crushes their forehand into your partners right hip.
 

SirBlend12

Semi-Pro
SirBlend...
That's a perfect drop volley.
Problem is, it works on every point until it really counts, then you drop too short into your own court or the opposition knows it coming, rushs forward and crushes their forehand into your partners right hip.

Very true. It can't be OVER used, but at the right moments, nothing stings more than it.

But I don't play dubs. I was basing things more around singles. Much harder pick up the drop when there's only one opponent to do it.:)
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
I actually employ the drop volley too often. I'm an old guy, most I play are over 25, so they're old too.
But if your're close to the net on a volley, you can just as easily push it deep into the open court, and admire your winner:):)
For sure, if you can volley, and you're close to the net, NO WAY can an opponent get into hitting position if you volley deep into the open court.
So, winner either way, just one is more flashy and fun...
 

ttbrowne

Hall of Fame
Drop shot volley: I will take my top two fingers off of the racket handle to get a softer touch.

Drop shot: I will take my racket back with a forehand grip. Then at the shoulder high position, I will flip my grip to an Eastern grip to get the drop shot.
You must do the flip with ONE hand. But you have to practice. I'm still practicing on it.
 

Ross K

Legend
V/interesting... thanks to everyone for replies.

BTW, anyone else got anything to say on 2 things from above that caught my eye courtesy of Lee and tt?

. Hitting the dropper square on to the ball

. Go to an Eastern grip for your dropper on the fh side

Cheers

R.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Even tho Roddick couldn't seem to win the many of the big points in his SF match against Federer at the AO, he did hit a sweet spiral-spin dropper on the sideline that Roger couldn't handle. The exaggerated spiral spin caused the ball to bounce off to the side (toward the alley) causing Fed to lunge & frame the ball.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
I'm an old fart and tend to dropshot more than most of you stronger, quicker, players....
Backhand drops from the baseline off defensive continental-slightly forehand grip. It' my hard slice, the one where the ball goes oval, I stand in to hit it, and people say it skids and makes noise.
Forehand drop almost always with continental volley grip, as it's what I use the most (like for serve and returns).
But SW forehand grip works great with open stance drops. That one you don't necessarily caress the ball, you actually chop at it short with huge backspin.
 

RoddickAce

Hall of Fame
Sometimes, when you're on the dead run retrieving a wide ball on the forehand side, a squash-shot drop shot can be very deadly. I use an eastern to extreme eastern backhand grip and just hit it with a violent wrist snap.
 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
leed, i'm going to be using the drop shot off my backhand side 99.9% of the time.

Good strategy if you play against a slow, immobile, 2.5
players. Someone that's the same level as you? Won't work.
Fed could do it against you, though, and win every single
point.
 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
tips? hmm.

when at the net:
- when you're stretched out wide, going crosscourt is
usually easier and requires less touch b/c you can hit it
harder.
- get as close to the net when executing the shot. In general
you should close the net anyways when volleying once you
know it isn't going to be a lob.
- against hard hit shots, let your racquet absorb the shot
to take off the pace and generate spin.

baseline dropshots:
- hit deep, forceful groundstrokes in regular rallies b/c this
pushes your opponent back so that you're dropshots
will be more effective.
- one higher backhands, if you are hitting a crosscourt
dropshot you can carve/hit the outside edge of the ball
to give it some side spin as well.
- when hitting down the line BH dropshots you can hit
a combo side spin& slice to make it spin away. opposite
spin of the crosscourt dropshot.
- on FH dropshots you can disguise it by switching you
grip in mid swing to continental. Or you can also use a
continental but sort of disguise it by pronating your
forearm on the takeback to hide your continental grip.

baseline dropshot (topspin):
- most people think of dropshots as only having slice or
underspin. sometimes on short balls, you can hit soft
topspin shot with a low trajectory. This shot works b/c
it gets to the 2nd bounce quickly. This can work on balls
that are short and don't have a lot of pace. The good
thing about this shot is that you don't need a grip change
and on these kind of balls your opponent is usually
expecting you to kill the ball for a winner (which is
probably still the percentage shot anyways).


advanced shots:
- on the FH baseline dropshot. take a huge cut and spin it
so that it arcs over the net kind of high and spins back
over the net to your side of the court. Just be aware that
in this case your opponent is allowed to reach over the
net to hit the ball and can actually hit it into your net.

super advanced shot:
- on an overhead or high volley, take a huge cut like
you're going to hit an overhead, but hit the ball with the
very top tip of the racquet so that you graze bottom of
the ball, imparting tons of spin and making the ball
drop over with tons of spin and possibly spin back over
the net. I've never actually done this on purpose.
One by accident.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Surprisingly, I hit more drop shots off my forehand than my backhand.
The reason.... Not only do I have a much more consistent backhand, so a drop is not needed as much, but my erratic forehand can be a devastatingly strong forcing shot, so I get more respect on that wing. Since I get more respect, my opponents aren't looking to attack my forehand, so they're mostly staying back and defending when they hit to that side. A drop works best when they don't expect it.
Try to drop off your STRONGER side, as opposed to your weaker side, they plan to move in anyways off your weaker shot!
Just basic strategy.
 

SeekHeart

Rookie
When I'm at the net and my opponent is behind the baseline, I fake a smash by missing the ball purposely and execute a drop volley instead.

When I'm at the baseline I go in to my rountine takeback for a groundie and then hit a drop shot with lots of shoulder rotation to get the ball moving away.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
I'm not into showboating...
But if you're closer than service line and get a overhead, just put it away, thank you, no matter how many players are defending at the baseline:):)
 
i use the drop shot fairly frequently - more so in singles than in doubles and more against the more agile opponents. in doubles firmer volleys and strokes work better with less chance of interception and against slower players making them move side to side and then wrong footing them is more fun (i guess a drop would work well against them as they would not run for it).

i tend to hit mostly backspin if playing crosscourt over the lower part of the net although hit with more side spin if playing inside out drop shots.

most people will tend to try put a return drop shot crosscourt so be ready for that. they also expect this crosscourt drop in return and i find that a disguised slice up the line is more attacking and wrong foots most players. at least you are then at the net and on the attack if they can chase it down after running short for a drop shot that actually went down the line. (this is when you run to return a drop shot played against you).

hope that all makes sense and is clear???
 
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