Drop shot in league singles, just got abused for using it...

Crashbaby

Crashbaby

Semi-Pro
League singles straight after doubles is the norm here in Australia, presuming elsewhere as well? Anyhow, I’m in front and throw in a few drop shots. The opponent then says if you’re going to play that sh.., I’m forfeiting. I responded with “you do realise you’re playing singles”. He then walked off. Is is fair that I’m made to feel bad for daring to use the drop shot in completion play? Just had a bad day at work and I’m now I’m dealing with this. I play hard baseline rallies as well and love ripping my one hander etc. I would understand if I was a non stop pusher, Should this guy even be playing singles?? Apologies on the rant, just wanted a decent hit and feel like I was hard done by.
Ps. I’m 49 and he was maybe a touch older. We are playing division 2 out of 4 available divisions. Does anyone here avoid using the drop shot??
 
I use the drop shot all the time, it takes more skill than many other shots. I only don't use it in drills if the opponent is very old or has a weight issue or a knee brace. If I'm not playing a teenager, which I often am in UTR (the teens are fast), I'll hit drop shots off second serves occasionally and come in after it. Tennis is exercise for the mind and body, all tactics should be used and welcomed as a challenge.
If I'm in a drill with an able bodied person, you know, capable of getting a drop-shot, I'll make sure there is a rally before doing it right away.

You shouldn't feel bad.
 
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Nothing wrong with using the drop shot or lob. If someone has a problem with it then it's on them. There's a club around here that teaches playing right on the net in doubles. I just lob them and they hate it. Well I wouldn't lob you if you weren't 2 feet from the net. Same with the drop shot.
 
FuzzyYellowBalls said:
I only don't use it in drills if the opponent is very old or has a weight issue or a knee brace.
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If those guys are at my level, then they've likely got some other skill to be able to hang with me. Usually a powerful serve. Is it fair for them to use that advantage and ask me not to use my mobility advantage.

Any shot that lands in the court of play is legitimate and you have to defend it all. You may hate some shots but you still have to defend against them.

If someone is attacking me with drop shots it's likely because I'm playing far back and giving him short balls. So I just need to stop doing that.

Crashbaby said:
Does anyone here avoid using the drop shot??
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Never. If the opponent is defending way back and gives me a low short ball, my best shot is a dropper and I'm going to use it no matter the opponent.
 
Crashbaby said:
We are playing division 2 out of 4 available divisions
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Sounds like that would translate to 3.5 stateside, at that level u will run into deviants like that. He didn't really come to play tennis, he really came to get away from the wifey and go to the bar--u expedited his journey to the bar to exercise his liver.

Shame u missed some exercise and competitive fun--he robbed u of that. If there's a coordinator for your league report him--it's probably not the first time he's been a jerk! He should not be allowed to play league anymore and waste people's time. Any real player will laugh at him--no reason for u to feel bad!--a win's a win--the guy's a jerk!
 
There was just another big thread about this. To summarize my take: if it's a league / ladder / tournament match then anything goes. If it's a social or practice match, then there could be an etiquette issue with excessive use of drop shots. I've played guys in round robins that literally try a drop shot on 80% of the points. I think in some cases they are thinking that if they are going to lose anyway, they can at least annoy me by making me sprint to the net on every single point. I don't enjoy playing against those guys and will avoid them if possible. It's not a fun match and I don't get to work on a lot of things I would otherwise work on in a non-competitive match.
 
So the question I have is, were you cheating or playing within the rules? If you are not cheating then you have nothing to be ashamed of and you shouldn't let anyone make you feel that way.
 
Shieeet, I use drop shots, drop volleys, even drop overheads as much as I can get away with it. If it's a social match and my opponents seem annoyed, then I'll stop, but I'll also avoid playing social matches with them in the future b/c we just aren't a good fit -- I wouldn't want to play with anyone that gets annoyed by those shots.
 
Dartagnan64 said:
If those guys are at my level, then they've likely got some other skill to be able to hang with me. Usually a powerful serve. Is it fair for them to use that advantage and ask me not to use my mobility advantage.
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I understand, but in drills, like 2 on 2 etc., people are paying to enjoy the flow of the points, I could/can drop shot at the level that would end the flow of a rally for all 4 people instantly and before it begins, that's not within the "spirit" of a drill so to speak, no one got to practice anything if I do that and no one got better. Like I said though, I will use it ever so often if a rally already happened.
 
Nothing wrong with it if you're playing an actual match.

The only time I get upset is when we got some light rain while we were playing and the courts are slick. We decide to play doubles through it and there's one guy that always decides to start doing drop shots. He wasn't doing it before because I could easily run them down and we are playing for fun through bad conditions where footing is an issue. It doesn't make sense to hit a shot that could potentially cause the other player an injury when you're playing for fun with the same group of guys regularly. At that point I think it's a d!@k move. I don't say anything though. I just attack him mercilessly next time when the weather is better.
 
Crashbaby said:
League singles straight after doubles is the norm here in Australia, presuming elsewhere as well? Anyhow, I’m in front and throw in a few drop shots. The opponent then says if you’re going to play that sh.., I’m forfeiting. I responded with “you do realise you’re playing singles”. He then walked off. Is is fair that I’m made to feel bad for daring to use the drop shot in completion play? Just had a bad day at work and I’m now I’m dealing with this. I play hard baseline rallies as well and love ripping my one hander etc. I would understand if I was a non stop pusher, Should this guy even be playing singles?? Apologies on the rant, just wanted a decent hit and feel like I was hard done by.
Ps. I’m 49 and he was maybe a touch older. We are playing division 2 out of 4 available divisions. Does anyone here avoid using the drop shot??
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Don't feel bad and start throwing in some underarm drop shot serves
 
I can simplify the question. Do you feel bad about doing [insert legal play]? No.

As others have mentioned, if we're playing competitively I'm going to try to find whatever works best. If it's not a tournament/competition, and the difference in talent is significant enough that the match will be a walk over... well I'm not going to try and embarrass somebody. I'm not going to be putting overheads over the fence or going for my hardest ace serve. Still won't feel bad if I need to hit a drop shot to finish off a point though.
 
Crashbaby said:
League singles straight after doubles is the norm here in Australia, presuming elsewhere as well? Anyhow, I’m in front and throw in a few drop shots. The opponent then says if you’re going to play that sh.., I’m forfeiting. I responded with “you do realise you’re playing singles”. He then walked off. Is is fair that I’m made to feel bad for daring to use the drop shot in completion play? Just had a bad day at work and I’m now I’m dealing with this. I play hard baseline rallies as well and love ripping my one hander etc. I would understand if I was a non stop pusher, Should this guy even be playing singles?? Apologies on the rant, just wanted a decent hit and feel like I was hard done by.
Ps. I’m 49 and he was maybe a touch older. We are playing division 2 out of 4 available divisions. Does anyone here avoid using the drop shot??
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"I would understand if I was non stop pusher"
I mean, even if you were a non stop pusher, who cares? are you doing something illegal? he just didn't like how you played cause he couldn't deal with it and took it out on you. try not to take it personally, for all you know he also had a bad day at work and is inappropriately bringing his frustration to the court with him. if he walked off every time someone hit a drop shot against him, he'd hardly ever play. who knows with these whackos
 
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Crashbaby said:
League singles straight after doubles is the norm here in Australia, presuming elsewhere as well? Anyhow, I’m in front and throw in a few drop shots. The opponent then says if you’re going to play that sh.., I’m forfeiting.
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Translation: "I can't defend against drop shots so please don't hit them."

Are you supposed to not use your weapons because he can't handle them? What are you supposed to do? Hit only shots that he's most comfortable with?

"I don't want any firing in their. Flamethrowers only." Lt. Gorman

"What are we supposed to use, harsh language?" - Frost; Aliens

The only way I can see him having any ground to stand on is if you were winning easily and were clearly the better player and he interpreted the DSs as you signalling that you're so good, you could beat him with any shot [like if you played with your off-hand or between the legs].

I responded with “you do realise you’re playing singles”. He then walked off. Is is fair that I’m made to feel bad for daring to use the drop shot in completion play? Just had a bad day at work and I’m now I’m dealing with this. I play hard baseline rallies as well and love ripping my one hander etc. I would understand if I was a non stop pusher, Should this guy even be playing singles?? Apologies on the rant, just wanted a decent hit and feel like I was hard done by.
Ps. I’m 49 and he was maybe a touch older. We are playing division 2 out of 4 available divisions. Does anyone here avoid using the drop shot??
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Maybe he had a bad day at work too. Maybe you both work at the same office and don't realize it. :)

If he wants an environment where everything is to his liking, he shouldn't be in open competition. He should limit himself to people who hit the ball the right way with the right spin in the right spot.
 
ChaelAZ said:
I love drop shots personally and use them often, as well as lobs when I bring them into the net. Drop, lob...drop, lob...drop, lob...watch them gasping for breath. Pays dividends for opponents who struggle with fitness.
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That’s just plain mean.


But also delicious.
 
When you have an immobile player, why is it OK to run them to death laterally along the baseline while it is frowned upon seemingly in some tennis circles to run them up/down using drop shots? I see these periodic posts about players complaining about drop shots and I keep thinking that in more than forty years of playing tennis, I’ve never had a partner or opponent ever complain about drop shots. At 4.5+ levels, even if you show up to play socially, you don’t expect anyone to take it easy on you if you are playing points and every shot is valid.
 
Glad to hear all of us are pretty much on the same page on this subject. I completely agree with all of you! Much appreciated to all on the effort to respond with your views. :)
The full repertoire of shots will continue to put into play going forward!
 
The person your playing has no business playing a competitive league if he’s going to try and put restrictions on shots you can hit.
I’d have asked him, Where would you like me to hit the ball?
 
I don't complain about people using drop shots in singles. I just give them a bit of chin or nether music on my next first serve or their next venture to the net.
 
FuzzyYellowBalls said:
I use the drop shot all the time, it takes more skill than many other shots. I only don't use it in drills if the opponent is very old or has a weight issue or a knee brace. If I'm not playing a teenager, which I often am in UTR (the teens are fast), I'll hit drop shots off second serves occasionally and come in after it. Tennis is exercise for the mind and body, all tactics should be used and welcomed as a challenge.
If I'm in a drill with an able bodied person, you know, capable of getting a drop-shot, I'll make sure there is a rally before doing it right away.

You shouldn't feel bad.
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Yes doing drills in a clinic, I learned it can be bad form to drop shot the feed from the coach. For example when you do a drill with two up two back and your at the net getting the feed. I was originally just trying to hit the best volley I could off the feed and for me that is a drop shot. One player told me to start back at the service line. So I did that but I still didn't realize I shouldn't drop shot the feed. I was expecting the feeds to get tougher but instead the coach just told me to stop drop shotting the feed. So I try my best not to. And I realized that for whatever reason it is hard for me to hit deep volleys without hitting them out. I do not have a variety of volley shots.

I think if my opponent said he did not want to play a *match* with me if I hit a legal shot then I would offer this: He can forfeit the match and we can play for fun and I won't hit whatever shot he doesn't like. But it is ridiculous for someone to think they can tell their opponent what shots to hit and not hit but then still think the score is meaningful. Stop with the overhead serves!
 
1. You are keeping score in a match. drop shot all you want until you are up so far it looks like taunting.

2. Moon - we have an offense\defense drill\game like that. our rule is - If your first volley does not bounce past the service line of your opponent, you automatically lose the point and have to go back on defense (you can only score a point when you are starting at the net) After that, anything goes.
 
Rattler said:
That’s just plain mean.


But also delicious.
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Right? If they struggle with slice, drops shots, and lobs, that seems to be smart tennis to exploit that and not just feed their stronger weapons. At least in matches that count. As others mention, in social tennis I might try a few fun shots like that, but mostly just try to make some good points.
 
stapletonj said:
1. You are keeping score in a match. drop shot all you want until you are up so far it looks like taunting.

2. Moon - we have an offense\defense drill\game like that. our rule is - If your first volley does not bounce past the service line of your opponent, you automatically lose the point and have to go back on defense (you can only score a point when you are starting at the net) After that, anything goes.
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The other thing is how close the volleyers get to the net. No fun if they're right on top and tap the feed into the side fence. So the instructor throws in lobs when he sees people creeping in too far.
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
The other thing is how close the volleyers get to the net. No fun if they're right on top and tap the feed into the side fence. So the instructor throws in lobs when he sees people creeping in too far.
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Yeah--it's kind of funny how some people miss the purpose of drills like that. Just taking the easy feed and putting it somewhere impossible for the other side to return defeats the entire purpose of the drill. Nobody gets to practice anything relevant. It's like the people who try to win the warmup, but maybe even worse.
 
I hit with a guy who will drop shot the first return of a warm-up. Or if I run into the other court to hit a wide miss just to keep things going he will do the same And be proud of it too.
 
ChaelAZ said:
Right? If they struggle with slice, drops shots, and lobs, that seems to be smart tennis to exploit that and not just feed their stronger weapons. At least in matches that count. As others mention, in social tennis I might try a few fun shots like that, but mostly just try to make some good points.
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literally last week while playing a club ladder, my partner hit a sweet angled drop shot and shouted “get to that one Mark!” I hadn’t laughed so hard in quite a while.

BTW Mark was in his mid 30s, very fit and surprisingly fast….and he didn’t get to that one.
 
DCNJ said:
Yeah--it's kind of funny how some people miss the purpose of drills like that. Just taking the easy feed and putting it somewhere impossible for the other side to return defeats the entire purpose of the drill. Nobody gets to practice anything relevant. It's like the people who try to win the warmup, but maybe even worse.
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At the other club I played with you were supposed to try to win off the feed. The coach would even feed some overheads - and yes they said they expect you should win those. I never played where you are not supposed to try to win off the feed and if they want you to start with a certain type of hit they would always say so. (at least as far as I know) I think the people at this other club played this drill enough that they didn't need to be told no drop shots or angled volleys off the feed, and perhaps I should have known, but I had no idea at all. If the coach thought it was too easy I thought they would give harder feeds plus both sides had equal time at the net and baseline so I thought the idea was to try to get as many points as you could when you were at the net.


If I am at the baseline I try to win off the feed as well. If the net players are too far up I will even hit a lob off the feed. Is that bad form? It seems if the baseline player hits the feed and hits at the net players the person at the net can immediately put that away. Is that the normal course or should we try to hit back and forth a bit before going for a winner? I typically try not to approach the net off the feed and usually not until the point gets going. Any other clinic drill unspoken rules?
 
Moon Shooter said:
At the other club I played with you were supposed to try to win off the feed. The coach would even feed some overheads - and yes they said they expect you should win those. I never played where you are not supposed to try to win off the feed and if they want you to start with a certain type of hit they would always say so. (at least as far as I know) I think the people at this other club played this drill enough that they didn't need to be told no drop shots or angled volleys off the feed, and perhaps I should have known, but I had no idea at all. If the coach thought it was too easy I thought they would give harder feeds plus both sides had equal time at the net and baseline so I thought the idea was to try to get as many points as you could when you were at the net.


If I am at the baseline I try to win off the feed as well. If the net players are too far up I will even hit a lob off the feed. Is that bad form? It seems if the baseline player hits the feed and hits at the net players the person at the net can immediately put that away. Is that the normal course or should we try to hit back and forth a bit before going for a winner? I typically try not to approach the net off the feed and usually not until the point gets going. Any other clinic drill unspoken rules?
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Max G. said:
It depends on the drill.
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Exactly--yeah, I've played drills with some overheads and one is supposed to go for the winners there, but again, as I said, one should think about the goals of the drill. The overhead drills where one tries to hit them well is a bit different. If one considers the drill with overheads taken "aggressively", it does accomplish something for both the attacker and defender. The feeds will resemble (weak) balls that could occur in play so the attacker is practicing something that would occur in play as well as the defenders. Most of the time the 'volley' feeds don't really match balls that would be seen in play, so putting those away don't do anything realistic for either side.

And yeah, typically when both opponents are at the net and the feed is to the baseline, lobs are prohibited off the feed. Once the play starts, then all bets are off. The point of that drill is for the baseline players to get more comfortable hitting better/harder shots at the net people (and perhaps noticing that no, the net players won't typically immediately put the first ball away, at least if it's hit well) and for the net players to get comfortable at the net (not running back for lobs). One of the things the coach mentions is to make the opponents volley at least once (so don't go for a lob or a passing shot). This is partly because a good first shot will make the opponents volley up, and that second shot will be in a more favorable position.

I've also seen for self-fed rallying drills/games that there might be a rule to have the ball pass the net at least three times before the point "starts" just so the ball can approach a normal type of flight before people try to win the point. So I'd say that (unless it's the overhead drill) trying to win off the feed* is defeating the purpose of the drill. And even for the overhead drills, there seems to be an understood rule to not go for sharp angles.

*Note, that doesn't mean that one can't try for a hard, dipping shot at the net for the feeds to the baseline when people are at the net
 
Moon Shooter said:
At the other club I played with you were supposed to try to win off the feed. The coach would even feed some overheads - and yes they said they expect you should win those. I never played where you are not supposed to try to win off the feed and if they want you to start with a certain type of hit they would always say so. (at least as far as I know) I think the people at this other club played this drill enough that they didn't need to be told no drop shots or angled volleys off the feed, and perhaps I should have known, but I had no idea at all. If the coach thought it was too easy I thought they would give harder feeds plus both sides had equal time at the net and baseline so I thought the idea was to try to get as many points as you could when you were at the net.


If I am at the baseline I try to win off the feed as well. If the net players are too far up I will even hit a lob off the feed. Is that bad form? It seems if the baseline player hits the feed and hits at the net players the person at the net can immediately put that away. Is that the normal course or should we try to hit back and forth a bit before going for a winner? I typically try not to approach the net off the feed and usually not until the point gets going. Any other clinic drill unspoken rules?
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At the clinics I've attended, these aren't unspoken rules; the instructor states them [ie no lobs off of the feed].

The logic for these "no winners off of the feed" rules is because the feed often is not super challenging, possibly to extend the longevity of the feeder [ever try blasting the ball from well behind the BL for 2 hours?].
 
another "rule" you can use to keep the game\drill fair is that the net team must have at least one foot fully behind the service line when the coach/pro feeds in the ball.

If you can run forward, split step, and hit a successful drop volley from there, good on ya', mate. Also gives the coach a little room to make the feed more difficult if a player views it as a chance to time a headlong rush forward to catch the ball before it drops.

Nothing like watching the net player sprint in off the feed only to realize that the ball is coming at him deep and hard. It usually whizzes by him before he can even react, and he is gloriously derided by all in attendance. (We are all friends and trash talk each other mercilessly). One good taunt by the way is reminding the net player he will need to repair the court after he removes his sprinter's starting blocks from the service line.
 
Played a guy a couple of weeks ago with a big first serve, very shallow second serve. He was a left so the ad side naturally was at my backhand. I realized in the first set that on his second serve, because I was hitting a deep backhand drive, would immediately back up behind the baseline. I started drop shorting him which won me a break when down 3-4 and assisted in closing out the set. Kept using this tactic to roll the second set. He never stopped backing up after serve so I didn’t stop hitting drop shots. He referred to them as bullsh*t shots and I should stick to my backhand drive. I told him I only did it because he kept backing up, and of course he made the comment that if he came in that I would hit a drive at his feet.
I don’t think he understand strategy? For a 4.0C player I’ve never heard as many excuses/complaints
 
taylor15 said:
Played a guy a couple of weeks ago with a big first serve, very shallow second serve. He was a left so the ad side naturally was at my backhand. I realized in the first set that on his second serve, because I was hitting a deep backhand drive, would immediately back up behind the baseline. I started drop shorting him which won me a break when down 3-4 and assisted in closing out the set. Kept using this tactic to roll the second set. He never stopped backing up after serve so I didn’t stop hitting drop shots. He referred to them as bullsh*t shots and I should stick to my backhand drive. I told him I only did it because he kept backing up, and of course he made the comment that if he came in that I would hit a drive at his feet.
I don’t think he understand strategy? For a 4.0C player I’ve never heard as many excuses/complaints
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He may not understand strategy but he understands that he has a weakness and tried to guilt you into not exploiting it.
 
[
Rattler said:
literally last week while playing a club ladder, my partner hit a sweet angled drop shot and shouted “get to that one Mark!” I hadn’t laughed so hard in quite a while.

BTW Mark was in his mid 30s, very fit and surprisingly fast….and he didn’t get to that one.
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If Mark had not run for the ball, stopped the point and called hindrance, he would have had the last laugh. Once he gets a little older, he will know all the ‘old man’ tricks.
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
He may not understand strategy but he understands that he has a weakness and tried to guilt you into not exploiting it.
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Pretty much exactly. He was also the kind of guy that gave you his resume prior, including his recent marathon runs and state championship doubles win. I love the pre match resume guys.
 
Yesterday I played some “king of the court” point play games for fun. There were a few really old guys mixed in the group, and thanks to this thread I was able to drop shot them for a winner off the feed guilt free whenever I wanted a cheap point.
 
In competitive matches, its play to win, whatever shots you use thats legal. If they can't handle it, tell them to go to church on Sunday
 
Crashbaby said:
League singles straight after doubles is the norm here in Australia, presuming elsewhere as well? Anyhow, I’m in front and throw in a few drop shots. The opponent then says if you’re going to play that sh.., I’m forfeiting. I responded with “you do realise you’re playing singles”. He then walked off. Is is fair that I’m made to feel bad for daring to use the drop shot in completion play? Just had a bad day at work and I’m now I’m dealing with this. I play hard baseline rallies as well and love ripping my one hander etc. I would understand if I was a non stop pusher, Should this guy even be playing singles?? Apologies on the rant, just wanted a decent hit and feel like I was hard done by.
Ps. I’m 49 and he was maybe a touch older. We are playing division 2 out of 4 available divisions. Does anyone here avoid using the drop shot??
Click to expand...
If you’re too slow/fat/lazy/whatever to defend shortballs/dropshots then you’re singles career has come to an end. You likely just ended this dude’s career. Harsh bro :p
 
A league match?

In a league match you try to win points ... any legal way.

Is he not supposed to hit winners? That's all a drop shot is ... a slow winner.
 
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