I want to develop my drop shot. Help me figure out when to try it.

time_fly

time_fly

Hall of Fame
The subject says it all. I am more of a power player and in singles matches I tend to get into "topspin / baseline" mode, trying to hit deep, cross-court, attack the short ball, etc. I want to start working a little more finesse into my game, specifically working in some drop shots especially against counter-punchers that position themselves defensively way behind the baseline. I can work on most of the technique aspect on my own, but I want some ideas on what specific scenarios in terms of opponent position and type of incoming ball to try the drop shot. It also seems like the pros are using this shot more often and when hit from the baseline it's almost always a cross-court dropper. Is that correct?

My only technical question is on the forehand: I use a semi-western grip. Hitting a drop shot on a higher ball is natural, but do I need to try to switch back to continental at the last minute to drop lower balls? Should that discourage me from trying it on the forehand unless the ball is high?

Edit: One other things is that I am a lefty. I'm not sure if that should make my pattern of use of this shot different than for a righty?
 
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This is what I recommend starting with:
1) Drop shot on short, low balls. Short balls automatically give your opponent less time to get to drop shots, and are easy to keep low.
2) Occasionally drop shot slow "sitter" balls from no mans land and around the baseline. These balls are easy to drop shot because of the slower pace, and you can make your opponent drop back on his heels by "faking" a hard forehand drive.

Personally, I always switch to a conti grip when hitting drop shots, but I know it can be done keeping the same grip without too much difficulty. So I think it's a preference.
 
I use the drop shot almost 99% of the time from the BH wing. Why?
1) FH is my best shot so I’m going to use it to move you around and get that short ball. I don’t need trickery from that wing
2) BH is not a weapon and needs variety to produce points from that wing - slices, droppers, drives. Giving different pace, bounce and depth makes it less attackable
3) BH is also in conti grip so easier to disguise and prep for the dropper
4) My FH slice is ****e no matter my grip

One of my favorite combos is to hit an inside out FH into the BH corner, hope for the short CC ball and then hit a BH DTL dropper. Then if they sense it coming hit the deeper slice to the DTL corner and get them wrong footed.
 
For me it's easiest to hit a drop shot on the backhand wing when I have already stepped inside the court. Easier on the backhand as you can prep for a regulation slice and then pivot to drop shot. Behind the baseline it's a very low percentage shot.
Forehand drop shot requires excellent feel — I love the inside-out FH drop shot that the pros often hit, but try it yourself — it's easy to mess it up.

 
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Big fan of FH drop shot when out of position. Conti grip slice.
The more you do it, the more feel you develop.
Great feeling to see it barely clear the net, as good as a pro.
 
at my club, its all clay. and we have at least thirty 5.0 players that are over 50 years old. The best players can hit a backhand drop shot from pretty much anywhere on the court when in a neutral/offensive position. its effective mainly because of the disguise. its the same take back as the backhand slice. its a great play to change the rhythm and to neutralize someone who may have a better baseline/grinding game. My advice would be to establish a good, deep backhand slice early in matches then mix in the drop shot to change the rhythm. or use it frequently late in matches when your opponent is not fresh. What is even more important is how to cover their reply off the drop shot. You want to follow it into the net, cut off any angles they have and be ready to lob the volley over them or block it into the open court. This is an art. Also, the better your slice/disguise, the less important it is to hit a perfect drop shot. Cross court drop shot is always a little easier because you're dealing with the lower part of the net and you can use a little angle to get your opponent out of position even if the drop shot is not hit perfectly. good luck!
 
time_fly said:
especially against counter-punchers that position themselves defensively way behind the baseline
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Good idea.

time_fly said:
when hit from the baseline
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Of course pros do hit dropshots from different positions. But for us mortals, don't try dropshot from baseline. The risk is too high, and reward is too low.
Essentially try a drop shot only on a short ball which you would normally attack. Plus don't try to hit too good of a drop shot and just follow it up and see what happens.

But the most important thing is to have the right mindset, and understand that it is not too important even if you lose that point. Winning that point is just a bonus, but the ultimate goal is to set up a match-atmosphere/base for future points. Essentially this makes your regular attacks more effective on future points. When your opponent knows that you may drop shot when opportunity presents, he may be forced to reduce the real-estate behind the baseline, which will make your deep shots more effective, on future points.

With this mindset, you are less likely to make an error on the drop shot, and will be OK even if the opponent runs hard and digs up your drop shot for a winner. Plus your opponent could get more fatigue from that point than you.

time_fly said:
do I need to try to switch back to continental at the last minute to drop lower balls?
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Yes
 
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As mentioned, generally on short low balls to your bh. Just as important is both your opponents position, where their weight is (back/front foot, on/off balance) and the direction In which they intend to recover their court position. (Sometimes when someones recovering back to the baseline from no man's land, it can be a good time to drop shot). If they're recovering back toward their bh side, it's a good time to drop shot short to their fh. You'll generally ds of slower balls, when you're in position, but a fast low incoming ball, can allow you to get them before they regain their balance.
 
I almost never try a FH dropper, and I almost never HIT a dropper to the opponent's BH.

BH dropper to opponent's FH, ideally slicing wide into the doubles alley...and follow it in, like Tsitsipas does.
 
Will second (third? :unsure: ) what guys above said:
- when opponent is farther back - to rally, or expecting your hard attack
- when you are inside the baseline, as from deeper position DS is both harder to make with precision, and longer in flight - easier to react and reach
- when opponent is out of position (wide) and runs back to cover the court

I personally love FH dropshots of high balls: hit it almost down and soft. Or slide them CC sharply and softly.

One good secret on DS is to be always aware what type of sidespin you apply with the backspin: are you fading it towards the tramline? Are you hooking it along the net? If you don’t, stringbed might launch the ball too much, or you may get it curve in the air unexpectedly and land wide.
 
Dragy said:
One good secret on DS is to be always aware what type of sidespin you apply with the backspin: are you fading it towards the tramline? Are you hooking it along the net? If you don’t, stringbed might launch the ball too much, or you may get it curve in the air unexpectedly and land wide.
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This is an important part of drop shot use. So the question then becomes, when to use which type of drop shot!? The drop shot is one of the most versatile shots in the game, as there is an array of different ways you can hit it.
 
Also if you find that your opponent runs down all your drop shots, instead of trying to hit a better (riskier) drop shot, check your deep shots and usual attacking mode shots. You may not be doing enough to push your opponent in baseline rallies.

Morch Us said:
With this mindset, you are less likely to make an error on the drop shot, and will be OK even if the opponent runs hard and digs up your drop shot for a winner.
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While drop shotting when up in the court is advisable. The element of surprise is a big factor in drop shot success, so if you execute well enough you can do it from back in the court or off high balls.

 
The best advice is: DON’T! Rec players simply do not have the skills/practice time to be decent at hitting Dropshots from the baseline. It’s simply too deep for Rec players to be effective/consistent. You’ll give up tons of errors and tons of balls hit ineffectively where your opponent will run up and hit offense. It’s just not a good option at the rec level unless your opponent is WAY back.

But, if you insist:
- only hit drops from inside the baseline
- only hit drops with your BH, the FH prep is way too telegraphed compared to the BH prep.
- try to use it when your Opp is already on the run and you can dropshot against thier momentum.
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
Booo!

Only if they are hitting a lot of DS or they are winning. It's a pretty hollow "win" to DS someone who cannot move fwd very easily
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ubercat said:
Geeze @user92626 yr like that Chinese guy I played. DSed me to death after I stood in for a 3rd match just so he d have someone to play. Then told me: on the battlefield there are neither young nor old.
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Last weekend I played this one girl who's fit. She kept hitting short and extreme angle shots and corner shots, taking advantage of my out of shape fitness.
After several times, I asked her why you do that, she just laughed and continued. :cry:

Nobody's nice at the court. I need to pay this forward. :cautious::-D
 
user92626 said:
Last weekend I played this one girl who's fit. She kept hitting short and extreme angle shots and corner shots, taking advantage of my out of shape fitness.
After several times, I asked her why you do that, she just laughed and continued. :cry:

Nobody's nice at the court. I need to pay this forward. :cautious::-D
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I never got any satisfaction from exploiting a glaring weakness of a player who I could beat w/o exploiting that weakness. Against weaker players, it was a good challenge to play in a controlled manner that pushed them to their limit w/o blowing them off the courts. I would try to elicit the best rallies from them that I could. This made it more interesting for me and provided me with a better workout instead of just hitting easy winners with short rallies against these players.

In other words, my primary goal for playing tennis was for exercise, good challenging points and for fun. Winning was never at the top of my priority list. Easily beating a weak opponent held no satisfaction for me. Would rather lose and have fun & great points than win with easy cr∆p points.
 
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SystemicAnomaly said:
I never got any satisfaction from exploiting a glaring weakness of a player who I could beat w/o exploiting that weakness. Against weaker players, it was a good challenge to play in a controlled manner that pushed them to their limit w/o blowing them off the courts. I would try to elicit the best rallies from them that I could. This made it more interesting for me and provided me with a better workout instead of just hitting easy winners with short rallies against these players.

In other words, my primary goal for playing tennis was for exercise, good challenging points and for fun. Winning was never at the top of my priority list. Easily beating a weak opponent held no satisfaction for me. Would rather lose and have fun & great points than win with easy cr∆p points.
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I joke most of the time I post!! :D

Seriously it's not common (at least for me) to find a very lopsided match. People just don't allow that, even if it's recreational.
 
Pretty much agree with post #22. I think the drop shot that's hit from the baseline is sort of a gimmick and often a very low-percentage gamble. If you want any sort of drop shot in your tennis tool box, I'd say work on a drop volley that should be easier to land more often.

That being said, some folks have rather good touch/feel and can do some damage with these shots, but a lot of players don't. That's why I don't think it's something that's going to be useful for most players. If you can land the shot with high consistency, use it wisely - our pals already offered solid advice above for when to try it.

I think I'm generally sort of down on the drop shot - the one that's hit from our own back court near the baseline - because even the pros routinely miss them. Sometimes they'll hit one at the exact wrong moment, but many times they'll merely brick a dropper into the net. And these are people who compete for their lunch money.

Even if we're trying to wear down an opponent or test the other guy's movement using the dropper, most of us can't afford to donate many too points along the way. It also invites an opponent to come closer to us to hit a shot back if that dropper isn't a clean winner. That's always dicey.

The drop volley has some upside because it's hit from much closer in - an opponent has less time to get a jump on it compared with a dropper hit from further back. And because it doesn't have to fly as far before it lands, it can often have much less bounce that's a lot tougher for an opponent to reach. It does require some touch, but the target window for a drop volley is typically much easier to hit than the dropper from the baseline (or just a step inside it).
 
I hit drop shots from anywhere in the court and from both wings, Ive tried lately to limit my usage of drop shots because it was getting too repetitive and it wasn't a surprise anymore but I developed great touch and I can even drop shot from the baseline with a "smash".
 
Its wrong but try hitting dropshot returns. Its hard but unexpected and easy points if you can do it. Often I drop shot and charge. If it works it really zaps the servers mojo. In theory you are already in the continental grip and they expect a slice occasionally so the disguise is often built in.

Could be its just me and the kevlar/4g at 86lbs really helps with this play because it bleeds power easily.
 
Shroud said:
Its wrong but try hitting dropshot returns. Its hard but unexpected and easy points if you can do it. Often I drop shot and charge. If it works it really zaps the servers mojo. In theory you are already in the continental grip and they expect a slice occasionally so the disguise is often built in.

Could be its just me and the kevlar/4g at 86lbs really helps with this play because it bleeds power easily.
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I do it from time to time, it´s fun and puts the opponet in a constant fear of not executing a good first serve as they know the second cuould pottetially be a drop shot return.
 
time_fly said:
The subject says it all. I am more of a power player and in singles matches I tend to get into "topspin / baseline" mode, trying to hit deep, cross-court, attack the short ball, etc. I want to start working a little more finesse into my game, specifically working in some drop shots especially against counter-punchers that position themselves defensively way behind the baseline. I can work on most of the technique aspect on my own, but I want some ideas on what specific scenarios in terms of opponent position and type of incoming ball to try the drop shot. It also seems like the pros are using this shot more often and when hit from the baseline it's almost always a cross-court dropper. Is that correct?

My only technical question is on the forehand: I use a semi-western grip. Hitting a drop shot on a higher ball is natural, but do I need to try to switch back to continental at the last minute to drop lower balls? Should that discourage me from trying it on the forehand unless the ball is high?

Edit: One other things is that I am a lefty. I'm not sure if that should make my pattern of use of this shot different than for a righty?
Click to expand...

My last two tournament match losses are to lefties, though I practice with a lefty (my son) all the time.

I'm also an aggressive player and over 60, and so when I target an opponent's backhand, I get a lot of underspin shots back. I also find that age group opponents play several feet deeper than normal against my shots and so learning a drop shot has been a critical skill. I'm better at it in practice but don't yet have the competency with it to have it be truly effective in match play, though sometimes just the threat of doing it is enough.

I would never drop shot off a high ball - I feel any high ball I can drop shot off of, I could do more damage by hitting it. I've come to realize that developing a high level of competency in a drop shot isn't necessary - if just having a mediocre drop shot forces my opponent to play closer to the baseline than they would like against my regular groundstrokes, that's a huge win on my part already.

I've also found that because I still hit topspin backhands on a large percentage of shots from that side, that when I go to hit an underspin, my opponents will automatically take a couple of steps forward so even though I can hit a backhand drop shot with more disguise and shorter in the court, the advantage is negated by my opponents being closer and already having their weight moving forward.

Last thing for me is that I've found my opponents are much more capable in doing something with a drop shot off their backhand than their forehand. Sure, they may be able to hit the ball better off their forehand but I can more easily get to the range of shots hit from the forehand side than the backhand side, where it seems a backhand with a continental grip can re-drop, hit a sharp angle across the court, or have more control to bunt the ball into either deep corner.

So that being said, I've been working on my forehand drop shot, and off the typical pattern of driving balls into my (righty) opponent's backhand, eventually running around to hit forehands inside out, and then hitting a dropper to their forehand side.


If I could ever get the voices in my head from overwhelming my thought processes during tournament matches, I might be able to employ this more than I currently do.
 
Dragy said:
You cut outward around the outside of the ball ;)

One at 1:07
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that’s my play. Just done with much greater panache. Inside out FH driving opponent out wide, get the short cc ball and BH slice drop shot DTL bouncing away from opponent.

of course I don’t execute it like Fed but I don’t need to against my 50+ year old opponents. Even a tragic dropper will generally get a “too good“ from the opponent.
 
Shroud said:
Its wrong but try hitting dropshot returns. Its hard but unexpected and easy points if you can do it. Often I drop shot and charge. If it works it really zaps the servers mojo. In theory you are already in the continental grip and they expect a slice occasionally so the disguise is often built in.

Could be its just me and the kevlar/4g at 86lbs really helps with this play because it bleeds power easily.
Click to expand...

Even better and more wrong: Try drop shot overhead serves. I have a couple opponents that can do this and it’s frustrating as hell, especially if the toss and take back looks similar to their power serve.
 
Dartagnan64 said:
Even better and more wrong: Try drop shot overhead serves. I have a couple opponents that can do this and it’s frustrating as hell, especially if the toss and take back looks similar to their power serve.
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Yikes. That is wrong! Doubt i could do that. This chick does it

 
Watch the Australian Open men's final from this year. Note when Medvedev tries drop shots. Do not do this. Now, note when Rafa hits his. Do this.
 
You can use it tactically or strategically in singles. Tactically to end long rallies if you get an easy ball and the opponent is slow or well behind the baseline. Strategically if it is easier to beat an opponent by moving them up/down a lot rather than only laterally - rinse and repeat only if you are winning a majority of those points.

If you can hit quality drop shots with good disguise, you can hit them at the right opportunity irrespective of the opponent’s speed. If not, I would save it for slower opponents. Regarding location, think of where there is more open space on the court making the opponent run more distance and also which shot you can execute better. For many players, their easiest drop shot to execute is the DTL-BH.

In doubles, I would use it as a groundstroke very rarely and only against slow opponents when they are far behind in 1-back formation - not a good idea to invite opponents to the net in doubles unless you are pretty sure that the dropshot will be a winner. Drop volleys are more common in doubles if the other team is playing 1-back or 2-back.
 
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Shroud said:
Its wrong but try hitting dropshot returns. Its hard but unexpected and easy points if you can do it. Often I drop shot and charge. If it works it really zaps the servers mojo. In theory you are already in the continental grip and they expect a slice occasionally so the disguise is often built in.

Could be its just me and the kevlar/4g at 86lbs really helps with this play because it bleeds power easily.
Click to expand...

This is a good shot if you can pull it off definitely surprises the opponent. I do better when I’m serving and hit a drop shot off the return because it is similar in the opponent doesn’t expect it and is easier than off the serve.
 
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