What is a drop shot?

• The drop shot is a ball struck with underspin and a soft touch that takes all the speed off an incoming shot and delivers is over the net so short that the opponent has difficulty sprinting from the baseline to retrieve it.
• It is designed to make the ball land short in the deuce or ad court of an opponent so it will bounce 2 to 3 times inside the service court.
• This shot forces the opponent to sprint forward to the net in an attempt to retrieve this no-pace ball – on the dead run.
• The sender of the shot moves forward into the court as well to cut off any attempted drop shot back while reducing the angles available by the person running the shot down.

What is the best surface to use a drop shot on?

Clay courts and grass courts are the best surface to use a drop shot on but it is being used more on the hard court as well by all level players.

4 Times to use the drop shot:

1. Against opponents that stand deep behind the baseline.
2. If the opponent is pulled wide off the court and out of balance.
3. To change the rhythm in a point.
4. Great shot to use to fatigue and opponent by bringing them to the net then lobbing over their head, forcing a lot of vertical court coverage.

It is not a good idea to drop shot when:

• The ball is deep in your court.
• The ball is struck particularly hard at you.
• The opponent is near of inside their baseline and in a balanced position.

Who on the pro tour best utilizes the drop shot?

• Fabrice Santoro
• Andy Murray
• Roger Federer

How to best defend against the drop shot?

1. Keep your opponent deep in their backcourt.
2. Keep the ball high as well as deep.
3. Play closer to the baseline to reduce the space you have to protect against the drop shot.

Best Drills to work on the drop shot?

1. Stand near the service line  and have someone feed you a soft short ball and you try to drop it over the net with enough underspin to make it bounce 2-3 times inside the feeders service court.
2. Put a basket or target half way between the service line and net.  When you partner feeds you the ball you try to drop in into the basket with backspin of either your forehand or backhand side.
3. When warming up with short court tennis, use the drop shot to keep the ball in play and slow down the rally so you can “feel” the ball and get a lot of shots in play so you can warm up.
4. The drop shot also will help you develop a chip shot, slice shot, spin volley, return of serve and a defensive shot to keep you in points when out of position.

Conclusion:

The drop shot is a “must have” shot for beginner and intermediate level players who wish to defeat players with “pretty” strokes and more experience.

It is the perfect shot for high school players who are playing on a team for the first time and do not have consistent deep strokes.

It is also a keeper for club players who want to keep their opponents off balance.  It is an important shot to grow your tennis game and add new “weapons of mass confusion” for your opponent.

It is used more and more by the professionals and advanced players as an option to just keeping the ball deep and allowing the opponent to run side to side for shots.

It is considered one of the “ugly” shots in tennis – mostly by the opponent who has to try and continually run it down in their matches.  Add the drop shot to your game to become a winner at your level of play.

Personal Note:

As an all-court player, I use the drop shot to keep my opponent off guard and destroy any rhythm they might be trying to establish.  I use it often as an approach shot against strong baseliners.  It works great against players who are slow afoot or ones I am trying to fatigue. I also use it to bring baseliners to the net where they feel uncomfortable and then lob over the head.

Like most shots it will take practice and time – but it can become one of your weapons of choice in situations.

Ken DeHart
PTR & USPTA Master Professional
USA High Performance Coach
Wilson Premier Advisory Staff

Photo Credits: JCtennis.com

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How are they on short balls?

1. What type of grips do they use?
2. What type of shots do they prefer?
3. Is their forehand or backhand stronger?
4. What types of spin did they use?
5. How effective is their footwork?
6. What height do they prefer on the forehand & backhand?
7. How well do they volley and recover?
8. Do they look comfortable on short balls?
9. Are they comfortable with their overheads?
10. How did they serve? How much spin or speed?

While knowing your own game is important when you enter a match, learning all you can about your opponent can give you confidence and help you know how to use your game to defeat them.

Ken DeHart

www.kendeharttennis.com
kendehart@aol.com

Photo Credits: nsaplayer

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Andy Roddick

Andy’s match was a sports psych’s dream.  Andy played a deliberate style early in the match but the 20 year old opponent is very smooth and athletic with a dream backhand.  It appeared early on that Andy was not serving his best.  He had been well around the 70% mark and lots of free points coming into the match.  His arm today seemed a little dead.

Sure enough, he called for the trainer who did some deep tissue work to loosen it up.  The players are limited as to how many times they can be treated for the  same injury, so at some point, Andy had to decide if he could continue or retire.  Questions to consider include: can I finish the match, will I further damage my shoulder, how will it affect me in my next tournament in San Jose – the SAP Open? Much to his credit, he changed tactics and stayed in the set.

As we have all experienced when playing an injured player, it can affect our game as well. We mentally start wondering if he can finish or attempt to change our game to see if we can take advantage of the injury.  That will usually affect the non-injured player more than the injured player – and it did.  When we quit worrying how we are playing and just hit – we do well and that is what Andy begin to do – hit the ball flatter and put the opponent on his heels.

Andy worked his way through the 3rd and 4th set. The pain killers he had been given seemed to numb the pain and he began to serve stronger as he went along. Whey – it’s 2 sets each now and the next change is about to occur.  At 2 all in sets now, Andy takes a deep sigh of relieve and goes back to his old style of play, more spin and less aggressive.  Cilic realizes it is now or never and  begins to come out of his shell.  Andy has 40-love on his opponents serve in the first game of the 5th set and lets is get away.  Now Cilic breathes a sigh of relief.  Andy is upset, letting it get away like that but does not go on the attack again.  He reverts to the way he played the 1st and 2nd set and Cilic is too fast and has too good of hands.  He handles Andy’s spinner shots and puts him on the run again.

I am on the couch pulling for Andy – but at 4-2 with Cilic serving, it is not up to Andy.  He has let himself get behind and it is up to the Croatian to win or lose at this point.  He serves big and pulls off the upset – his first ever major semi-final.

What can we get from the match? It is easy from the couch to see what to do and listen to the advice of the announcers.  On the court, we have all felt and done what Andy did tonight.  But his determination not to give up when others have been retiring in this event this year points to how much of a fighter Andy is – just like his Wimbledon match with Roger last summer.  14-16 in the 5th set.

Andy did a great job playing with what he had to play with.  He adjusted his game, moved in to take second serves inside the baseline and just go for shots.  It is easy when you are down – you are losing anyhow.  When we get even and realize we can now win, there is a tendency to back off and hope the other player will lose. The difference is slight, hardly noticeable to some spectators, only those of you who put yourself on the line and play league play would know the feeling.

What Andy and we experience is an article I wrote about on my blog site called the “hour glass“ effect.  Just like and hour glass, the person on top has only a few thoughts crossing their mind.  The person on the bottom of the hour glass has all the thoughts coming down on them – too fast, bad equipment, shouldn’t lose to this player and etc.  Finally with time is about to run out on them, the person on the bottom decides to – just go for it, don’t miss, go in, it doesn’t really matter – they just begin to have one thought only.  The fear is gone.  The player on top now has switched to the bottom of the hour glass and all these thoughts begin to creep in – I could win this set, game or match, never defeated this player before, my next opponent is …  it doesn’t matter, this player now has all the monsters in his mind.  The momentum has switched and the hour glass was turned over several times in this match.

Good on you to Andy.  We hope he did not injure his shoulder to badly.  He is 9 and 1 in 2010 and off to a good start.

Photo Credits: burntfilm

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Win the warm up.

1. Introduce yourselves to your opponents.
2. Spin the racquet before beginning the warm up so you will be on the correct side when warming up and know the serving order as to who will serve first, second and so on.
3. Immediately be the one who “spins” the racquet to decides who will have 1 of the 4 options (don’t spin the racquet on the ground as it often takes too long, scratches the end of the grip when it falls to the ground and depending upon how it is picked up the racquet you can control the be “up” or “down” call. Just spin the racquet in your hand with the butt of the racquet toward your waist until they make their call, “up” or “down” then show them the butt of the racquet to see who won the spin.
4. If the opponents win the “spin” and choose to serve, make them serve from the sunny side of the court first and prepare to lob them a lot during the first game of the match.
5. In the warm up, the first server for each team will take a lot of practice serves as they will begin the offense for their teams initially. The third and fourth servers will take a lot of overheads, a few serves and focus on returning the servers as the first two servers warm up. This is important as the third and fourth servers will play several games before serving and have opportunities to be warmed up before actually being called upon to serve. However they can play an important part of their teams success by focusing on returning well early in the match.

You and your partner need to have a plan before the match starts. This gives you confidence and a purpose for what happens early in the match.

Photo Credits: GeoNando

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1. Just the thought of hitting “hard” will make you tense up and grip the racquet tightly. This does the exact opposite or what you are trying to achieve – it takes away your power.

2. Tension (level 4 or 5 on a scale of 1-5) in the hand can cause the feet to not move appropriately.

3. Inappropriate footwork will not allow you to get into the correct position.  This in turn will not let your hands be in the correct place to use your natural “kinetic” chain that creates a powerful and effortless flow.

4. In turn, these factors can make you grip the racquet even tighter and lead to a tenser swing and faster frustration.

Little kids hit the ball hard even when they have little or no muscle. Because they cannot “muscle” the ball, they find a relaxed grip tension and rely on their natural timing to swing the racquet so the momentum of the swing generates the power. They also use the speed of the incoming ball to reflect the opponents power right back at them.

Your ability to swing easily and naturally begins with the “eyes”.   Seeing the ball well (see the rotation of the ball) helps you to accomplishes this:

1. Keeping the mind and eyes on the ball not the opponent is primary.

2. Once you see the ball well, you will understand “where” the ball is coming and “how” fast it is coming.

3. This will allow you to positioning your feet correctly for the direction you want to redirect it and help you know when to prepare your swing toward the ball.

4. Grip tension is about a #2 on a scale of 1-5 which keeps the tension out of the swing. This tension will allow you to “naturally” use your powerful “kinetic” chain to meet the ball without fear and create the best speed “you” can generate.

5. It is difficult to judge the speed of your own shots.  Most players assume their ball is slower that their opponents – this is not always true.

The eyes are the timing device for the body’s coordination. Most stroke errors and footwork errors are a product of the “disconnecting” thoughts experienced prior to the ball getting to the point of contact. Those thoughts influence your ability to get your feet into proper position and your hands to move the racquet to the point on contact.

Here are some simple techniques to help with tracking skills:

1. See the spin on the ball as it comes over the net.
2. See the “shadow” on the ball. The light, natural or artificial will cause a shadow on the ball.  Seeing the sunlight and the shadow creates a balance in the mind.
3. Count as you contact the ball by saying “one” then count “two” as you contact the ball to develop better tracking and focus skills.

Want to discover more power?  Ease you grip tension, track the ball early and to the contact zone and use your kinetic chain to produce a natural power.

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My forehand/backhand keeps missing wide?

1. Select a target rather than just cross court.
2. Select a safer target 2-3 feet inside the lines.
3. Keep you eyes still until you see the blur of your racquet go past your eyes – looking up re-directs your shot.
4. Align your feet to get better position so your swing is more in line with your target.
5. Focus on the part of the ball you want to hit to make the ball go toward your target (outside, behind or inside of the ball.)
6. You may be contacting the ball too early – be patient or too late – prepare for an earlier contact point.

My forehand/backhand keeps going in the net?

1. Pick out an aim point that is about the height of your opponents head above the net, about 3-4 feet above the net.
2. Be sure to allow your racquet head to get under the ball so you can “lift the ball” over the net instead of driving it the same height as the net.
3. You may be contacting the ball too late – shorten your backswing and meet the ball sooner to get the upward arc.
4. You looked at the net – so your hand guided the ball to your target.
5. Extend the finish of your stroke – up and out.
6. Release the tension in your hand as you finish your stroke to avoid pulling the racquet down before the complete finish of the stroke.

My forehand/backhand keeps going long?

1. You are not applying enough topspin to bring the ball down.
2. Keep your eyes still while contacting the ball – looking up will make the fence become a target.
3. Finish your swing – pulling off will make the ball sail.
4. Take more adjusting steps to get better position – out of position can cause you to alter your swing pattern and lift the ball too high.
5. Stay down, keep a wider stance so you can rotate into the shot instead of lifting with the legs too early in the swing.

My grip is incorrect?

1. Mark the correct position for the index knuckle and the heal of the hand for a forehand and backhand.
2. Hold the racquet by the throat with the non-hitting hand and keep the grip hand relaxed so the non-hitting hand can turn the racquet to the correct grip position for you -forehand or backhand.
3. Study your opponent and lock in on their pattern of shots so you can anticipate whether they will most likely hit to your forehand or backhand.  This “anticipation” will give you a head start to getting the grip position early.
4. Start with the grip that is most difficult to get to – it’s always easy to get to your favorite grip.

My timing is off?

1. Timing is an eye function – usually you are not seeing the ball well.  Look for the shadow of light and darkness on the ball, say “bounce” when the ball touches the court and “touch” when you make contact As more balls are lost between the bounce and contact.
2. Take more adjusting steps (8-10 steps – the pros average 10-12 steps between their shots) between each shot you make.  The extra movement will raise your attention level and your focus level.
3. The adjusting steps help you to establish a better position to meet the ball and produce a better quality shot.
4. Soften your grip.  When your timing is off, your grip may be way to tight.  This tension greatly affects your ability to time your movement, swing and relaxed eye focus.
5. When you feed the ball back to your opponent so they can serve, use the drop and hit effort to practice the “feel” of how you want the stroke to feel in the up-coming point.

Photo Credits: 1

• Racquet Mail: Defeating the Inside out Forehand Racquet Mail: I have a question regarding how to counter the inside out forehand. I'm a 4.5-5.0 player with an all court game, with a two handed backhand. Lately, I have been having trouble with one high level opponent who grew up on clay courts. Typically, we rally a few......
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3. 5 Tips on where to Lob

1. Always aim lobs  over the opponents backhand side (notice if they are left handed)

2. Few players have the strength or timing to power a backhand overhead – even on a short lob

3. This tactic forces them to decide if they want to go for a dangerous angle or defensively put it back into the court – which keeps you in the point

4. If they choose to let the ball bounce to hit it, they are now forced deeper into their court and must play a backhand ground stroke. As a high ball bounces, there is a blind spot as the ball passes in front of your eyes from out of the air to on the ground. The high backhand requires and earlier point of contact than the forehand so they must retreat even further behind the ball to have a powerful point of contact.

5. If the lob is played to the forehand overhead is almost always struck more powerfully. From this side, the arm can reach further back than on the backhand side. Players may even reach back and does a “sky hook” like a hook shot in basketball.

4. 11 Tips on when to Lob

1. To start the match – In doubles, on the first two points of the match – lob the return when the serving team is looking into the sun. This allows you to get the return of serve into play using the largest space you can find against their best serve.

2. To confuse – A well placed lob makes the receiving team have to switch positions and often retreat to the service line which give you time to organize to attack

3. To take away a powerful ground stroke – The lob makes the server not able to use their forehand in the deuce court off your return. Instead, they have to chase the ball down and hit a high bouncing backhand in the ad court while their partner is forced to switch from the ad court over to the deuce court.

4. If the lob is deep, it allows you to move forward so your team has now captured the net and gone from defense to offense with one simple shot.

5. To buy time – the lob allows you to get the ball up so you have time to recover into a better position to play the next ball with a shot you may prefer.

6. It gives you a bigger and safer target to aim for – the sky

7. It makes your opponent anxious to attempt to put the “easy” ball away before you can assume an offensive position in the court

8. To take over the net position – a deep lob that bounces and forces your opponents back near the baseline. This will allow you and your partner time to come up to the service line. From this position you will be able to determine if they are going to try to lob. You will now be able to play an overhead or close in if they try to drive the ball from deep in their court.

9. To defend against an Australian formation or “Modified I” formation – if the net player in the Australian position plays too close to the net, it becomes easy to lob diagonally crosscourt to the deep corner to defeat this alignment.

10. To defend against an aggressive poaching team – it is difficult to poach or have an all-out attack on the net if the receiving team keeps lobbing down the line or looping crosscourt when are in a total offensive scheme.

11. To defend against a fast closing serve and volley player – if the server closes too fast it becomes easy to lob over their head as they have to stop and back up to play the deep lob return. It is difficult to close quickly when the server has to retreat and change directions to cover a deep lob over their partners head. The server is now forced to play a high backhand in the ad court instead of a low forehand volley or ground stroke in the deuce court.

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1.  Lob with a Purpose – there are two main reasons to lob:

1. To win the point

2. To get out of trouble

The Offensive Lob

Offensive Lob is designed to win the point.

1. Aim point – about 10 feet over the opponents head – hit quickly so they have little chance to run it down or react to the sudden elevation of the shot.

2. Location – best placed over their backhand side of your opponent – be aware of lefties when you plan your lob.

3. Disguise – prepare for the lob as though you are going to hit a drive then at the last moment lift the shot into a lob.

The Defensive Lob

The Defensive Lob is designed to get you out of trouble buy time and keep you in the point.

Height is the key factor in this shot – high to buy extra time to recover. It also forces the opponent to decide to play a difficult shot out of the air or let it bounce.

2. 5 Tips on how to Set up the Lob –

1. Offensive - Get your opponents looking for the passing shot by hitting crosscourt and down the line with shots aimed about waist to chest high above the net with lots of topspin.
2. This strategy should draw your opponents closer to the net so as to be able to cut off the angles you have been using to pass them.
3. Use your first offensive lob on a shot when they least expect it a little later in the game, set or critical situation.
4. This “surprise” will make them a little hesitant to close in so tight and open up your passing shots once again.
5. Defensive – anytime you are in an awkward position, forced wider than the alley, force to retreat well behind the baseline or facing players that charges quickly to the net – Lob high and deep. This height and depth will give you recovery time while forcing your opponents back deeper into their court. This deeper court position will make it less likely they can put the ball away quickly – buying you time to get into a sound defensive position.

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