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

• Ken DeHart Presents “Strategy and Tactics of Tennis” at Missouri Valley USPTA USPTA Master Professional, Ken DeHart was the kick-off speaker at the 2009 Missouri Valley USPTA Conference at the Homestead Country Club in Kansas City, Missouri. Ken presented a 4 hour continuing education course on Strategy and Tactics to more than 80 tennis teaching professionals and high school coaches attending......
• Present Yourself for the Win - Posture and Attitude Whenever we enter into a competition, our greatest opponent can be ourselves. We will misguide ourselves into thinking we are doing something we aren't. For many, when faced with the realization that this is happening, will bridge the gap and improve greatly as an athlete and player. The one thing......
• Racquet Mail: How to Create a Better Forehand Question: I am finding that my swing and my backhand grip are much better than my forehand. When I go for a forehand shot, it usually ends up with a tremendous amount of topspin making it difficult to hit. Still, my opponent on the other side of the net seems......
• The Psychology of a Winner: Improving Your Practice They say practice makes perfect. I say "perfect practice makes perfect.” Practice is just the first thing you have to keep in mind when you're aiming for that win on the court. This begs the question then on how do you improve your practice? Look to the four tips below......
• Grips for Volleys Choose the Correct Grip for Your Volley [/caption] Here are 7 questions you might consider before you start: Is there 1 best grip? What is the experience status of the player – beginner, intermediate or advanced? What is the age of the player? What is the physical strength of the......

• 100 Quick Tennis Tips pt 2 Here are 100 quick and easy tennis tips to get your game going. We're going to spread this list out over a couple of posts to keep it interesting. Tip #12 - When the ball is coming so fast that you are not going to get to it in time......
• Tennis Glossary Lawn Tennis - This is the original name used to describe modern tennis, based primarily on the fact that it is played on the grass, which was intended to distinguish it from tennis played on a court. Left Court - Left court and advantage court are the same thing. Let......
• Tennis Glossary pt2 Net Cord - This is the cable that is responsible for supporting the net. Net Cord Judge - This is an official that is responsible for calling a let on service. This judge will sit up in front of the chair of the umpire on one end of the net,......
• 6 Tennis Tips and Tricks Tennis tips and tricks are like small tweaks that you can make to your game in order to improve your play. If you are looking for a way to improve your capabilities as a tennis player, consider these tennis tips and tricks and then move on to look at other......
• 100 Quick Tennis Tips pt 1 Here are 100 quick and easy tennis tips to get your game going. We're going to spread this list out over a couple of posts to keep it interesting. Tip #1 - Before you pick up the game of tennis, you should absolutely make sure to consult a physician to......

The person who is winning has a wealth of information available to them represented by all the grains of sand in the top half of the glass. However, while all that information is available to them they are only using a few pieces of that knowledge at a time.

This small flow of information is represented by the few gains of sand that pass through the tiny filter or the middle of the hour glass. This is like playing in the zone where you are not thinking too much but allowing the flow of the match to occur naturally.

On the bottom is all the sand that has fallen and continues to fall like rain, coming down on the player who is losing – can’t hit, playing poorly, never lost to this person before, he is playing so lucky and etc. Nothing seems to be going well for them and they can’t seem to manage all that is coming down on them.

At some point the player who is losing can feel desperate or frustrated by not being able to control what is happening. They realize that time is about to run out. Now instead of all the disconnecting thoughts they decide upon a strategy – go to the net, lob every ball, hit every ball down the middle and etc.

The point being that they quit worrying about their circumstance and focus on one tactic to solve their situation. Perhaps it is to rise above all the sand that has fallen and use it as a platform to stand taller and block the middle where all the sand is flowing from. They decide upon one specific tactic instead of being over whelmed by their situation. At least now they have a specific purpose – a plan of action instead of being the victim.

The player on top suddenly realize that time is about to expire and he is on top, they are winning. Gradually or even suddenly, thoughts begin to distract them. They have never beaten you, they can’t wait to tell his friends, they will now be in the next round of play and etc.

Suddenly the hour glass will have turned upside down. The player on the bottom has forgotten all the disconnecting thoughts about how desperate their situation is and begins to have only one thought or purpose. The player who was on top is now aware of all their options and opportunities. No longer is there a natural flow to what is happening. The player who was on top now experiences all the disconnecting thoughts.

This is how a match will normally flow. When I realize I am about out of time and ready to lose the match, my focus will change to one thought or purpose. Having accepted that I could lose I begin to focus on a singular plan to salvage my situation. Winning or losing is no longer my focus, my fear is not my driving force. My fear has pushed me to a point where I must make a decision

As I mentioned, the eyes are the key. If you can see the ball rotating as it comes to you, your mind will become quiet and things will slow down in your mind. A good game to play with yourself at this point is “yes” or “no”. After you have contacted the ball, say “yes” if you were able to pick up the rotation of the ball before contact and you had previously selected a target for you shot before the ball bounced on your side of the court.

We call this, “paying attention to attention”. If you could evaluate your attention level after a shot and it was at 8-9 or 10 on a scale of 10 you would have excellent “attention” and a relaxed focus of mind.

You can also focus on “paying attention to tension” or how tight you are gripping your racquet and the tension level of your body. This should be about level 2 or 3 on a scale of 5.

Some of the unique aspects of tennis are that there are no time limits, it is one of the only sports where the opponent calls your lines, and one of the few sports that makes you start at 0 or even at half time. All the success you had in the first set goes back to zero for the second set and you must start from scratch to win the next set.

This is one of the many “treasures” you will learn and re-learn as you play the game of Tennis.

Photo Credits: 1

• Andy Roddick loses to 6'6 Croatian in 5 sets but stands just as tall. [/caption] 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......
• 7 Habits of Highly Successful Tennis Professionals 1. Be "Pro" Active Sure you have been teaching for years and may not need a lesson plan. But just as you would prepare to play a match, you still would need to review.  So, have a game plan for your student or opponent and think about your last......
• The Psychology of a Winner: Improving Your Practice They say practice makes perfect. I say "perfect practice makes perfect.” Practice is just the first thing you have to keep in mind when you're aiming for that win on the court. This begs the question then on how do you improve your practice? Look to the four tips below......
• Know Your Court - Terms Every Tennis Play Should Know Tennis Court—Where the game is played. 78 feet long - 36 feet wide for doubles and 78 by 27 for singles Love- Score when a player has no score 15- Score when you win the 1st point 30- Score when you win the second point 40 - Score when you......
• Grips for Volleys Choose the Correct Grip for Your Volley [/caption] Here are 7 questions you might consider before you start: Is there 1 best grip? What is the experience status of the player – beginner, intermediate or advanced? What is the age of the player? What is the physical strength of the......

• 100 Quick Tennis Tips pt 2 Here are 100 quick and easy tennis tips to get your game going. We're going to spread this list out over a couple of posts to keep it interesting. Tip #12 - When the ball is coming so fast that you are not going to get to it in time......
• 100 Quick Tennis Tips pt 3 Here are 100 quick and easy tennis tips to get your game going. We're going to spread this list out over a couple of posts to keep it interesting. Tip #25 - You are going to want to imitate the incoming ball's trajectory using your backswing. For example, if the......
• 13 Quick Tips for Better Tennis There are a lot of tennis tips and tricks floating around out there, but many are complicated and complex, and not at all easy for you to implement on your own without a dedicated trainer to walk you through them. The following article is designed to go over some quick......
• 6 Tennis Tips and Tricks Tennis tips and tricks are like small tweaks that you can make to your game in order to improve your play. If you are looking for a way to improve your capabilities as a tennis player, consider these tennis tips and tricks and then move on to look at other......
• Tips for Tennis Serving One of the most complex strokes in the entire game of tennis is the tennis serve, as it requires a specific set of motions that is executed in a specific order in order for the stroke to be properly effective. The basic fundamentals in this sport are absolutely critical if......

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.

Photo Credits: 1

• How to Effectively "Squeegee" a Tennis Court The most effective way to "squeegee" a tennis court is to first understand what you are trying to accomplish. "Get the water off the playing part of the tennis court as fast as possible." In teaching tennis, we instruct our students to know the outcome goal you would like to......
• Ball Machines – Using them for Singles Practice Ball machines are great for practicing your singles shots – if positioned correctly. 5 things NOT to do when using a ball machine: Do not place the ball machine only on the baseline in the center of the court Do not have the ball machine oscillate only from deuce court......
• GPTA Keynote Speaker I was invited to speak at the Georgia Professional Tennis Association's winter meeting at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Atlanta, Georgia. The club is the home of the famous golfer, Bobby Jones. They have a trophy room with all his trophies, pictures and memorabilia. There is even a statue of......
• Racquet Mail: How to Create a Better Forehand Question: I am finding that my swing and my backhand grip are much better than my forehand. When I go for a forehand shot, it usually ends up with a tremendous amount of topspin making it difficult to hit. Still, my opponent on the other side of the net seems......
• Drop Shot – The Weapon of Choice With the game going to power, bigger and stronger players, the drop shot appeared to be the forgotten shot in tennis.  At one point in his early career, even Roger Federer chose not to use this questionable tactic in his match play.  Now, it is a signature shot for players......

• King of the Tennis Court With the Australian Open Tennis Championships coming up, it gives tennis fans an opportunity to brush up on their history of the sport and of the legends who have made the sport what it is today.  Though there are many great female players today, perhaps none of that would have......
• Tennis Racquet Racket Review Having the right tennis equipment is a vital part of improving one's game. Sure, experience and skill are the most important part of playing well, but with the wrong equipment, a good player can easily have trouble winning matches. Everyone is going to have different requirements when it comes to choosing......
• Tennis Glossary Continued Here is a continuation of the tennis glossary of terms that we have been working on for some time now. Serve- The initial shot of each point in a game is called the serve. While behind the base line of the court the player is required to first toss the......
• Tennis Glossary pt5 Court - The length of the tennis court is 78 feet and the width of the tennis court is 27 feet when dealing with singles matches. For doubles matches, the length remains the same but the court is 36 feet in width. The court is divided along its middle with......
• In Tennis, Hewitt Targets an Event in Sydney as His Official Return From Injury Lleyton Hewitt, regarded as a former world number one tennis player in the entire world is planning to make his grand, official return from hip surgery very soon. His intention is to make his grand return from this injury at the Sydney International tennis tournament which is slated to begin......