Developing Touch: Drop Shots

If you have been watching professional tennis, especially on clay, you’ve seen a lot of dropshots. Dropshots can be an effective weapon for men, women, seniors, but also for juniors.

There are coaches who do not like the idea of teaching drop shots or even to younger players, probably due to concerns that players may become too dependent on them.

If someone is slicing just to save steps, that’s not optimum. But if slicing or hitting dropshots makes the opponent do something they aren’t good at, I say do it.

In this article let’s explore two ways to develop your drop shots, one using more feel, the other using more spin.

Spin Directions

Let’s start by understanding spin directions. Players hit harder and with more topspin than in the past, and as a result most people play farther back. So court position and the spin of the incoming ball make hitting dropshots a more viable choice.

It is actually easier to hit a dropshot when the incoming ball has topspin. This is because you don’t have to reverse the direction of the spin on the ball.

Let’s say you are watching a match from the side of the court, somewhere…