The Drop Shot in Many Variations

[flatflat]

My approach toward drop shots is different from the received wisdom. I myself read a drop shot first from the follow-through of my opponent's racquet, and only secondarily from the flight of the ball. The typical "fanning" follow-through of a down-the-line forehand drop shot is gross, obvious, and is the signal to sprint to the net as quickly as possible.
I like to hit my drop shots cross-court, after hitting some cross-court forehand and (one-handed) backhand slices. The drop shot is just a very sharp cross-court slice and is much harder to read. You have to read the flight of the ball, typically not until it crosses my service line. Works beautifully on those wretchedly slow blue-painted courts like they use for hard courts on the pro tour.
Those wretchedly slow blue-painted courts offer such great opportunities for short-angled shots, and no one is really using a sharp crosscourt strategy!

[doctorhl]

Great article again. The importance of knowing which incoming ball characteristics allow you to hit a good drop shot and which incoming ball characteristics do not is very important. You don’t want to hit a drop shot when taking the ball on the rise (in general) unless you’re hitting it just prior to the peak of the bounce. You also don’t want to hit a drop shot when receiving a fast ball (I’m talking after the ball bounces). At the same time it can be difficult to hit a drop shot when receiving a very slow ball. The time to hit a drop shot based on ball received can also be different based on if you’re going to hit a forehand or backhand drop shot.

Totally agree with importance of judging and applying incoming ball characteristics to a drop shot. I really struggle with drop shots when switching from hard to soft courts because of poor shot selection more so than technique. The incoming spin rate is a real factor in drop shot selection. Experimenting with speeds, spins, angles with drop shot drills like these are really good for developing touch and drop shot selection.

[jeremy93]

Great article again. The importance of knowing which incoming ball characteristics allow you to hit a good drop shot and which incoming ball characteristics do not is very important. You don’t want to hit a drop shot when taking the ball on the rise (in general) unless you’re hitting it just prior to the peak of the bounce. You also don’t want to hit a drop shot when receiving a fast ball (I’m talking after the ball bounces). At the same time it can be difficult to hit a drop shot when receiving a very slow ball. The time to hit a drop shot based on ball received can also be different based on if you’re going to hit a forehand or backhand drop shot.

[johnyandell]

Let discuss Dave Hagler's latest article, The Drop Shot in Many Variations