The Forehand Drop Shot Deconstructed

Chris Lewit

The drop shot is arguably the most exciting shot in all of tennis. Nothing gets the crowd going like a great drop shot.

In this article I will discuss the important technical details of the forehand drop shot. With the backhand drop shot coming next month.

Not For Everyone!

First, I offer a caveat that the drop shot is not for everybody and doesn't fit into every player's game style. A player needs to have personality, creativity, and courage to play the drop shot well in matches.

It's also critical to have naturally good hands to execute this shot. While feel can be developed somewhat over time, it's generally a god given talent.

A player who doesn't have those qualities should consider devoting time to another shot or strategy. In other words, don't waste your time working on the drop shot if you don't have the personality or good hands for executing the shot.

However, if you are one of those intrepid drop shot inclined players, read on to learn the important technical parameters.

Grip

The grip for the forehand drop shot is typically a simple continental, like the serve or volley grip. Some players can execute the forehand drop shot with an eastern or composite forehand grip or mild semi-western.

If a player can drop shot without any grip change, it is an advantage in terms of disguise. But if a player has a western or strong semi-western grip, he or she will have to shift the grip at the last split-second in order to make the drop shot.

Preparation

Typically, high level players will prepare with maximum disguise, which is important at the tournament level, but can be just as valuable at the club level. Depending on the speed of the rival, disguise is a huge factor in the success rate of the drop shot.

The faster the opponent, the more important disguise becomes. Great drop shot players like Ons Jabeur, Carlos Alcaraz, and Holger Rune will typically hide their intentions by preparing like a normal power topspin forehand, loading the legs and trunk, and holding the preparation phase until the last moment.

It's important to really sell the fact that the player will be hitting with power before offering a soft shot instead. This deception will keep the rival from anticipating a short ball. The player has to sell topspin before the underspin delivery.

Club players can practice the drop shot without the disguised topspin setup, but eventually they will need to obfuscate their drop shot intentions. Remember that a drop shot without disguise will not be effective against speedy players.

Backswing and Dominant Hand Shift

Shift it! As the player takes the racquet back like a topspin forehand, near the apex of the takeback, the grip has to be shifted with one hand towards more eastern or continental. Players will need to practice shifting the dominant hand on the handle without using the non-dominant hand to assist.

This shift can be a bit tricky to learn but is critical to the disguise element. Players who are fortunate enough to have a mild semi-western, composite, or eastern forehand grip, may be able to experiment with hitting the underspin drop shot without this grip shift, which is fantastic for deception if they can do it!

In a recent article, I described how Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz both are able to execute their forehand drop shots with minimal to no grip change by virtue of their conservative topspin forehand grips. (Click Here.) This is indeed a true advantage of a modest, less extreme forehand grip structure.

Swing Path

The swing path is interesting and varies somewhat depending on the situation and level of the ball. On high bouncing balls, the swing path has more vertical drop—a steeper slope.

On lower height balls, the swing path has less slope and is closer to horizontal. Interesting, the racquet face is more open on those lower height balls, similar to a sand wedge club face in golf, while on higher height balls the racquet face becomes more vertically angled and oriented, more like a 3 iron club face.

Racquet Speed and RPM

While the pros often hit sidespin and underspin drop shots with a lot of wrist flick and RPM, most of us mortals should try to hit the drop shot similar to a volley stroke, with a firm wrist and blocking type slow racquet speed movement. For players who are advanced and fearless, they can experiment with accelerating more and using the wrist joint more aggressively.

There is definitely an inverse relationship between the use of the wrist joint and control. Keeping a firm, stable wrist and blocking the drop shot like a volley will give the player more control but less spin on the ball.

Contrarily, more wrist can cause a loss of control but generate a heck of a lot more spin. I advise my students to start with a simple blocking action, similar to a volley motion and not to be obsessed with hitting too much underspin and sidespin. As a player progresses, they can add more spin to the drop shot.

Remember that a well-disguised, flatter blocking type drop shot is better than a poorly disguised heavy spin drop shot—and the former will be highly consistent! Many pros will hit drop shots successfully with minimal backspin, although it's true that the drop shots with maximum spin make the highlight reel.

Finish

The finish varies depending on the height the ball is struck, the tactical intention, and the amount of wrist employed. Players who apply more wrist action and acceleration will naturally have a longer deceleration pathway post impact and often the racquet comes across the body right to left on outside in pathway cross court drop shots.

On inside out forehand drop shots, popularized recently by Alcaraz, for example, the racquet pathway to finish is inside out—left to right for a right handed player.

Interestingly and as a side note, it's physiologically impossible to apply inside out sidespin to high balls above the shoulder. High balls that are dropshot are always “hooked," as I like to call it from outside in—the equivalent to a hook in a golf shot. Contrarily, low balls cannot be “hooked," they must be “faded," again borrowing from golf terminology. The only sidespin that can be applied to a low balls is inside out sidespin.

Subsequently, the finishes vary depending on the hooking or fading angle. And the follow through will tend to be lower on sharp trajectory downward swing paths on high contact points.

The angle of the racquet face on finishes varies from very open to the sky for low height struck balls to closer to vertical on high height struck balls.

The angle of the wrist and racquet will also vary depending on the tactical intention and how much sidespin was applied. There is a lot of wrist flexion on employed on “hooked" drop shots and the finish point will reflect this aspect with extreme wrist flexion and internal shoulder rotation.

The finish on a hooked drop shot can wrap the forearm near or across the stomach and the wrist almost wrapped around the torso. Similar finishes can be found on the high forehand defensive squash shot.

Finishes on lower struck balls that are “faded" are typically with the wrist hyperextended and the shoulder maximally externally rotated. The elbow is typically pushed away from the trunk on the follow through.

Footwork Options

Players can jump into medium to high balls for an airborne forehand drop shot effect. Highlight reel stuff.

Players can also stay grounded but typically will move through the forehand drop shot to take an advantageous court position. The footwork used to move through the forehand drop shot can be a simple running step or caricoa behind step.

Players can also be grounded, rooted, with the back foot anchored, execute the shot, and then move forward in a delayed fashion. The drop shot can be hit with any stance, from open to closed.

Stay tuned for Part 2 on the backhand drop shot featuring technical details for both two-handed and one-handed players, and my favorite drop shot games and drills! Vamos!