How to Hit a Drop Shot

Tennis can be a great game when everything's going right, but when the things you're trying to do aren't working out, your racket might find itself flying over the fence after you let it feel how frustrated you are. One of the shots a lot of people have trouble with is the drop shot. This article will explain a little about how to use the shot and how you can improve your drop shot.

First of all, when should you play a drop shot? The best possible time to play the shot is when your opponent is deep back in the court, behind the baseline or further. You should be well inside the baseline, preferably around the service line. Why? Simply because after you hit the ball it doesn't have much time before it's over the net and already falling toward the second bounce. As well as this, your short distance to the net makes it harder to get this wrong and the distance from your opponent to the net is quite far, if you execute the shot well enough, your opponent will be left stranded. So now we know when to play a drop shot, how do we make sure it comes off?

One of the most common things people do when they try and play a drop shot is lose all their form and sometimes even balance. People tend to get a bit fancy with their swing and do something silly and miss into the net. To counter this make sure you get into position properly and are well balance, but assume the position of a normal backhand or forehand depending on which side you're playing it from. You don't want your opponent to know you're going to play a drop shot right up until you actually hit it. Disguising your drop shot well is key.

To make sure your shot doesn't end up going too deep, you need to use "soft hands". This is when you relax the grip on your racket and relax your wrist and let the force of your opponents shot be absorbed by your bending muscles. If you remain rigid, the force of the ball will be too strong and your shot will be ineffective.