Hey Picklers,
If I ask you one key skill that can improve your game drastically, what would it be?
During my early Pickleball journey, I used to participate in local amateur tournaments.
At one such tournament, I met Josh. Josh was incredibly skilled and it reflected in his game. He was dominating the game from the first day of the tournament.
What puzzled me more was how effortlessly he reset points. How could he position himself perfectly every single time after serving?
So after one such game I asked Josh, “How is that so easy for you as I feel I’m stuck at the baseline after serving?”
There he introduced me to the Drop Shot. He even gave a demo of how to play the drop shot.
Once I understood the technique, I found that many pro Pickleball players were using variations of Drop shots to dominate the game.
So… What Is a Drop Shot?
A drop shot is a very soft, gentle shot in pickleball where you hit the ball just enough so that it barely crosses the net and lands inside the kitchen (the non-volley zone).
Why play drop shot?
- It helps you to gain the most advantageous position on court ‘The Kitchen Line’ from across the court.
- It is used strategically by players to change the pace and disrupt their opponent’s momentum.
- The drop shot forces your opponent to hit the ball up giving you an opportunity to attack on the next shot.
- You can change your stance from defensive to attacking or neutral.
What is the Third Shot Drop?
When the serving team plays a drop shot on the return serve, it is called a Third shot drop.
Remember that the third shot drop is a type of drop shot, which is played only on return serve.
How to Hit the Perfect Drop Shot
I’ll be honest with you, ‘Learning drop shot is not easy.’
To perfect this skill you may have to invest a lot of time. Once you get it right, you’ll find that it changes your game forever.
Drop shot consists of three key aspects
- Grip
- Positioning and
- Swing
You combine these three and you can execute a perfect drop shot. Let’s understand each of them.
1. Grip
Grip on paddle decides whether you will nail or fail the drop shot.
The tight hold on paddle kills finesse of the shot. The tight grip means stiff wrist and this will shoot the ball too high, giving an attacking opportunity to your opponent.
Use the continental grip for holding the paddle.
What’s the continental grip?
- Hold your paddle vertically as if you are ‘shaking hands’ with it.
- Hold the paddle with 30% of your maximum grip strength.
- Let your wrist relax, so that you can guide the paddle gently under the ball.
Remember for drop shots control is more important than power.
2. Positioning
Drop shot is best played from just behind the baseline or when you are trying to transition forward towards the kitchen area.
After serving the ball, don’t rush to the net immediately. You also need to comply with two bounce rule.
3. Swing
Keep the swing short and in upward motion with a slight arc, for executing gentle stroke on the ball.
Aim the ball to land in the back half area of your opponent’s kitchen.
The elevation of the shot should be enough to clear the net, not too high.
Remember, you should feel confident to take that shot, if you are not confident enough, let it go high rather than into the net.
It’s always better to give your opponent a chance to hit than giving them the point.
Should drop shot include a Spin?
What I feel is, If you’re a beginner, forget spin for now. You need to focus on accuracy, which is important to master drop shot.
Once you are good with accuracy, you can start experimenting by spinning the ball with Topspin (ball rolls forward) or Slice (paddle brushes under the ball) shot.
But trust me, simple works. Leave the fancy spin shots for later.
Tips to use Drop shot effectively
- Aim cross-court: With the cross-court shot, the ball travels diagonally, that means it goes farther and gives you more time to reposition.
- Target your opponent’s backhand: Most players are weak with backhand shots. If you target the backhand, they will struggle to return the shot giving you an opportunity to score.
- Hit from the center of the paddle: The center of the paddle helps to hit you with accuracy.
How to practice drop shot to master it
So after understanding the skill theoretically, how to practice it for real?
Here is the most effective drill which will help you to refine your skill.
Moving Drop Shots
Ask your partner to stay at the kitchen line and you start at the kitchen line.
Hit a drop shot and move a step back.
With every shot step back and repeat the process.
This way you can move all the way back to serve line and then again back to kitchen line while aiming to hit the ball to the opponent’s kitchen.
The goal here is to consistently hit the ball to land in the back kitchen area.
Finally you have to understand that if you can’t dink, you can’t play proper drop shots. If you don’t know how to dink, check this article to learn it.
Final Thoughts
It takes time to master drop shot with accuracy. However, once you get it right, you’ll be more confident on the court than ever. Your game will improve naturally so do the ratings.
It’s worth every ounce of effort.
Are you already using drop shot in your game? Do you have any tips that I missed in this article?
