Mimic the smooth and gentle voice of Barry White with your drop shots. 

Court Positioning 

• After serving, step back into the tennis zone, the five feet behind the baseline. This will allow you to move forward to a drop shot opportunity.  You do not want to step back or be jammed for space when you hit a drop shot. 

• Watch the player returning the ball, their paddle and the ball.  This will give you early  information on where the ball will likely bounce and how fast it will be travelling when it arrives.  This will give you more time to decide if it’s going to be an appropriate ball to return with the drop shot. 

Shot Selection 

• You are looking for benign returns that are going to bounce at least 3 feet inside the baseline, that you can take on your forehand side. Benign means returns that are travelling at slow to medium pace, have little topspin or slice and aren’t unduly affected by the wind. Your success rate will be high if you limit yourself to using the drop on these returns. This will build your confidence. 

Grip Strength 

• Use a continental/handshake grip. Imagine your paddle handle is a baby bird. Hold the grip so lightly that you can feel the baby bird’s wings flapping against the inside of your palm. This is a super light grip. Now push the baby bird up a little so its little head is sticking out the top of your hand (the end of the paddle handle, the butt cap, is resting just above the fleshy part of your palm).This is a super-duper light grip.

Shot Preparation 

• Move as early as possible with small steps to get yourself in line and behind the incoming ball. 

• Have your knees unlocked.

• Let your paddle hang  down beside you with a relaxed arm.

• Let the ball decline a little from the peak of the bounce. If you hit the ball at the top of the bounce, the ball is almost weightless, like a satellite orbiting the earth. By letting the ball come down off the peak of the bounce you will be able to feel its weight, so you can better gauge how much to lift & push, to drop it in the kitchen. 

Shot Execution

• Step gently forward comfortably with your left foot and contact the ball in line with your right leg and further forward than your left foot. 

• Start your smooth and gentle swing just beside your right knee and finish around waist height or lower, keeping your knees unlocked and eyes on the target. Don’t lift your body up. 

• Contact the ball with the sweet spot of the paddle. 

• Feel the weight of the ball and adjust the gentle strength of the lift and push to reach the target. 

• You are looking to create a low arc that clears the net by half a foot to one foot and unless intercepted, will land in the kitchen or within a foot of the kitchen line. 

• The ball should travel at a slowish pace.

Targets 

• Aim towards the backhand of the player who returned the serve.

• When you're playing on the left side, aim to the right side of the kitchen as you see it (assuming the server is a right handed player). Your drop shot will be dropping sharply down as it moves across them, to their backhand - a tough shot for them to return. 

• When you're playing on the right side, aim a little to the right side of the server as you see it (assuming the server is a right handed player). Make sure the ball will be just out of easy reach of the server’s partner. Your drop shot will be dropping sharply down and to their backhand and between the two players at the net, often causing some hesitation and confusion. A tricky shot for them to return.  

Expectations 

• Expect the ball to be returned. You are simply wanting them to have to hit up and over the net, with their backhand, so they can’t hit an attacking shot, or at least not one that clears the net or stays inside the court. 

• As soon as you see your shot is going to dip over the net you should move forward. At least get past the first five feet inside the baseline (The Danger Zone) if you are going to move forward, it only takes a few steps. Don’t expect to get all the way to the kitchen as this usually isn’t possible with the low arc of your drop shot. Make sure you are stopped, stable and ready just before they contact the ball. 

Practice 

• Since you are only using the 3rd shot drop to return benign balls, this shot can be usefully practiced on your own with a bucket of balls. Simply drop feed the ball to yourself at least three feet inside the baseline and hit the shot to a target. Once you have gained some consistency, try moving the ball drop around a little to practice your footwork. 

Build Your Confidence

• Confidence comes from evidence. Stick to this formula for hitting 3rd shot drops and give yourself a tick every time you are successful in practice or in a game. 

• If you miss, try and identify what went wrong and make the correction. 

• When you're playing a session, jot a specific reminder message on some tape and stick it to your paddle, for example ‘Baby Bird Grip’. This will help you focus on improving this aspect of your drop shots during the session. It’s easy to forget your preplanned focus without the reminder. 

Skill Expansion 

• Wait until you can confidently hit the Barry White 3rd Shot Drop before expanding the shot selection criteria and before using your backhand or adding slice or topspin to your drops. 

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. 

Cheers

Ray, the PeninsulaPickleballCoach