Drop shot in Tennis

Reviewer Really precise - the grip-pressure scale and bounce-count metric give you an actual way to check yourself.

Moderator A precise three-part breakdown of forehand drop shot technique - grip pressure on a concrete numeric scale, racket path length (correcting the common too-short punch mistake), and progressive racket-face opening through the swing rather than being open throughout.

Reviewer About as complete a single lesson on this shot as you'll find - grip through advanced disguise.

Moderator A ground-up, comprehensive lesson on the drop shot - its relationship to the chip return/volley/slice family, exact grip, takeback, high-to-low swing path and contact zone, backspin mechanics, developing touch via mini tennis, staying still through contact, needing incoming pace, and the one-handed fake-grip-change variant.

Reviewer One of the best technical explanations of this shot I've seen - the contact-point/runway idea is a real light-bulb moment.

Moderator A frame-by-frame technical breakdown of exactly how Alcaraz hits his drop shot - grip, disguise via a late grip change out of a topspin-forehand setup, minimal hand/wrist movement, contact height, and where along the 'runway' of the swing he meets the ball to control depth. Entirely and specifically about drop shot execution.

Reviewer Watching live corrections on a real student is worth more than most talking-head lessons -- great progression.

Moderator A full progression -- catch/absorption drill, then volley drop shot, then baseline drop shot -- built entirely around learning to hit a drop shot, with live coaching corrections on a real student.

Reviewer Best kind of lesson -- real drills you can go run, not just talking points.

Moderator Grip, trajectory, court targeting, cross-court vs down-the-line, and three structured drills -- this is a complete drop shot lesson, nothing else mixed in.

Reviewer Excellent -- explains the why behind the grip and the aim, not just the what. Coach-level detail.

Moderator A full coach-led breakdown of the drop shot from grip through trajectory and aim -- exactly the skill, nothing else mixed in.

Reviewer Excellent - the 'always move forward, never back away' point alone fixes a very common error.

Moderator A thorough technique-tactics-defense treatment of the drop shot - contrasting it live against the slice it's built from, the critical (and counter-intuitive) rule to always move forward into the ball rather than back away, wrist firmness, and a realistic mini-tennis drill for building it.

Reviewer Excellent tactical depth - the three-way guessing game explanation is a real light-bulb moment.

Moderator A deep breakdown of Alcaraz's drop shot - why the backhand disguises more easily than the forehand, how he sometimes changes grip with the dominant hand mid-shot on the forehand, court positioning requirements, and the specific three-way tactical trap his inside-in forehand setup creates.

Reviewer Clear, well-targeted coaching that's honest about what you need before attempting this shot.

Moderator A thorough two-coach breakdown entirely on the tennis drop shot - when to use it (surface, court position), the touch-not-swing principle, the spoon/cupping technique analogy, matching footwork to the volley, and a grip-substitution troubleshooting tip for the backhand.

Reviewer Clear coaching that makes the slice-vs-drop-shot distinction really click.

Moderator Comprehensive coach lesson covering exactly when to hit a drop shot (attacking, specific setups like after a big serve or when the opponent is scrambling), court position for it, and detailed technique that explicitly differentiates it from a regular slice (catching underneath the ball, J-shaped path, soft hands).

Reviewer Really well put together - tells you when to use it, not just how, and is honest about what you need first.

Moderator Comprehensive treatment of the drop shot in tennis - when to play it (opponent pushed back, feet inside the court, not from behind the baseline), the height window that makes it possible, and full technique (continental grip, open face, high-to-low J-shaped swing, soft hands, late grip-change disguise).

Reviewer One of the better technical explanations here - the grip mechanism and the mini-tennis drill are both things you can go do right now.

Moderator Entirely dedicated to building the grip and touch feel needed for the drop shot - exact continental grip placement on the racket bevel, why it naturally opens the face without needing to scoop, and a mini-tennis drill built specifically to groove that feel.

Reviewer Real coach, real cues - soft hands and follow-through step are the actual keys.

Moderator Squarely a drop shot technique breakdown, numbered cues, from one of the most credible coaches in tennis. Nothing else it could be about.

Reviewer Good specific mistake-correction for both wings - the wrist-firmness point especially.

Moderator Detailed forehand and backhand drop shot mechanics - staying sideways and stable rather than opening the torso, shortening the follow through instead of over-chopping, keeping the wrist firm at contact, and the specific grip/bevel adjustments for each wing including Alcaraz's two-hander-to-one-hander conversion.

Reviewer Clear, technically sound, and gives you an actual drill to go practice with.

Moderator Entirely about drop shot technique and how it diverges from a standard slice - continental grip, dropping the racket to the ball's level instead of driving through, carving underneath for backspin, common mistakes (too flat or overly precise), and a simple self-feed drill to build the feel.

Reviewer Great tip - the 'aim high, not low' cue alone will change how you think about this shot.

Moderator A high-level player demonstrating and explaining exactly how to hit a drop shot off a heavy topspin ball - disguise via a late grip switch, using the legs and body into the shot, and the counter-intuitive 'high over the net, short in the court' aiming cue. Entirely about executing this shot.

Reviewer Efficient and specific - more real content here than videos twice as long.

Moderator A dense, well-organized checklist entirely on the drop shot - disguise, the pro trick of delaying the grip change until the backswing, a compact brush-under swing path, precise contact point (slightly ahead, below the ball's equator), and a short, catching follow through.

Reviewer Simple, memorable tips - the 'set it up with the shot before' idea is worth the video alone.

Moderator Three clear tips entirely about the drop shot - setting it up with the previous shot rather than attempting it in isolation, treating the technique like a volley, and visualizing the ball peaking then descending across the net for the right shortness.

Reviewer Smart, specific disguise tip - the kind of detail that separates good drop shots from great ones.

Moderator Entirely about disguising the backhand drop shot by making its takeaway identical to the backhand slice, only diverging at the very last instant. A specific, well-demonstrated technical/tactical element of the drop shot.

Reviewer Good hands-on lesson with real feedback loops and two easy drills you can do without a partner.

Moderator Live on-court lesson entirely about hitting a soft, feathery drop shot - court position zones for when to attempt it, grip pressure and touch, height calibration over the net, and live coaching feedback as the student tries it. Squarely the sub-skill.

Reviewer Genuinely illuminating on the why - the distance math makes the strategy click.

Moderator Entirely about why the drop shot works tactically in tennis - the court-geometry argument that lateral coverage is far easier than forward coverage, with concrete distances, plus clear decision rules for when to attempt it.

Reviewer Excellent detail on a shot most players never get taught properly - the cupping-vs-softening distinction is the key insight.

Moderator Entirely about executing a drop shot off a half volley - a specific, harder variant of the sub-skill, covering split-step timing, hand softness, and the difference between absorbing the ball versus cupping/adding spin.

Reviewer Underrated point -- chasing spin over consistency is a trap, and this explains why.

Moderator Entirely about drop shot technique philosophy -- comparing the big backspin chop against a relaxed, pace-absorbing swing, and why one is more repeatable under match pressure.

Reviewer Surprisingly complete for how short it is - good specific cues.

Moderator Short but entirely about drop shot mechanics - moving forward instead of staying static, identical prep to a normal groundstroke for disguise, the late grip change to neutral/continental, the above-to-under racket path, and the specific back-leg footwork through contact.

Reviewer Good disguise cue and a nice framing on learning by feel rather than overthinking mechanics.

Moderator Specifically the backhand drop shot -- disguise via selling a crosscourt slice, then sliding under it at the last second. Narrower than 'drop shot' in general but still squarely inside the skill.

Reviewer Specific, correct grip and face-angle cues - usable.

Moderator Grip and racket-face angle for hitting a drop shot on clay - squarely the sub-skill with a surface-specific wrinkle.

Reviewer Smart strategic framing - explains why you should actually use the drop shot more, not just how.

Moderator Entirely about why and how the drop shot works as a weapon at the pro level - the fear it creates by pairing with a real power weapon, the frequency needed to stay unpredictable, and the cumulative fatigue effect. Squarely about the sub-skill's strategic dimension.

Reviewer Specific, correct, and the mindset shift -- offense, not bailout -- is worth the watch alone.

Moderator Three concrete tips squarely about hitting and disguising the drop shot -- take it early/on the rise, fake topspin then switch grip, and treat it as offense you actually practice rather than a bailout.

Reviewer Good, specific fix for a real leak -- sell the groundstroke, then go soft late.

Moderator Squarely about the drop shot -- diagnoses a specific real problem (the shot sitting up because the prep gives it away) and prescribes the fix. Nothing else competing for attention here.

Reviewer Good mechanical cues in there, but you're wading through a lot of hype to get them.

Moderator Positioning (inside the baseline), shot selection (cross-court preferred), mechanics (open face, don't chop, come across not through), and timing (opponent deep, or right after a big shot) -- all squarely drop shot, just delivered with a lot of personality/hype.

Reviewer Smart tactical idea (condition them first) buried in a lot of rambling -- worth it if you already have the shot.

Moderator Not a word about grip or swing -- it's entirely about the tactical sequencing of when to unleash the drop shot (condition the opponent with pace first). Still squarely drop shot content, just the strategic half rather than the technical half.

Reviewer Decent tactical nugget on disguising the return drop shot, but light on execution detail.

Moderator Entirely about deploying a drop shot off the return of serve against baseline pushers, including how to disguise it by making the setup look identical to a deep chip-and-charge return. On topic for the sub-skill's tactical use.

Reviewer One good tactical idea, explained clearly, but there's not much more to it than that.

Moderator About using the drop shot specifically as an approach-shot weapon off Federer footage - coming to net behind it and the tactical effect of forcing the opponent to respect the baseline. Fully about the drop shot, just the approach-shot application of it rather than baseline-to-baseline use.

Reviewer Useful if you already know how to hit the shot and want to understand disguise - not a technique lesson.

Moderator This is match analysis of how Ivanovic sets up and disguises a drop shot using a slice backhand pattern earlier in the point. Squarely about the drop shot as a tactical weapon in tennis, though about the setup/disguise dimension specifically rather than the stroke mechanics of the drop shot itself.

Reviewer Correct and useful, and something most players never think about -- but it won't fix your technique.

Moderator Doesn't touch the swing at all -- it's entirely about what to do after you've hit the drop shot. Still, positioning after the shot is part of playing the shot well, not a different skill, so I won't call it tangential.

Reviewer Smart, simple reasoning about where to place a drop volley - worth the two minutes.

Moderator This is about a drop volley on the first volley rather than a baseline drop shot, but it's the same touch-shot family and the same underlying teaching point (minimize the ball's travel so the opponent covers maximum distance), applied at net instead of from the back court.

Reviewer Decent cue, but it's over in seconds with no drill or context behind it.

Moderator Same clip as the TikTok version from this coach -- describes the actual drop shot contact point (starting above the ball, coming down and under) inside a slice-vs-drop-shot comparison, so it's on-topic but narrow.

Reviewer Decent feel cue, but blink and you'll miss it -- no drill, no context, no follow-up.

Moderator Half of this is slice-backhand mechanics, half is drop shot -- it does describe the actual drop shot contact (starting above the ball, coming down and under for that reverse-hook/backspin feel), so it's on-topic, just narrow and comparison-framed rather than a dedicated drop shot lesson.