Comments on: How To Beat This Tennis Strategy?

By: Tony B

Tony B — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:11:46 +0000

Prevention is the best way to combat any problem, especially with the “drop shot-lob” tactic. the first thing you should concentrate on doing is to hit your balls deeper. no one can consistently hit dropshots against you from behind the baseline. as well as this focus on hitting the ball with more pace as the quicker it comes through the harder a drop shot is to control. if you have a nice slice that skids through i recommend that.
next step is to anticipate when she will hit the dropshot. the best dropshots are when the hitter is inside the baseline. so if shes in a bit be aware a dropshot might be on its way, especially if you are deep in the court. look at their backswing and grip and u usually know before they’ve hit it if they are gonna hit a dropshot. the extra split second u get to move forward could be crucial.
if they have hit a dropshot and you’re moving forward the sooner you get there the better as the higher the ball is the easier it will be. if you can hit a winner of course do so. but generally if that isnt an option the best bet is a dropshot of your own. is an easier shot as you’re already by the net, and flips the situation around on them. a drop shot requires a continental grip.
Remember: drop shots are more effective later on in a match as the balls are flatter and opponents are tired, so i wouldnt worry about them too much early on. also once they have been attempted a few times they are easy to counter, so using it as a “tactic” for an entire match should almost never work. good luck!

By: Jenny W

Jenny W — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:12:13 +0000

whan u run up, just run back.that’s what i do,cause i’m short.

By: tu me manques toujours

tu me manques toujours — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:28:17 +0000

wow i think that……YOU ………. need to practice more lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol GLC star 4 u jenna :)…. c u l8r chica

By: H52696

H52696 — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:11:01 +0000

An easy thing to do is just hit a hard shot in the corners or to an open spot.This is because your moving your opponenet to where you have enough time to reposition yourself to be able to hit their next shot. After being hit a drop shot you should always move back to the baseline…
GOOD LUCK!

By: JustAski

JustAski — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:25:26 +0000

Here are some effective tactics against the drop-shot/lob combination.
1. Instead of hitting a groundstroke against the drop shot, hit a drop shot to the other person. This is highly effective against most players. If your opponent starts anticipating your drop shot by closing in, you can then hit a groundstroke to either corner. You’ll probably want a more Eastern or even a continental grip on your FH to be able to hit a drop shot.
2. If you hit a groundstroke as you now are doing, it must put your opponent at a disadvantage, either by being deep into the court, sharply angled, or a drop shot. If you just hit a ball that bounces well inside the baseline, you should lose the point to a lob or passing shot.
3. Generally it is better to hit the ball deep to the side you are on, rather than crosscourt, if you are unable to hit a winner. This will allow you to best cover the passing shot or lob.
4. Discourage your opponent from hitting a drop shot by keeping her deep. If you keep her close to the baseline by hitting deep shots, she will find it difficult to hit effective drop shots. It doesn’t even matter much if your deep shots are topspin, slices, or even moonballs. The more you can pin her deep the less she can manipulate you with dropshots.

By: liz

liz — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:30:01 +0000

Watch for your opponent switching grips or giving away a signal that she may be drop shotting so you can anticipate the drop shot. If you get to the drop shot fast and the ball hasn’t drop too low, try hitting it hard down the line or where she is not. If you get to it late and it’s already dropping below the net, just try to get it back and get in position for the next shot. If you are playing someone familiar and you know they follow up a drop shot with a lob, then anticipate the lob and go for the overhead. Once you start to shut this strategy down, your opponent wil be hesitant to do it again.

By: Professor Anthrax

Professor Anthrax — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:49:38 +0000

Drop shots are hard to execute since it requires the ball to lose all of its speed so it bounces near the net. Also it’s basically a slice with a variation of brushing more behind the ball (even under it) so it turns all the opponent’s topspin against him as backspin.
Therefore, if he made a good drop shot that you couldn’t go after, it was because you did not hit a strong enough shot or that you put too much topspin and not enough power. Remember that a player will always lob over your head if you’re at the net so to prevent that you will need to prevent the player from pulling you to the net.
So to basically prevent that from ever happening, you will need to hit your shots more “flatter” meaning with more power and less brush. Just make your follow through expand more outwards rather than upwards. Also, if a person dropshotted a ball really well, it must have meant he had the time to do so. That means that you hit the ball towards him instead of away from him.
So you should focus on placing the ball rather than hitting the ball harder, because no matter how hard you hit your shot, if it heads towards the opponent, all the power and spin can be used against you. Accuracy is more important than strength.
EDIT:
If you ever want to slice a ball, I would recommend you always use Continental if you want to slice/drop shot a ball on your backhand. For your forehand, I wouldn’t recommend you to slice, but instead use a grip that suits your playing style (Semi-western for power or Western for spin which is what I use). If you want to slice your forehand, it’s easier with Semi.
It’s really simple to drop shot, you need to brush under the ball so it will make a tiny lob, but cause the ball to bounce backwards. It’s hard to execute since it requires the ball to have lots of topspin (topspin turns into backspin) and need to have been hit not as strongly so it does not bounce off your racquet with high speed.
That’s why I’m telling you to hit your shots harder, the opponent can not drop shot a ball that has high speed. He can NEVER do that the only time he can drop shot is if:
1. If you slice or lob him a ball.
2. If you hit a ball with too much topspin.