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They are pinned at the back glass. Is the drop shot on?
The drop shot is about their distance, not your touch. Play it only when they are pinned deep and moving back.
You are at the net, both opponents are deep against their back wall, and you have a comfortable volley. Do you drop it short?
The drop shot is about their distance, not your touch. Play it only when they are pinned deep and moving back.
Why
A drop volley wins because of geometry: a player pressed against the back glass has to cover the length of the court to reach a ball dying near the net, and if they get there at all they arrive stretched and low, unable to do anything but lift. That situation has to actually exist. Played when they are at a normal depth, or moving forward, the same shot is simply a short ball to a pair who now get to attack it and take the net from you.
What this means at your level
Beginner
Leave it alone and volley deep. The drop needs a soft touch and a very specific situation, and both take time to learn.
Intermediate
Check their feet before you commit. If either of them is inside their service line, hit deep instead.
Advanced
Play it after a sequence of deep volleys, and to the side away from the player who last hit. The deep balls are what create the drop: on its own it is a trick, in a pattern it is a winner.
Common questions
You are at the net, both opponents are deep against their back wall, and you have a comfortable volley. Do you drop it short?
Yes, but only when they are genuinely pinned deep. The drop shot is about their distance, not your touch. Play it only when they are pinned deep and moving back. A drop volley wins because of geometry: a player pressed against the back glass has to cover the length of the court to reach a ball dying near the net, and if they get there at all they arrive stretched and low, unable to do anything but lift. That situation has to actually exist. Played when they are at a normal depth, or moving forward, the same shot is simply a short ball to a pair who now get to attack it and take the net from you.
Why not only when both of them are already at the net?
Backwards. A drop to a pair standing at the net is the easiest ball they will see all point. The shot needs them deep, not close.
What should a beginner do here?
Leave it alone and volley deep. The drop needs a soft touch and a very specific situation, and both take time to learn.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Play it after a sequence of deep volleys, and to the side away from the player who last hit. The deep balls are what create the drop: on its own it is a trick, in a pattern it is a winner.
Puzzles like this one
They lobbed you deep. Smash it or play the bandeja?
Deep ball, high hands: bandeja. The shot exists to keep you at the net, not to win the point.
beginnerThe ball is at your feet at the net. What now?
A ball below the net cannot be attacked. Block it deep and wait for one above the tape.
beginnerBoth of them are at the net. What is the highest-percentage ball?
Only the lob moves a net pair backwards. Everything else invites them forward.