Improve Your Dropshot

As you know, the third shot in pickleball, often called the “dropshot,” is supposed to fall gently into the opponents’ kitchen, so they have no choice but to return it defensively. As it turns out, considerable practice is required to make good, consistent dropshots. Here’s something that may speed the learning process:

Think less about low balls – ones that barely clear the net, and then magically drop dead in the kitchen. Instead, allow yourself higher dropshots. The drop shot can be as much as three feet (1 meter) above the net, as long as it hits that maximum height well before it passes the net. In other words, have your dropshots describe an arc in which the highest point is several feet before the net, so they are already dropping by the time they cross. There is more room for error in this kind of a dropshot, and the opponents have less opportunity to blast them back at you with a forehand topspin, because the opponents would have to swoop well into the kitchen to reach your parabolic dropshots.

The only downside is that if your dropshots are too high, the opponents can blast them back at you after they bounce.