Do you get down low enough when you play drop shots? 

Commonly players mess up opportunities to drop at the front because they are too upright and so they end up dangling their racket at the ball rather than playing the shot properly. If you dangle your racket so that it’s hanging down in a straight line, you are unlikely to hit the right part of the ball, which of course doesn’t do your chances of playing an effective shot much good. Usually, the ‘dangle’ results in inconsistent drops with just as many going too high or hitting the tin as going in.

Getting low enough for good technique and to hit the right part of the ball

The simple answer to how low you need to get is that it needs to be low enough to get your technique right and be able to hit the bottom of the ball (or any part of the ball) if you need to. If you are going into the ball with your arm hanging straight down, you aren’t going to be able to achieve a consistently good shot as your swing will be ineffective and if you’re doing this because you’re upright, you also won’t hit the right part of the ball.

Presumably if you’re in the front corner retrieving a drop, the ball will be low, which means you’ll need to get low enough to be in a position where you can hit the bottom part of the ball so you can gently lift the ball into the corner or for a counter drop or even play a lob shot if you wish. These will typically be your two best options as they will be the toughest shots for your opponent and allow you more T-Recovery time if you play them well.

Cocking your wrist

Cocking your wrist is a little bit frowned upon at the moment (especially since Ramy Ashour came along) but it’s important that your keep your wrist up when moving into a drop in the front corner. This doesn’t necessarily mean cocking it in the traditional sense but you need to get your lower arm back enough in that ‘triangle’ shape you would typically use when hitting a forehand shot, as you can see in the picture below. Doing this allows you to get a bit more control over your shot, which is important in this scenario.

How do you get low?

Generally, the best way of getting low in the front is to lunge. If you go in with more of a squat or use your back to get down low, it isn’t very easy to get out of the way or get back to the T-Position, or you may find yourself in trouble if your opponent is quick into the front and looking to play long. If you lunge you can stretch in and recover the T-Position more efficiently, get your weight through the ball and also get down low enough to hit the bottom of the ball and swing with quality.

If your drop shots in the front leave something to be desired, check if you are getting down low enough to give yourself the platform for a good swing and to hit the necessary part of the ball.