Sometimes when someone plays a really good drop shot, you need every bit of help you can get to return it with interest or even return it at all. Any little extra thing that can help is worth knowing and today we’ll be discussing how you can go full stretch with your racket by changing your grip as you move into the shot, which is an incredibly important skill to practice.

Holding the very base of the racket 

The end goal is to hold your racket at the very base of the grip to the extent that there is only a small amount of the grip between your thumb and fingers. You will of course be surrendering a lot of control over the ball by doing this but when you are at full stretch, keeping the ball in has to be the main aim.

As you move into the front corner, and do try to move very directly straight towards the ball, shift your hand to the base of the grip and the absolute lowest point you can keep hold of the grip without losing control or dropping your racket. You are aiming to essentially bounce the ball off the very top of the strings and into the front corner. It certainly won’t have a lot of pace on it but with a bit of practice and the right body angle – having the body facing towards the front corner – you can keep the ball fairly tight to the side wall.

If you are able to, also try to make sure you are also able to stretch back out towards the T-Position too in order to cover a long shot.

For more information about how to hold the racket, check out our page on the grip.