Watching players on the World Padel Tour play their drop shots that spin back to the net looks spectacular. Yet, when I try to do the same thing all I end up doing is giving my opponents an easy ball for them to win the point. So I set about learning how I could make my drop shot consistently work for me as a recreational level player.
The most consistently effective drop shot that you can play in padel is where you play a volley from near the centerline down toward your side of the court. Play your drop shot quite flat to give you more control. Have the ball bounce in such a way that the second bounce is near the fence.
Let’s take a closer look at the elements that make for a consistently good drop shot.
Why Professional Style Drop Shots Don’t Work For Most Padel Players
What I have noticed when I try to emulate the way that professionals play drop shots in padel is that the ball pops up into the air when I attempt to put a lot of backspin on the ball.
That makes the ball hang in the air for longer and gives my opponents the chance to rush up to the net and play a hard attacking shot from the easy ball that I have given them. That will either be an immediate winner for my opponents or I will get forced back, away from the net, and be on the defensive.
Even the professionals don’t play their high backspin drop shots that often because they need to make sure that their opponents are forced completely back into the corners before attempting the shot.
Luckily there is an easier version of the padel drop shot that you can play with more consistency and with a greater chance at success.
When To Play A Drop Shot In Padel
In order to play the drop shot in padel effectively, you need to set up the shot properly. The dimensions of a padel court mean that your opponents will always be nearer the net than they would be on a tennis court.
Therefore, you should play one or more set-up shots to push your opponents further back into the corners.
This will give you the space to be able to play an effective drop shot that doesn’t just give up the net position to your opponents.
Where To Aim Your Drop Shot In Padel
Picture a line drawn on the court from the centerline to the second fence post away from the net. That will give you the triangle where you should aim to have your drop shot bounce.
Play your drop shot from a volley where the ball is coming to you nearer the center line and pull your drop shot to land in the target triangle in your half of the court rather than playing cross-court.
Instead of trying to use a lot of spin, aim your drop shot to hit the side fence as it is dropping down for a second bounce. As we all know, the fence makes the ball bounce back in an unpredictable way.
The low ball combined with the unpredictable bounce off the fence means that even if your opponent does reach the ball, they will not be able to do much more than pop a soft shot up into the air, thereby giving you an easy ball to finish off for the winner.
Why Cross-Court Drop Shots Are Weaker
When you play a cross-court drop shot from wide the ball has a lot further to travel before bouncing near the fence. This will create two problems for you and your partner on the court.
The first problem is that it will give more time to your opponents to come forward and play their return before the ball gets to the fence.
The second problem is positional in nature. Your partner will need to cover their line by standing close to the fence on the side where your cross-court drop shot is going. You have just played yourself out of position by playing your drop shot from wide, against the fence on your side of the court. This leaves a massive gap in the center of the court for your opponents to exploit and suddenly your drop shot will put you on the defensive rather than your opponents.
Where To Move On The Court After Playing A Drop Shot In Padel
As we have already covered, the best angle of drop shot volley is where you play the ball from nearer the center of the court toward the fence on your side of the court.
Once you have played this kind of drop shot the ball will be low down near the fence on your half of the court. Therefore you will need to move across toward the fence so that you can cover your line while your partner must also move across to cover the center of the court.
How To Set Up For A Drop Shot In Padel
The drop shot is most effective when one or both of your opponents are well back on the court. You do this by playing controlled volleys into the corners. Then once you have an opponent right back in their corner you can play the drop shot that you learned here.
Even though this drop shot is very effective, don’t turn around assuming that you have already won the point once you have played it. If your opponent is quick on the court there is a better than average chance that they will be able to reach the ball.
However, even if they do reach the ball they will be able to do little else than pop the ball up over the net giving you a very easy shot with your opponent completely out of position.
So aside from needing set-up shots to be able to make the drop shot feasible, the drop shot is itself a really good set-up shot to play the winner afterward.
