If you’ve been playing pickleball for some time, you will know that the third shot you make can set up the whole point. The third shot drop in pickleball is a great shot to master because you don’t need to have any sports background to execute it. Here are some tips to help you make a good third-shot drop every single time.
Mastering The Third Shot Drop In Pickleball
When you know that you will be making a third shot drop, the first thing you will need to see is how the ball is coming to you. You will need to pay attention to how your opponent is returning the ball. Are they applying under spin by slicing the ball? Or is it more top spin?
The reason this is important is that you will need to adjust your third shot accordingly. If your opponent comes from a high-level tennis background, they may return a ball with heavy backspin. A ball with a lot of backspin or underspin will stay low with a low bounce. It will also skid so you may need to back up and adjust your timing.
If the ball comes with any backspin, you will need to get under the ball and lift it more so it will not go into the net. Don’t rush in making your shot. Let the ball bounce and allow its contact with the ground to neutralize the spin.
If the ball comes neutral or with topspin, you can choose a flat drop, a slice drop, or even a top spin drop. Choose the drop that you can make the most consistently.
Where To Place Third Shot Drop In Pickleball
Placement is perhaps the most important skill to have in pickleball. Knowing where to drop your third shot can be just as important as knowing how to drop. Generally speaking, most players have a stronger backhand than their forehand.
So you will want to look for your opponent’s backhand and make your third shot drop there. This could be on the right side of the court, the left side of the court, or even the middle of the court depending on which side your opponents hold their paddles.
You will want to pay attention to whether one or both of your opponents are left-handed or right-handed. If they’re both right-handed, you will want to drop to your right corner. If they’re both left-handed, you will drop to your left corner. However, if one is left-handed and one is right-handed, you will want to pay attention to which side they’re standing on.
If at that particular point, both of their backhands are in the middle, drop to the middle. But if the middle is both of their forehands, you will want to drop to the opponent with the weaker backhand.
Third Shot Drop Drills
Mastering any skill requires repetition so mastering the third shot drop is no different. If you’re playing a game of doubles, you will only get a chance to drop a few times per game. That is not enough repetition no matter if you’re dropping the third shot, the fifth shot, or resetting every chance you can get.
That is why drilling your third shot is so important. You may find that the number of times you drop in a 10 to 15 minutes drilling session will be more than playing a game for hours. You can start with your forehand with your drilling partner at the net. Move up as you make each drop like you would in a real game.
Once you’ve had a good number of consecutive drops on your forehand, more to your backhand. Knowing how to drop comfortably with either your forehand or backhand side is important.
Sometimes, you play against two players where one is better than the other. In that case, you may want to drop to the weaker player. And that weaker player may be straight across the net from you. So it is also important to be able to drop right in front of a particular player.
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