Today I’m going to show you how to execute the basic badminton drop shot – my favorite shot in badminton.

I love the drop shot because there’re so many variants! For instance, there’s the forehand straight drop shot, forehand crosscourt drop shot, backhand straight drop shot (very had to master), backhand cross court drop shot (slightly easier to master). And you can also vary the speed of all these four variants: slow to fast.

To add to the versatility of the drop shot, you can disguise it as a smash or clear and you use it either as a defensive or offensive shot.

So, you’ll have in your arsenal 16 different types of drop shots that you can deploy during singles or doubles play! If you can master the drop shot, you’ll keep your opponent guessing and always be in control of the rallies.

Step 1: Get behind the shuttle

Your opponent has hit a clear (backhand or forehand), and the birdie is going to land in your backcourt. From the center of the court, take a couple of steps to get you behind the shuttle. If the clear was a good one, you should be standing in between the back tramlines. Getting behind the birdie is very important to executing the perfect drop shot.

Step 2: Take an Attacking Stance

Turn your body and place the racket leg (if you’re right-handed that’s your right leg, if you’re left-handed – your left leg) behind but slightly to the side of the non-racket leg.

Step 3: Get your Racket behind Your Shoulder

Raise your racket up and back behind your shoulder. For a beginner, it also helps to raise your non racket hand to follow the path of the shuttle.

Step 4:  Twist your body forward and hit the shuttle above your shoulder

Those are the 4 basic steps to hitting a forehand drop. For a backhand drop shot, follow the same steps, but your racket leg should be ahead of your non racket leg and you’ll twist forward towards your racket leg.

For the forecourt drop shot you should hold your racket using the forehand grip, and use a backhand grip on your racket when executing the backcourt drop.

As a beginner, try and master the straight court drop shot before moving on to the cross court drop shot. Personally, I only use my wrist when doing the cross court drop shop. I find that it adds too much variation to my forecourt drop shot that it becomes unreliable. But I do know a number of players that use their wrist and that adds another layer of variety to their drop shot.

Disguising your Drop Shot

Disguising your drop shot is all about your wrist action. The rest of your body should be performing the disguising shot. For instance, if you want to hit a jump drop shot, you should go through all the motions of a jump smash. But at the point of hitting the shuttle, tap it with a slight twist of your wrist. The same goes for a drop shot disguised as a clear. This will leave your opponent rooted to the back of the court!

Finally, you can further disguise your shot by performing the sliced drop shot. This is for the more advanced badminton players. To perform the sliced drop shot, you want to go through the steps of a crosscourt drop shot. But at the point of impact with the shuttle, you’ll need to turn your wrist slightly so that your racket is facing the net. Once you hit the shuttle, turn your wrist again and continue with the follow through motion of a crosscourt drop shot.

For a reverse sliced drop shot, you’ll want to perform the steps of a straight drop shot. But again, turn your wrist slightly so that your racket is facing the net at a 45 degrees at the point of impact with the shuttle. Then let your racket follow through like a straight drop shot. If your opponent is following the direction of the racket and your body, they’ll go to the wrong side of the court and stare as the shuttle lands in the opposite side.

I suggest you first master the basic drop shots before you move on to the disguising your drop shots with a slice, clear, or smash motion. Once you’ve learned the basic drop shot and have mastered it, disguising it will only take you no time to learn.

What’s your favorite drop shot?  Let me know in the comments below…