--- description: How does a tennis drop shot work? With a little help from the air title: Explore the Physics Behind the Tennis Drop Shot image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58d8d48faa71310c/6988628c428a9ec147ccefd1/gettyimages-487251982-e1441733285169.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Explore the Physics Behind the Tennis Drop Shot by [Ainissa Ramirez](/author/ainissa-ramirez/) and [Salima Koroma](/author/salima-koroma/) Sep 9, 2015 3:00 PM CUT  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 07: Roger Federer of Switzerland returns a shot against John Isner of the United States during their Men's Singles Fourth Round match on Day Eight of the 2015 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 7, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for the USTA) NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 07: Roger Federer of Switzerland returns a shot against John Isner of the United States during their Men's Singles Fourth Round match on Day Eight of the 2015 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 7, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for the USTA)Chris Trotman—2015 Getty Images by [Ainissa Ramirez](/author/ainissa-ramirez/) and [Salima Koroma](/author/salima-koroma/) Sep 9, 2015 3:00 PM CUT The drop shot—a tennis move that sends the ball just barely over the net—has grown in popularity since Roger Federer [used it to win the French Open in 2009](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/07/sports/another-hot-stroke-drop-shot.html "undefined"). It’s a risky shot that can catch opponents off guard, sending them scrambling forward to the net. The drop shot isn’t executed by luck—it’s a combination of an angled hit by the racquet and the movement of air above and below the ball as it spins. Above, watch materials scientist Ainissa Ramirez explain the physics behind the tennis drop shot. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4025292/tennis-us-open-drop-shot/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4025292/tennis-us-open-drop-shot/"},"headline":"Explore the Physics Behind the Tennis Drop Shot","datePublished":"2015-09-09T15:00:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:51:40.529Z","description":"How does a tennis drop shot work? With a little help from the air","url":"https://time.com/4025292/tennis-us-open-drop-shot/","keywords":["Sports topic","tennis","Science topic","serena williams","U.S. Open"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58d8d48faa71310c/6988628c428a9ec147ccefd1/gettyimages-487251982-e1441733285169.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ainissa Ramirez","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ainissa-ramirez/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Salima Koroma","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58d8d48faa71310c/6988628c428a9ec147ccefd1/gettyimages-487251982-e1441733285169.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2015 US Open - Day Eight","caption":"2015 US Open - Day Eight","creditText":"Chris Trotman—2015 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4025292/tennis-us-open-drop-shot/","name":"Explore the Physics Behind the Tennis Drop Shot"}}]}] ```