Machine Drops
Why this drill
The machine's one unbeatable gift: the same feed, every time, for as long as the hopper lasts. For a shot as arc-sensitive as the third-shot drop, a hundred identical reps grooves what mixed feeds never can.
Setup
Machine at the opposite non-volley-zone line, set to a medium-pace, medium-depth feed landing a step inside your baseline, modest interval. You start behind the baseline. Lay a towel in the middle of the far kitchen as the target.
The drill
Drop every feed toward the towel. Score as you go in sets of ten: kitchen scores one, towel scores two, anything arriving above net height on the machine's side scores zero. After two sets, move the machine's feed (or your starting spot) toward your backhand corner and run two more — the backhand-side drop off a deep ball is the one matches attack. Finish with one set from mid-court at a shorter setting. Log the five set scores.
One thought to take on court
Same arc every rep — the machine's consistency is the drill, so match it rather than experimenting ball to ball.