pro players seem to use slice drops mostly. what is better for a relative beginner? try slice drops right away or first learn a straight drop?
You can answer that question yourself, right? Should I learn the basics first or start with the complicated stuff?
This is common sense... Obviously the basic stuff, maybe work on your footwork first? Before you start slicing...
the thing is that I played tennis for a long time so my tendency is always trying to spin balls. I think I have to fight against that because that leads to quite a few misshits.
You should learn to hit with accuracy without slicing the shuttle for straight drops. For cross court drops, you could learn to hit with slice (regular slice and reverse slice) although the goal is not to impart spin, but to hit a good fast, accurate, cross court trajectory. The reason for mastering the shots with accuracy without slice, is this feeds directly to your smashes and clears - the accuracy will be transferred because the technique is the same. Do not bother practising slow drops - make sure they are nice and fast (not half smashes though, thats too fast). Think about tapping the shuttle! Good luck!
thanks. I often tried to hit it like a tennis drop, i.e. just clearing the net slowly and then drop dead instead of hitting it relatively hard to the service line or so. I always thought shorter is better.
In reality, they are just different types of shot. For beginners, hitting slow and close to the net will work well because you will play against opponents who cannot move properly, and hence you will move them a lot and win the point. However, at a higher level, speed is more important. You do not want your opponent to get to the net early to play a tight net shot/kill, and so a slow looping drop is never a good idea. However, when you are even more skillful, you will, on occasion, be able to make use of a slower drop shot. This is typically used defensively - to recover your positioning in singles (but even this must be hit "firmly" and deeper into the court!), or aggressively in doubles by faking a smash then using a drop (called a stop drop). However, the most important skill to learn first is a good fast drop shot - which is a winner at any level of the game!