Steve Johnson jokes he’s going to ‘quit’ his podcast after what John Isner has claimed about his drop shots

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Steve Johnson and John Isner were mainstays of American tennis, enjoying a lot of success in the 2010s.

Johnson won four ATP titles during his time as a professional, reaching a career-high of 21st in the world before retiring in 2024.

Isner on the other hand won 16 career titles, his most impressive being his 2018 Miami Open triumph, where he took down Alexander Zverev in the final.

Following retirement the pair started the Nothing Major podcast, also starring fellow Americans Jack Sock and Sam Querrey, where they discuss all things tennis, often leading to some fierce discussion.

Steve Johnson says John Isner is ‘out of his mind’ after drop shot claim

Speaking on the Nothing Major podcast, Johnson, Isner, Sock and Querrey were discussing which member of the group had the best drop shots.

“I had the best drop shot of this whole group,” said Isner.

Sock strongly disagreed with the big-serving American.

“That’s a joke!” he said.

“Are you serious right now? What is wrong with you?”

Querrey, a fellow big server, backed up Isner’s claim: “You absolutely did.”

Isner then doubled down on his point: “I had the best forehand drop shot and the best drop shot volley of this whole group.”

Johnson made his feelings known, in disbelief about what Isner had said.

“I think I am going to quit this podcast if you think this is real.”

Sock still couldn’t believe Isner was being serious.

“We have lost the plot,” he said.

“What are you talking about?

“You do not have the best drop shot in the group.”

Johnson also struggled to believe what he was hearing: “You guys are out of your minds today.”

Did John Isner have a better drop shot than Steve Johnson and Jack Sock?

Whilst the group argued on their podcast about who had the better drop shot, many will say that the answer is subjective.

It isn’t ‘entirely’ subjective however, and looking back at some of the data from when they all played, a clearer view of who had the better drop-shots can be seen.

The data shows that Isner’s claim to have the best dropshots in the group might not have been all that outrageous.

With a significantly higher drop shot winner % than Sock and just a marginally lower % than Johnson and Querrey, he clearly knew what he was doing.

His unforced error percentage is naturally much higher, as is also the case with fellow big-man Querrey at 28%, an area where Sock performs much better at.

Whilst Querrey does have the highest winner %, his considerably smaller sample size does leave questions over the conclusiveness of the data.

The data may not prove Isner, Sock, Johnson, or Querrey right or wrong, but it certainly shows that the American quartet knew their way around a drop shot.