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Two net players are close in. What kind of lob do you hit?
Opponents crowding the net: lob high and deep to the corner. Their proximity is what makes the high lob safe.
Both opponents have crept close to the net. You have time on the ball at the back. Which lob is best?
Opponents crowding the net: lob high and deep to the corner. Their proximity is what makes the high lob safe.
Why
The shape of the right lob depends on where the net players are. When they crowd in close, a high, deep lob is the answer: they have too far to run and no chance of a smash from that position, and the height gives you the time to move forward together. When they are deeper, around three metres from the net, the same high lob becomes a smash, and the flatter, faster lob over the shoulder is safer. Reading their depth before the lob, and adjusting height accordingly, is the difference between a lob that wins the net and one that gets put away.
What this means at your level
Beginner
If they are right on the net, hit the ball high and as deep as you can. They cannot smash it from there.
Intermediate
The high lob needs the deep landing. Aim for the last metre and a half before the glass; a high lob that lands on the service line is a smash.
Advanced
Mix the corners. A crowded net pair usually recovers to the side they were lobbed last; the next lob to the other corner is the winner.
Common questions
Both opponents have crept close to the net. You have time on the ball at the back. Which lob is best?
High and deep to the corner. They cannot run it down. Opponents crowding the net: lob high and deep to the corner. Their proximity is what makes the high lob safe. The shape of the right lob depends on where the net players are. When they crowd in close, a high, deep lob is the answer: they have too far to run and no chance of a smash from that position, and the height gives you the time to move forward together. When they are deeper, around three metres from the net, the same high lob becomes a smash, and the flatter, faster lob over the shoulder is safer. Reading their depth before the lob, and adjusting height accordingly, is the difference between a lob that wins the net and one that gets put away.
Why not flat and fast over their heads?
The flat lob is for when they are further back and would smash a high one. Close to the net, they cannot smash the high one either: go high.
What should a beginner do here?
If they are right on the net, hit the ball high and as deep as you can. They cannot smash it from there.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Mix the corners. A crowded net pair usually recovers to the side they were lobbed last; the next lob to the other corner is the winner.
Puzzles like this one
The ball is at your feet at the net. What now?
A ball below the net cannot be attacked. Block it deep and wait for one above the tape.
beginnerBoth of them are at the net. What is the highest-percentage ball?
Only the lob moves a net pair backwards. Everything else invites them forward.
beginnerThe ball is coming off the back glass. When do you hit it?
Move back with the ball, let it pass you, hit it in front of your body.