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The lob is perfect and deep. Do you hit it in the air or let it bounce?
A perfect deep lob is played off the glass, not out of the air. Let it bounce, reset with a lob, and go again.
A perfect lob is going to land right in the corner near the glass. You can just about reach it in the air, off balance. What do you do?
A perfect deep lob is played off the glass, not out of the air. Let it bounce, reset with a lob, and go again.
Why
Some lobs are too good to attack. When the ball is going to land deep in the corner and the only overhead available is off balance, the correct play is to let it bounce, let it come off the back glass, and play a controlled lob back: accepting that you have lost the net for now and starting the process of winning it back. Players who insist on hitting every lob in the air lose those points to their own errors. The glass is the defender's friend; a good lob is exactly the moment to use it.
What this means at your level
Beginner
If the lob is going deep and you cannot get to it comfortably, let it bounce. Play it off the back wall and lob it back.
Intermediate
As you retreat, turn side-on and watch the ball hit the glass. Hit it as it comes out and down, not as it comes off.
Advanced
Read which lobs are too good early. The decision to let it bounce should be made as the ball crosses the net, so you are turning toward the glass in balance rather than sprinting.
Common questions
A perfect lob is going to land right in the corner near the glass. You can just about reach it in the air, off balance. What do you do?
Let it bounce, play it off the glass, and lob back. A perfect deep lob is played off the glass, not out of the air. Let it bounce, reset with a lob, and go again. Some lobs are too good to attack. When the ball is going to land deep in the corner and the only overhead available is off balance, the correct play is to let it bounce, let it come off the back glass, and play a controlled lob back: accepting that you have lost the net for now and starting the process of winning it back. Players who insist on hitting every lob in the air lose those points to their own errors. The glass is the defender's friend; a good lob is exactly the moment to use it.
Why not hit it in the air, never let a lob bounce?
The off-balance overhead from the corner goes into the net or floats. The wall is there to help you.
What should a beginner do here?
If the lob is going deep and you cannot get to it comfortably, let it bounce. Play it off the back wall and lob it back.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Read which lobs are too good early. The decision to let it bounce should be made as the ball crosses the net, so you are turning toward the glass in balance rather than sprinting.
Puzzles like this one
They lobbed you deep. Smash it or play the bandeja?
Deep ball, high hands: bandeja. The shot exists to keep you at the net, not to win the point.
beginnerThe 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.