Hey guys, Alex here from Top Tennis Training, and in today's video we're gonna cover
when you should lob in tennis.
So some of us know how difficult it is to play against a player that lobs well
but when should we use the lob?
Number one using the lob when the player is close to the net,
when you see your opponent closing the net down a lot it means that they're
they're going for their next volley therefore if you give them a volley
it will be easy for them to put it away by being close to the net they create a
lot of angle on the court so only they only have to hit the ball
down and it's going to be a winner
you don't want to give them the opportunity to hit that winner and to
win the point with perhaps not a good volley so because they've
created that space that's behind them now because they've moved forward to
close the net down you can really exploit that space and
the lob often doesn't even have to be that
good
often you'll wrong foot them and even just by throwing that ball up
they won't be able to reach it
if you play the lob with enough topspin also even if the ball is high
you can bring that ball down and make it tough for them to get
even if they're starting to move back for that lob the ball will bounce with
topspin out of their reach
opportunity number two playing against a player who's slightly less agile
or perhaps a shorter player they won't be able to reach those balls because
they're simply either not high enough not tall enough or
they're not agile enough to reach for reach up for the lob
often to hit a good and effective smash one you need to have effective movement
backwards so you need to know the correct footwork patterns
to move back for that ball you also need to be able to jump off your back leg
in order to reach that ball and you also need to have a good smash technique it's
not trained that much because it doesn't happen as often as other
shots in the match and perhaps some players even neglect
that shot they end up not hitting that shot quite as well
so you can really use it to your advantage especially in some doubles
matches just because players often don't even like hitting that ball
out of the air pros practice the smash quite a lot
because they know that they have to win that point once the ball goes up the
point is there for the taking but against players who don't practice
that smash as often it can be a really effective
weapon
point number three lobbing with the sun behind you
because the sun is behind you your opponent is facing the sun
if you lob that ball often they will lose the ball
in the sun they won't be able to hit that shot
because they simply can't see it the good players may try and like
put their arm in the way they try and still
still try and hit it but even for the pros it becomes a very difficult shot
when facing the sun so if you are playing with the sun behind you
and you see the opponent coming forward so against a good servant volley perhaps
that lob return it's a very effective shot because
they can't see the ball well enough to hit a good enough smash
so use that to great advantage
point number four using the lob to either change
tempo or when you're in trouble in a
rally
ah you're kidding me
the lob takes time to reach your opponent
it's also a shot that often the players don't like playing against
because the ball bounces up high after the shot after the ball bounces
it goes above their contact point it goes above their comfort zone
so if you can hit hit hit and sometimes throw in a higher ball
a lob especially if you're playing on a court such as
clay courts the ball bounce is so high you will often win the point
because the player is simply not good enough at reaching those high balls
they would sometimes have to play a drive volley taking that ball out of the
air or would have to move really far back to
retreat even further behind the baseline in order to play that ball back
so use the lob if you are in trouble so if i'm running
side to side for a ball and all of a sudden i know i'm not able to reach that
ball i have to throw that ball up as a defensive option
to either well give me time to recover back to to my recovery position
but also not to let the opponent have an easy
shot at it for the next shot so if i play a shot that's deep enough
if my lob is deep enough it can be a really effective way
of neutralizing your opponent
it can also be a great way to change tempo in a rally
so if if your opponent is getting used to the way you're hitting
just simply putting up a slightly higher ball that bounces up higher
may throw them off and force a mistake
point number five using the lob into your opponent's backhand
a lot of players struggle with a higher ball on their backhand especially those
single handers out there well actually the two handlers too it
becomes a very difficult shot once you reach
over the shoulder for the signal hander it's very difficult to cover the ball
with that single hand for the two-hander it's tough to reach that ball because
their left hand is closer to their body it's very tough
to reach out and hit a high ball with a
two-hander
nice it's you they would have to slice that ball
if the ball is too high someone like federer does that pretty well
but for some of us who struggle with a higher ball it can be a really effective
weapon to either neutralize an opponent with a
big forehand by hitting into their back and high so
lobbing into a player's backhand is a great way
to win the point or to at least create problems for your opponent to be able to
attack the next ball you can really create problems for
someone that doesn't like running around their backhand who
doesn't have a good inside out forehand but actually struggles with that
backhand you can use it really exploit that backhand weakness
by throwing the ball high and deep into their backhand make them play
a slightly weaker shot and a shot that you may be able to attack
on the next ball
yep you want to keep the the the ball away from your opponent's strength
therefore hitting the shot into the backhand is a great way to win rallies
now those lobs would probably be more of an offensive lob so you're you're
you're top spinning that ball you want that ball to bounce up and forward to
your opponent often you'll also have to play a
defensive lob this perhaps could happen on the return so if you're not able to
reach the ball effectively to hit a good return what you don't want
to do is just to play any old shot you don't just want to make the ball back
into the middle of the court and be open to your opponent's attack
if you play the lob you make it a difficult shot for your opponent to
attack off so often the players in doubles and both
in singles and doubles if they're on the stretch if they're
reaching for the ball simply putting that ball up with a slice even
so it doesn't even have to be a top spin shot but just getting that ball deep
and high will often cause problems for your opponent
so use that shot on the defense as well thank you guys for watching i hope you
enjoyed learning about when to use the lob
if you haven't done so already please subscribe to our channel you can do so
by pressing the button under the video you can also visit our
website and the vip section on our website
where we have more videos such as this to help you improve your tennis
we do things like technique and tactics anything that you may struggle with
will help you in our vip section in the meantime
press the like button under this video share it with your friends
and let me know what you think about this video in the comments down below
i do try and read all of them thanks a lot guys for watching and see you soon
you