Stop Losing Points On Bad Lobs

WEEK 36

Welcome back to the Road to Pro!

Each week, I answer one of your questions, give you one advanced tip, and walk you through one helpful drill. Here’s what I’ve got for you this week:

• Question: How to use a lob to your advantage?

• Tip: Play mind games with your opponents

• Drill: Focused practice for lobbing and resetting

This week Brennen asked our featured question, so I’ll be sending him a new Selkirk paddle! If you want a chance to win a paddle, click on the button below to submit your pickleball questions. Anyone whose question is featured in my newsletter will automatically win a new paddle!

Now let’s get to it!

Q&A Spotlight

Lob It Like It’s Hot

Answer: I think we all know that no one likes to get lobbed on in a game, but honestly, lobs can be a really strategic shot in the game, and you should learn to use them to your advantage. They’re great to use when you’re feeling pressured by your opponents at the kitchen and you need to get them off your back. If you hit a good lob, you’ll force your opponents to run to the backline to retrieve it, and this can put you in a better position to win the point.

It’s also a great way to break your opponents’ rhythm and change the pace of the game in your favor. However, you need to be careful because lobs don’t have much room for error. It’s easy to hit it too far out of bounds or too short so that it just becomes an overhead for your opponents to slam at your feet.

A prime time to lob is right after your opponents have just made it to the kitchen line after being back at the baseline. They’re in a hurry to get there to establish themselves at the kitchen, and since their momentum is moving forward, it makes them very vulnerable to a lob. Another great opportunity is when you see one of your opponents leaning over the kitchen, getting ready for a poach. They’ll be so focused on looking for the poach that they won’t be expecting the ball to go straight over their head. Both scenarios are perfect for catching your opponents off guard and making them scramble to go get the ball.

A trick to hitting an effective lob is to take it out of the air when you’re at the kitchen line. If you don’t wait for the ball to bounce first before making contact, you take time away from your opponents to react to your shot. This is a little sneaky and it could catch them by surprise. It’s more difficult to do than if you were to let the ball bounce, but like everything else, it just takes some practice to get the hang of.

When you’re aiming your lob, try lobbing cross-court over your opponent’s backhand. Since the court is longer on that angle, it gives you more room to work with. It’s also a tougher shot for them to return since you’re targeting their backhand.

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Tip of the Week

When in Doubt, Lob it Out

Speaking of lobs, there are other situations where you can hit the same type of shot, but for different reasons. One example is the lob serve. If you’ve been consistently hitting fast serves with lots of topspin, you could easily throw off your opponents by serving a high, lofty ball. It’s a simply way to throw them off their rhythm because they’re probably expecting a fast-paced shot. Plus, it’s often a bit of a mind game. You’re giving them so much time to think about what they want to do with the ball that they can easily overthink it. So often, players get so excited to hit a powerful drive return, but they end up hitting it into the net or out of bounds because they’re overeager and don’t think about how they’re actually hitting the ball.

You can apply the same logic to your return by hitting a high, lofty shot off your opponent’s serve. It can have the same effect as it does on your serve: too much time to think, leading to an either indecisive or overpowered shot from your opponent. This tactic is especially effective against players who love to drive the ball every chance they get. There are many pickleball players who just can't resist hitting the ball as hard as they can, and that often leads to unforced errors like hitting too far out of bounds or slamming it into the net.

So if you’re up against an opponent like that, take advantage of their eagerness. Mix in a few lofty serves and returns, and see how they handle it. You might be able to score some easy points this way.

Drill Highlight

Lob Wars

Heads up: this drill is a workout, so be ready for some cardio!

Grab your drilling partner and position yourselves across the net from each other at the kitchen line. One of you will practice lobs, while the other defends them, and then after several reps you’ll switch roles. Start the drill with just a couple dinks to warm up, then the designated lobber should hit a lob over their partner, forcing them back to the baseline. Make sure your lobs are high enough to clear their reach and deep enough so they can’t easily hit an overhead.

As the defender, your job is to run back, retrieve the lob, and drop it into the kitchen so you can transition back to the net. Since the goal of this drill is to practice hitting and defending lobs, the lobber should play cooperatively here and allow their partner to make it back to the kitchen easily. Once the defender is established back at the kitchen line, the lobber sends another lob, and you repeat the cycle. Do this a few times before switching roles.

For the lobber, focus on hitting effective, well-placed lobs that are high and deep. The defender should watch for bad lobs that are too short or low, and if you spot one, go for the overhead. In a real game, your opponents will always take advantage of any weak lobs, so practice smashing them when you can.

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Videos You’ll Enjoy

• You can now go watch my most recent video on YouTube entitled, “These 3 Skills Will Make You A GREAT Pickleball Player.”

• Go take a look at Cracked Pickleball’s recent video where we give you 3 Easy Strategies To Stop Losing Pickleball Matches!

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