Some players lob because they see an opening.
Others lob because they have decided that, no matter what happens, they are going to make you run backward all afternoon.
They lob from the kitchen line. They lob from the transition zone. They lob when they are under pressure. They lob when they are comfortable. They may not hit many winning lobs, but if you keep letting the ball bounce and scrambling after it, the strategy can still work.
The answer is not to panic every time the ball goes up.
It is to make their lob less comfortable, take the easy ones out of the air, and stop giving them the same reaction every point.
First: Do Not Stand Right on the Kitchen Line
If you know an opponent likes to lob, you do not have to stand with your toes on the kitchen line every time they touch the ball.
Give yourself a little space.
That does not mean retreating halfway to the baseline. It means standing far enough behind the line that you can recognize the lob, turn, and move without immediately being trapped.
A step or two of space can make a big difference.
You can still move forward for a dink. But when the ball goes up, you have more room to get underneath it or chase it down without falling into a backward scramble.
The goal is not to give the lobber extra court. It is to give yourself enough time to react.
Second: Look for the Lob Before It Happens
Players who lob often have patterns.
Maybe they lob when you hit a soft ball to their forehand. Maybe they lob when they get pushed wide. Maybe they lob whenever both opponents are tight to the kitchen line. Maybe they use it when they are in trouble and need time to recover.
Watch their paddle face and body position.
A player preparing to lob will often open the paddle face more than they would for a dink. Their swing may travel upward. Their eyes may lift sooner. None of those clues are perfect, but you do not need perfect information.
You only need enough warning to get set and react.
If you expect the lob is possible, you are much less likely to be caught leaning forward when it happens.
Third: Take the Short Lobs Out of the Air
A lob that lands deep near the baseline can be difficult.
A lob that leaves you an overhead is an opportunity.
If you can reach the ball safely and take it out of the air, do it. Taking a lob overhead keeps your opponents back and prevents them from using the extra time they wanted.
Letting the ball bounce often gives the lobbing team time to move forward and get organized. Hitting an overhead, when you can do it under control, keeps the pressure on them.[1]
But do not turn every overhead into a wild attempt at a winner.
Get under the ball. Make contact in front of you. Aim with margin.
A firm overhead deep into the court is usually more useful than a hard overhead that flies long.
Fourth: Do Not Backpedal
This is one of the biggest mistakes players make against lobs.
The ball goes up, and they start running backward while looking over their shoulder.
That is awkward, slow, and risky.
Instead, turn your body sideways, use a drop step, and run back toward the ball. Get behind it if you can, then decide whether you can hit an overhead or need to let it bounce.
The important part is giving yourself a chance to move like an athlete rather than trying to play the shot while falling backward.
If you have lost the ball in the sun, cannot get underneath it, or think it may land out, letting it bounce may be the right choice. But if you can safely take it in the air, that usually keeps you in the stronger position.[2][1]
Fifth: If It Bounces, Reset the Point
Not every lob is yours to smash.
Some will be too deep. Some will catch you off balance. Some will be hard to see in the sun or against the background. Some may be close enough to the baseline that you need to let them bounce before deciding whether they are in.
When that happens, do not feel like you have to hit a desperate winner from the backcourt.
Your job is to get the ball back under control.
Move behind the bounce. Give yourself room to hit the ball in front of your body. Then consider a softer return that gets the ball back into the kitchen and gives you time to work forward again.
A good reset is not exciting, but it prevents one successful lob from turning into three more difficult shots.
Sixth: Stop Giving Them Easy Lob Balls
You can also make the lob harder before it happens.
Players are more comfortable lobbing from a balanced position, especially from a forehand. If you keep feeding them soft, comfortable balls with time to set up, they will keep using the shot.
Move them when you can.
Keep balls low.
Send a dink to a less comfortable side. If one player repeatedly lobs from the forehand, see what happens when the ball goes to the backhand instead. Hitting with more pressure or from a stretched position makes the lob more difficult to control.[3]
You do not need to attack every ball. You simply want to avoid giving the lobber the same calm, predictable setup over and over.
Seventh: Make One Good Overhead Count
You do not have to hit every lob for a winner.
But when your opponent gives you a short, obvious lob, handle it decisively.
A controlled overhead hit deep, away from their easy reply, tells them that the lob is not automatically buying them time. It may even put them under pressure.
That changes the pattern.
If every lob forces you into a scramble, they will keep lobbing. If their short lob produces a difficult overhead and leaves them defending, they have a reason to reconsider.
The goal is not to punish them emotionally.
The goal is to make the shot less rewarding.
Practice: Lob-and-Recover Drill
Start with both players at the kitchen line.
Your partner alternates between a dink and a lob. You do not know which one is coming.
When they dink, move forward and play the ball normally.
When they lob, first decide whether you can safely take it overhead. If you can, hit a controlled overhead and recover. If you cannot, turn, run it down, let it bounce, and reset the point with a controlled shot.
Do not focus only on hitting big overheads.
Focus on recognizing the lob early, turning instead of backpedaling, and making a calm decision about the next ball.
A Quick Match Checklist
When someone keeps lobbing you, ask yourself:
- Am I standing so close to the kitchen line that I have no time to react?
- Do I know which player is lobbing and when they like to do it?
- Am I taking reachable lobs out of the air?
- Am I turning and running instead of backpedaling?
- Am I trying to hit a winner when a reset would keep me in the point?
- Am I giving them easy, comfortable balls to lob?
The answer is usually not “run faster.”
It is “see it sooner, move more safely, and make the lobber work harder for the shot.”
The Real Key
A player who lobs every point is asking you the same question again and again:
Can you handle this ball without losing your position?
At first, the answer may be no.
But once you stop getting caught at the kitchen line, take the short lobs overhead, and calmly reset the deeper ones, the lob becomes much less annoying.
It becomes another ball you know how to handle.