How to Defend against the Lob in Tennis

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

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[@davidjefferies9214]

Love your sense of humor and your truth!

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Thank you! I'm finally getting really comfortable with doing videos and I realized I can have a bit of fun.

[@dadsfreetimeclassicgaming1220]

The fact that you are even addressing this gets a thumbs up from me. Why is it that a straight up pro needs to be the one that addresses lower to mid level club player issues. great job Coach Babel!!!

[@winstonlim8]

At my 3-pointer level, I hated playing lobsters until I developed some simple strategies - 1.Whack the lobster or his partner as hard as I can every time I have to hit an overhead. Even if he runs out of the court, I will still aim for him. 2. Don't let the lobster practise his lob - hit a variety of spins, pace, angles and length to him, never letting him have the same kind of ball twice in a row. Lobsters can lob endlessly well if you give them the same ball all the time so I will vary slice and topspin balls in every direction to prevent that. 3.Dropshot him at every opportunity (most of the lobsters I play have pittypat pattycake serves so it's quite easy to to dropshots against them). 4.Play topspin lobs against them (few lobsters can play a good lob return against a high, deep topspin lob). I normally won't go for option 1, but option 3 is a good way to pay back the favour because lobsters entrench themselves behind the baseline, go into dinglydonglypinglypongly mode and then wait for you to make an error on the overhead or the drive return.

[@thomasmedeiros5722]

Great lesson coach 👍 When I was training my coach added some additional advice. When you warm up pay attention to how your opponent handles themselves at the net. How is their technique on their overheads and volley. Also coach told me to demonstrate my proper volley and overhead skills and try to intentionally place every shot right back to my opponent. However on the last 3 overheads hit them aggressively. This is a passive aggressive psychological tactic that tells your opponent that you have the ability to hit with both control and power. As a coach I always use lots of multi ball drills that simulate match play. Players need to have a hitting partner and practice. Don’t just stand in the middle of the court and hit a couple of overheads. Do a whole ball basket and practice running up and back. Also practice placing overheads. Practice recovering movement to proper zone on the court to be ready for a return. Remember if you hit at a angle and your opponent can easily get to your shot be in position to cover the return.

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Yes, I agree. Overheads are not practiced enough!

[@jonathanshin5094]

Great piece of advice about rushing too close to the net. Thank you!!

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Thank you!

[@johnvrasta]

Nice video! arrived here after being lobbed to death of course... Was doing all the hard work, hitting nice approach shots or even going for the winner but my opponent was too fast and too good at lobs. So he killed me, not by winning so many points but mentally and physically (not easy to run forth and then back liek crazy, 10 times in a set and lose 8 of these points). So , i realised i was doing something wrong, it was too obvious that i was asking to be lobbed. Next time i will keep in mind to stay further from the net as you proposed and then of course train my overhead that is much more difficult than most recr players think.

[@nathanmiller6051]

Thanks Coach Meike! always excellent 🙏

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Thank you as always :-)

[@nathanmiller6051]

@@MeikeBabelTennis ❤️👊🎾

[@timefly4221]

Nobody works on the overhead because it seems like such a simple, automatic put-away shot, right up until they have to hit one in a match.

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

So true!

[@arypitoyo8171]

Great tips

[@emmw754]

A small detail, but I just loved how smooth was the transition at 01:05!

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Thanks!

[@shpingalet7895]

5:04 yes, please!

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Working on that video next week.

[@shpingalet7895]

@@MeikeBabelTennis take your time 👍🙂

[@ql3670]

This is true. Many times, my opponents stand right at the net to cut off all the angles for passing. So I keep hitting lobs until they get burned enough to move back a little bit. Then I start hitting passing shots more. :)

[@dankim9261]

i think another thing to consider is ball recognition and technique on the approach shot. If u hit a good approach shot/volley with a lot of pace+depth and it’s out of reach for ur opponent most times ull get a defensive lob back that’ll land v short in the box. But if u come in on a weak ball and the opponent has time they can hit a good offensive lob with a lot of control which will land on the baseline.

[@irfanzavahir5289]

Love your videos . Thanks a lot

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

You're welcome and thanks for your support

[@cinajawa]

Thanks!

[@marklyn2692]

When playing doubles, which player covers the lob? Is it the player diagonally from where the ball is hit/lands?

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

I'd say for recreational yes because that way that player has a little bit more than a quarter turn only as opposed to the lobbed player who would have to turn 180 degrees

[@temjin44]

Make your weakness your strength. This applies to a lot of recreational players

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Agree

[@luyin1961]

Great video. I guess one of the biggest problem with club players is overconfidence of their own ability and poor selections. Vollley/blocking shots are often the better choice. Why is high volley not mentioned? Overhead requires good timing and footwork, even the defensive ones. I have also seen a lot of unnecessary swing volleys by beginner players, instead of a normal volley, and they usually miss.

[@mvmcali6900]

that is a beautiful old building behind you. high school on east coast maybe ?

[@jinetduran6621]

At 1’21” : ”after you hit a volley, slide back...” It’s the first time I hear that. Not sure to understand and english is not my language so I have to watch this video again and again... and again 😢