How to Beat Lobbers: Read, Adjust Position, Keep it Low, Be Patient!

When facing lobbers, it’s important to make some adjustments to your game plan. Of course, being tall and able to hit aggressive overheads is a big plus, but it is not a requirement in order to beat lobbers.  

Here are four tips to help you get the best of the lobber:

  1. When at the net, try to read the opponents’ body and court position in order to get an “early read” on what may be coming next; that can increase your ability to take more overheads from an aggressive position.
  2. In extreme cases, it’s helpful to play with the “one up, one back” format in order to facilitate handling good lobs.
  3. Also important is try to hit shots that make it more difficult to hit effective lobs, for most players this means hitting low and shorter balls. That will limit the time and real estate lobbers have to create their shots.
  4. Last but not least, it’s crucial to be patient and not show that the lobbing game style frustrates you or your partner.

By making these adjustments, you’ll be better able to minimize the damage they can do with their lobs, and once their lobs stop working they are more likely to change it.

About the Author:

Joao ‘Jay’ Pinho is Manager of Tennis Operation and High Performance Tennis Coach at the Nassau Tennis Club in Skillman, NJ.  For more information on the High Performance Academy visit, www.NextLevelTennis.Net

 

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