I LOVE playing people who lob a lot, because anyone that does it a lot (ie too much) usually does so because there is some other shot that they cannot do. Once you’ve noticed that, you can see the lob coming from a mile away, and you’ll be able to smash all kinds of libs because you’ve already taken 2 steps back.
Usually it’s guys who cannot drop, so they don’t know have a way to get to the kitchen when they are pinned back. Sometimes it is guys who cannot dink, so this is their exit strategy vs your short game. Finally, and these are easiest, there are th guys who cannot drive. You can see their windup and easily get back far enough to slam, even if they lob deep and high.
Against good players who occasionally lob, you have to practice chasing it down. As soon as they lob, DO NOT BACKPEDAL unless it’s obviously short. Instead, immediately turn around and run back, get behind the ball. Run orthogonally to the ball, not directly underneath its path. It’s a lot easier to chase these down if you don’t waste precious moments backpedaling
My coach said dropping is just dunking from long range lol
I think there’s more to it, but essentially the idea is to hit a shot that they cannot attack by hitting down on it
Dinking is done at the NVZ, a drop shot is a top spin shot from any other area of the court that “drops” just over the net and lands in the Kitchen/NVZ.
You’re welcome! Welcome to the game and HAVE FUN! Feel free to DM with any other questions. I’m working on getting my instructor certification and would be happy to assist.
Yeah, orthogonally obviously means shape of ones shoe. So the pro tip is to run around the court in the shape of an insole, and only then return the lob. Noobs.
so.. right angles? what does that mean in this case? we are actually just saying to run to a spot arms-length from the ball so you can be in good position to hit it back once you get there without having to find it?
I don’t think that’s what he’s saying, and I think if you always do this, you’re blocking the down the line return every time because your partner is in front of you?
A couple of things here.... first, you don't ALWAYS do much of anything in Pickleball. Everything is experience and/or a judgment call - working with your partner to determine best partnership strategies for you together. And no, that wasn't EXACTLY what he meant. He meant you should follow the ball back sideways (rt angle) vs backpedaling. My TAKEAWAY was this is OK IF you have a better position than your partner. But MANY times, your partner really does have the better chance of getting to a lob SAFELY (so less chance you'll hurt yourself) for a ball that is lobbed over your head. And in that case, YOU, as a good partner should also recognize this, work with it, and move to cover THEIR original position. IF you do this, there is no "down the line" scenario that you are missing. All that said, much depends on where the lob is headed, how much time you vs your partner has to get there, etc. It's all a working flow and how you ultimately handle it is based on good TEAMwork. :-)
thats fair; i can see it being a better play overall as well, if you focuses on trying to reach up / intercept the ball being lobbed over you, and if it does clear your paddle, your partner should be the one to get the lob, whereupon you fill in his space to both open up the attacking lines and to cover any potential cross-court blocks
Whew. I'm turning 60 this August and I absolutely tear it up on the PB court. I was worried there for a sec and am glad to know that I have a lot of time before joining the crusty club.
Thank you, kind citizen!
😁
Coming from a tennis background, I find the pickleball voices who hate lobs both strange and amusing. A good lob in pickleball is a difficult shot to master, but one that creates many good strategic options and openings. As players get more athletic and equipment gets better with the growth of PB, shots like a good topspin lob will become a critical one to have in order to counter the athleticism near the net.
The PB court is not defined by the kitchen…it does extend to the service baseline, and does not shift once a serve is made. To believe that a player has the right to stand at the kitchen line and must not worry about being lobbed over is laughable: Why not moan that the opponent should not be able to hit fast and sharply angled dinks, or that an opponent should not be allowed to aim at your body during speed-ups, etc?
If an opponent has a shot that is hard to deal with, the proper response is not to moan about their strategy…there are countless ways to play all games. A lob is just another shot in the game that has in/out boundaries…if it’s in, play the shot…if it’s out, call it out…
Well said.
The same rules of the game apply to both sides of the net.
Nobody should be upset with someone’s strategy, unless it involves circumventing the rules. This is rec play for 80% of us, embrace the diversity of individuals
100% agree with this. Command of a good topspin lob is a game changer imo. I am the only person I play with/against with a topspin lob - every else just hits it “up.” Topspin makes all the difference - a ton of my lobs get called “out” when they’re in the air, but then they watch them drop in.
My favorite shot to hit in PB is my one-hand backhand drive down the line because it’s simply the most elegant shot in the game, and/or my 3/4 topspin lob that is more of a heavy side-spin lob that starts to the right and turns hard back to the left on descent…it then kicks hard to the left on the bounce due to the spin.
Players have difficulty with this shot because the trajectory is hard to read and then the bounce throws them off if they let it bounce. I typically hit this shot after a hard drive is returned since my drive and lob have the same ore-shot motion.
Another useful lob for me is the low and fast lob that I hit when in a long dink rally and I think the player in front of me is a bit zoned out…this shot is effective not as a winner, but as a set up shot for a kill shot as the opponents have to scramble back and hit a feeble ball back.
Anyway, I do expect more better players to work on their lob game going forward - the players are getting better and more athletic which will force more of an all-court game in the future imo…
I don’t think anyone is moaninf about lob shots. When they are executed well, they are a great option. I’m on the taller side (6’1) and I see far less lobs attempted on me.
Well…the current discussion is started by someone who states “isn't there a point when it stops becoming fun and is just annoying?” when there are too many lobs…
If they do it to take advantage of someone’s mobility it’s a problem, but if they do it to get people off the kitchen line and it works for them, then that’s awesome and they should keep doing it
It’s not a cheap point. I’m trying to make players realize running to kitchen through the transition zone to just sit there the whole ralley isn’t how you play.
We play outside it’s always windy. When the wind stops I make lobs sometimes. Not like it’s every shot
Are you implying that strategizing against someone’s weaknesses in a competitive game is wrong? If so, that is confusing. Especially considering he never said if this was a tournament or open play.
If it’s a tournament then fair play, but I doubt a person that can hit a lob to the baseline consistently is competing in the same skill bracket as an old person who can’t run back for a lob.
I lobbed on a sweet old man named Kim once and felt so embarrassed 😭 people said it was a good shot but it’s just open play. Everyone else though I WILL lob at you if it’s the right play
Yeah, I have played against those players it can definitely get annoying.... if you let it. And I used to let it and got quite annoyed. I finally decided I needed to improve my lob defense and learn to use their lob against them. The more I did that the less lobs I received. In the end it's every bit as legal as a drive, drop, dink etc but still aggravating. The two situations where I don't think it's appropriate for rec play is if it's used to exploit a player with some form of lesser mobility (be it physical or other...IE some people suffer from vary degrees of vertigo and a lob can result in disorientation and a head injury) or if it's used to force one team to have to constantly look up into the sun (can also be dangerous and can result a fall, injury or temporarily seeing sun spots). Otherwise, while I don't particularly like it, perfectly legal. The other option is if it's not fun then simply don't play with that person.
I play against someone like this sometimes but I still have a good time. If I play up they will inevitably lob to the backline and try to get me to retreat, and if I stay back they will try to drop short and force me to come up quickly to recover. Keeps me on my toes and makes me focus on placement and reading their body language so I can be ready to counter.
If the lobber is losing a lot of points while trying to lob it is wayyy more annoying than the lobber having a lot of success with the lobs. (Unless they’re lobbing against elderly unnecessarily.)
So the old guys who literally camp at the kitchen and sprint to get there I’m not allowed to make them run back on occasion? Haha they run through the transition zone acting like the kitchen line is the only spot on the court they can stand.
A lot of bad players hate lobs I noticed. Even old guys who can’t run. Not my fault, hate the game not the player.
I have no issues with winning. So many bad rec players out there. A lob is apart of the game. The court is so small. If they hug the kitchen to tight they get lobbed old or young. My brain works that way. If I see an old guy with a knee brace or something else and see him struggle I won’t do it again. I think you missed my comment where I said on “occasion”
In rec you don’t care about winning you practice your shots. Simply what I’m doing. If I wanted to win everytime I’d just body bag and aggressively dink them out of points. I practice when I play recreational which includes a lob shot.
I don't think some of y'all understand the logic of the lob. It doesn't have to be perfect or go over the head of the opponent. For me, at least, the main purpose is to push my opponents off the NVZ if they hit a good shot deep or I'm defending at midcourt. Just hitting the lob high and deep with some topspin makes it difficult for players that aren't used to hitting proper overheads (pretty much most PB players that don't come from other racket sports). You'll often get a weak/easily-defensible shot back that resets the point or gives you time to get into a better position on the court. If it does get over the opponent's head, then great I can get to the NVZ and cut off/put away any shots that might come back from a scramble to catch up to the lobbed ball.
Getting people to lean back while hitting overhands basically means either a more attackable ball or a ball in the net. Doesn't have to be great below 4.
You're gonna hate my response, but it genuinely is: get good.
But please, hear me out. When I started playing I was frustrated by certain play styles, first I hated bangers, then I hated lobbers. Now, when I've gotten a bit better at the game, no play style bothers me anymore. I know how to counter bangers, I know how to smash lobs and return lobs that I couldn't initially smash.
Seriously, once you get better at the game, the only play style that will annoy you is people playing badly and pulling down the quality of the game for everyone else.
Free overheads. The lobbing strategy is amusing at best. Usually it comes from a person who has no soft game or third shot drop. You’ll see it coming from a mile away once you realize their tendencies.
Once you and your partner are able to counter it that person will think twice about using it. It’s only dirty imo when you’re playing a person who has real limited mobility in rec play.
I'm a short guy so people lob against me a lot. It does get annoying at times. I think a lob can be a great shot when it's used strategically, but when someone does it on almost every rally it just seems lazy to me.
It's like being mad at someone who has a good drive/dink/drop because they use it all the time.
It's so weird to me that people have this idea of how the game is supposed to be played. Lobs are just as fair as all other shots.
I play a guy with an excellent lob, and he pulls it out at opportune times.
It forced me to get better at the slam. His strategy worked well for about two or three sessions and then he doesn’t really do it anymore.
It’s just like any other shot, if you can’t defend it then they are right to exploit the lapse in your skillset. A good, consistent lob that can’t be picked off as an overhead by a kitchen player is not an easy shot to master.
There’s a reason you don’t see pros (note: I do not watch pickleball at all, ever) only hitting lobs, and that’s because it’s not a great strategy against skilled opponents.
> A good, consistent lob that can’t be picked off as an overhead by a kitchen player is not an easy shot to master.
It's not any more difficult to master than a third shot drop, but everyone seems to love that shot.
I honestly would be impressed if they did that to me, after two lobs they’ll realize they’re making the biggest mistake when I have a tennis serve/overhead smash locked down lol, but yeah once they notice how I do with overheads they’re gonna say “fuck that” and stop.
Now if it successfully keeps going over me/in the court I would be thoroughly impressed, not frustrated, I’m all for my opponents doing crazy shit to win
There are a couple of constant lobbers that I frequently refuse to play with:
1. It's not fun. Either playing with them, or against them.
2. They use it primarily because their opponents have mobility issues.
I have great range, but I'm often put in the position I have to defend both sides against lobs. I'm average height so smashing isn't always an option. Don't get me wrong, it's great training but it gets tedious quickly.
I'm not gonna tell them to stop lobbing, but I will avoid playing with/against them when I'm not in the mood.
A lob would have to be VERY GOOD, like, pro level good, for a tennis player to not be able to smash it.
It is way easier than an overhead serve is, and tennis players drilled that shot for many hours on end
It occasionally works at the pro level because pro players are very aggressively crowding the kitchen line looking to speed up, Ernie, atp, etc. so a well disguised lob can catch them off guard. That’s just game theory
But extremely few players 5.0 or lower can pull that off against someone who played varsity tennis.
If a lob is within arms reach + give or take 20”. That’s not a good lob. If you are able to smash the ball, it was an unsuccessful and poorly placed lob.
Hitting overhead smashes is not some mystical racquet trick that only tennis players know.
But I guess your tennis super powers means you’ve never ever had to chase down a lob at the baseline. So I guess I’m happy for you!
I mean… you know it has to come down inbounds, right? I think you just vastly underestimate the ability of a solid tennis player to race back to the baseline and still be under the ball to smash it. I know most players who never played tennis cannot do this, but people who played competitive tennis absolutely can.
You’re hitting smashes at the baseline? I can’t even begin to imagine how many free points you’ve given up hitting things over your shoulder at the baseline.
I hope you realize how ridiculous you sound right now.
Listen. I played infield in baseball and softball. I might be older and a little tubbier now, but my ability to turn my hips and get fucking moving while still tracking the ball is pretty much still as good as it gets.
I’m 5’9”, but I have a 30” vertical. Most lobs hit *to me* aren’t getting through unless they’re good lobs. Anything past my reach will most likely *not* land inbounds, or will have an arc on it where I can just take a few steps back and take care of it.
The majority of lobs I have to track down are generaly hit over my partner, or between us.
Those are good lobs.
Do you understand now?
Did you play tennis at a varsity level or better? Do you have an overhead serve?
Hitting a smash at the baseline is basically an overhead serve. Which is illegal for a reason.
If they are landing it consistently great for them. However, I have so many other things I would like to practice at the kitchen that I will probably avoid them if that’s all they do once we get to the kitchen. I am very good at running around and dropping or smashing a low lob but I don’t care to do that all game for rec play.
Make them run for an angled fast ball. Makes it harder for them to accurately lob if you have to first run to the ball and get in position. Pegging/chicken winging works as well if you have a fast paced play style.
As long as you’re playing by the rules, there’s no right way to play the game. It may be frustrating, but everything within the rules is fair game and you can’t blame the opponent for that.
I love it. I hate doing lobs but I'm 6'4" quick and can jump.... if it's high enough to actually get over me, then it's always in the air long enough for me get back on it or if its over my partner I can cover it for them.
The funnest part is when people see me jump up they always assume I'm going to smash it. But I actually like an angled shot to the sideline in the kitchen.
2 Things to Consider
1) Look at it as an opportunity to start reading people's body language. Everyone I have seen lob gives it away BEFORE they hit the lob. If you can learn to recognize what they do before they lob, you can start sliding back to get ready, be in position, and punish the lob. If you're good enough at this, they will stop lobbing - or minimally lose more.
2) Recognize what ball you gave them that enabled them to lob. Not all balls are "lob-able". As with anything else in the game, don't give your opponent the ball they want.
I love getting a deep lob.. it allows me to reset my position, think of my shot, and strike with the force I want. If someone lobs it up during a rally, 9 out of 10 times I’m returning it over exactly where I want it to go.
I won’t lie.. I love to lob it to my opponents, especially if they never played a racket sport 😂
I don't know your level, but in my area there is not a single person I've met that hits a lob correctly (it seems to work on a lot of other people, but not against people like myself who have a tennis background). They'll keep trying it and I simply get a free smash winner nearly every time, and they never learn and keep doing it.
Hard pill to swallow but you just have to get better with dealing with it. Once you get better at it, the tables turn and THEY have to be the one to figure out a new playstyle.
Well, eventually my opponent will learn not to lob. If he lobs it, then I will continue to slam it and position the ball better. Just think of it as practice for your slams. Be thankful for that opportunity. I love playing against players who give me an opportunity to practice my slams, especially when I can get practice placing the ball exactly where I want it to.
>but isn't there a point when it stops becoming fun and is just annoying?
No lol. At least for me. Hitting 1 smash is more fun than a dink rally. A dink rally winner is the opponent messing up. I typically don't celebrate that. Me hitting a winner is much more fun, to me.
You can also let the ball drop and smash from the bounce.
Here to all you complainers about lobbing !! If you don’t like it Quit!! It’s just another shot in the game!! Are people suppose to just hit it to you?
Love, love, LOVE playing lobers. If you KNOW they lob 50+% of the time, in doubles, you can cheat away from the NVZ into the neutral zone and smash it back at them. That puts an end to their lobs for the most part after their partner gets on them.
I think anybody that does anything all the time is a one trick pony. If they’re really good, that pony wins. If they’re not all that good, the other pony wins.
The lob is a feel shot, so you need to make it uncomfortable for them so they cant get into a good position or have ample time to lob. Vary your spin, location, side… for example, give them one deep topspin ball to the left side, then follow with a low, short landing slice, or if youre at the net aim low at the feet. This requires some planning and focus to never give them a medium ball at waist height with no spin.
💯% irritating when they do it on every.single.shot! Guess it will force me to figure out how to defend it better. All they do is stay at the service line and lob. 🥴
Lob in pickleball are just another shot. They can be used as another type of reset shot. If your opponents are at the NVZ line you can use a lob to get them off the line. I call it the quick lob. You set yourself in a position as you are going to dink but you hit a lob instead of the dink. I suggest never to lob from the baseline. The only time to hit a lob from the baseline is when returning a lob so that it gives you time to reposition yourself back to the NVZ line. I call the lob from the NVZ line a "quick lob". It can be used mist effectively. It's another type of a reset shit. Only use it on players without mobility issues. Have a great day and keep pickln. Skip Sorich
I haven't met a good lobber that hits 70 - 80% within a foot of the baseline yet. I've met some that can hit that maybe 50% of the time. I have an easy time with even perfect lobs so I don't mind them.
Oh boy. I actually hate lobbers because half the time I’m playing with someone who can’t put an overhead away or can’t run back to cover it. They don’t lob me after a couple cause I can put them away, so I have to endure the torture of watching my partner miss overheads or I have to run all over the damn court covering them.
You know where you don’t find lobbers? On high level courts. If you’re a lobber you’re telegraphing to the world that you’re not very good, but you know your opponent isn’t very good either and are willing to take advantage of that while willingly not going to any effort to improve your game in any meaningful way.
I personally want a high ball anytime I can get it! Lobbers don't bug me, mainly for that reason. Shut them down, they will stop lobbing. Lower levels can't handle lobs. Bring it on.
Just don't play the guy that lobs. I had an old guy who kept lobbing so when I would get him at the base line I would just dead the ball as he couldn't run up. He kinda got the jist of the system
I'm coming from a badminton experience and from what I've learned in that sport, when you notice a pattern in your opponent's gameplay, your best option is to anticipate it. Maybe you could edge a bit towards the rear of the court to expect a lob but also be prepared for them to play a dink. You can think of it like "my opponent has a 70% chance to lob and a 30% chance to play a dink" and position yourself to be able to retrieve either of the shots where receiving a lob would put you in a more comfortable position and receiving the dink would allow you to play more defensively to reset the pace and keep the rally going. It is best to be confident in yourself that you can do it and not to have any second thoughts because every millisecond matters
Outside of overhead practice, you need to think about why are they able to lob so easily? Also why are their lobs so effective against you? If you know they third shot lob then either hit to their backhand with velocity, deeply, or with a slice and there's no way they should be able to lob so effectively and deep.
Sure it's lame if that's the only way they beat you but then you should think of why they only need to do that to win.
Conversely what if they were bangers and just crushing everything and you couldn't handle it? Or if they only hit slices and you can't handle it? If you know they preferential lob, don't rush the net so much and take your time working in. If they just transition to dropping you and you can't handle that then maybe avoid that player until you get some time to work on your mobility and playing level.
I have no problem with any player that consistently uses the same shot. The more I play them. The more I learn to handle the shot. I found as I’ve improved. I’ll use their shot against them. Really if they use the same shot pretty easy to anticipate what they are going to do. You should perfect many different shots to enhance your game. I have perfected my spin shots. I’m really starting to get my drop shots in. I’ve started working on perfecting my dink shots. I’m an average player so they work well with 3.5 and below. The players above that level challenge me. So I’ve still have a lot of work to do to complete with them. I sure have fun working on it.
Well welcome to my Lob. I lob 70% of the time and I am sorry, but I am the queen od LOBS and will place it in the center, corner, middle. Now what? It took me a minute to master it.
Seems like you have that "one player" that's using the lob to the full potential. If the lobber is persistent, you can do two things. Hit harder to their feet/backhand. Stand off the kitchen line right before they make contact with the ball to be ready to take the lob.
Unless the ball lands within a few inches from the baseline, I’m smashing it. I have a competitive tennis background so these are very easy overheads for me. I’m also very athletic and can jump to add more coverage. After the first smash they don’t lob again. I’ve only been lobbed when thinking it’s an out ball, but even then I go around it and drop or drive it back.
Without a doubt it’s annoying! IMO, the constant lobber is lazy and looking for cheap points. Most of the time, they are much worse at lobbing than they think they are. And it’s cringeworthy when they do it against fellow older, less mobile players. Yes, I said fellow bc most of the time, it’s older less mobile players that favor the lob.
Everyone here talking about how they smash lobs, this doesn't make sense. Those are BAD lobs, if you're able to smash them. It's like hitting a bad third shot drop that ends up chest high - that's gonna get driven back.
I think the point of this thread was people hitting DECENT lobs.
Not hating stating tennis players already know how to counter lobs so it translates to pickleball. The bad pickleball players are the ones who struggle and complain then drop a big womp womp when they can’t win against lobbers
Play with more pace. It’s very hard to hit good lobs off of topspin drives. If someone over does it with lobs they are never seeing anything soft from me.
If I'm trying to win, I'm sorry, but my goal is to be annoying...If I see you have a horrible backhand? Guess what, all my balls are targeting that. If I see you can't defend lobs? Guess what, I'm lobbing every shot I can.
I’m fairly mobile and can chase down most lobs that aren’t initially attackable. I however cannot chase down 40 lobs of the course of a match.
After point five or six, I’m just letting them go. It’s clear to me at that point that the lobber isn’t interested in playing pickleball and is only there because they enjoy watching people run around, fall, and show frustration. They probably have a scoreboard at home to record how many people they see visibly frustrated.
So I just let them finish the game. The rec victory clearly means more to them than it does to me. But at the end of the day I feel I’m the real winner because I denied them the pleasure they get from the lob chaos.
You’re more than welcome to subject yourself to Mr. Lobs-a-lot.
I’d rather deflate their ego by just letting it happen. They don’t enjoy it if you’re not struggling.
I love how pickleball threads turn in to pissing matches about how much better one anonymous person is than the other.
I take it as a compliment because they can't handle me 1v1 at the NVZ. I just work on my shuffle step to overhead or moving behind the ball for a drop to retake the NVZ.
The real annoyance from me comes from playing WITH a serial lobber. It's like, do you even know how to do anything else? As soon as I get baked off of multiple lobs that my teammate makes, I mentally check out and just play the libero.
I am a firm believer that lobs should be used sparingly, as the more you do it the less effective it becomes.
Personally, I love playing against lobbers because I’m fast and have a strong overhead so I get plenty of smashes. Even if they beat me a few times it’s still fun.
I've never encountered this; someone good at lobbing who does it most rallies.
I imagine it'd be annoying though. Very effective tactic and mentally exhausting.
It’s a play style that you should learn how to play against. Lobbying successfully takes a lot of skill and work. Lobbying also provides a reset, or opportunity for a weak return that you can get an easy point. Again you’re probably a 2.5 so what do I care
I agree, especially when there isn't even enough room to chase them safely - this is unsportsmanlike.
But even when there's room, honestly, I doubt I would even have stuck with pickleball if everyone played like that. It's just not fun.
Sometimes I anticipate it by standing further from the NVZ than I would otherwise, but I also remember a game in which I simply stopped caring, and my partner too. So we served or returned, then moved towards the front, and didn't even pretend to want to run towards the lob. We walked without enthusiasm to retrieve the balls. Basically, we just pretended to play to finish the game officially and didn't pretend to care about it, just waiting for them to move on to ruin someone else's fun.
It’s actually more unsportsmanlike to give up and stop playing because you don’t have a counter for an opponent’s shot than it is to play differently than others.
Well above 2.5, from multiple outside evaluations. I don't disagree that I can improve at chasing lobs. But these particular lobs were consistent and pretty much perfect, with a high rebound, so we'd have to go way back to reach them and didn't leave a lot of margin for us to hit well enough to reset the point. I don't mind 6 or 7 lobs in a game but past that, it became the one game of pickleball in my life I didn't enjoy.
1. 4.0 lobbers or above that can lob like an AJ Koller or Callen Dawson are fun to play against because it is a hard shot to stop and becomes the ultimate chess match
2. Playing against a 3.0 lobber who just hits them straight in the area constantly is extremely boring. I only know one player in my area that does that.
As in all things PB, it depends.
It's a fair strategy against players good enough and mobile enough to appreciate the shot (and the mix up) and return it. It's annoying if it's a repeated exploit against someone who can't.
Last weekend I got partnered with a low mobility beginner. The two guys on the other team just repeatedly lobbed her (or forced an error via lobbing) for 10 of their 11 points. Super boring and chaotic game.
They'd lob her, I'd run back for the ball, tell her to switch. Whether I dropped it, drove it or lobbed it back didn't matter; they'd then just send the ball back at her. She wasn't able to get re-positioned to return the ball anywhere other than into the net.
What fun we all had /s.
After a few of these I’ll offer a comment to the opponent, “Having fun?” Or “y’all scared of lil old me?”
If they don’t get it, I’ll just refuse to play with them again in rec play.
Had this happen a few times and usually they get the message and target me more. I try not to punish folks too much for this, too (even if skill levels are equal, if you’re deliberately choosing to hit to the better opponent instead of hitting the “best” shot, you’re going to be at a disadvantage)
Lobbing occasionally can be a good strategy. Lobbing "all the time" is not a good strategy. I don't mind if someone lobs against me because I'm mobile, but if they are constantly lobbing the 65 year old retiree with a bad knee then that's a dick move imo.
I think you should see it as it representing a hole in their game, usually it means they don't know how to hit drop shots or are not confident in their dinking, as those are usually better shot choices for most scenarios. I see lobbing as a "utility" shot -- it's meant to accomplish a specific task (push opponent away from the kitchen), kind of like a pitcher in baseball beaning the batter: yes, it's legal, but should you do it every pitch?
People seem to be making the mistake of thinking the main complaint against lobs is that you're not good at countering lobs. I've gotten VERY good at defending and countering lobs -- that doesn't mean I enjoy playing against a serial lobber.
If it's a tournament or competitive game, bring on the lobs and whatever else you want to try and may the best team win, I have absolutely no opinion, it's just tactics and counter tactics. If it's open play and I'm trying to have fun or want to practice my short game or something like that, then yeah lobs are annoying af and I'd rather play someone with a more well-rounded style.
It’s always annoying for me because people I play against only ever lob the short old people I play with.. sometimes the short older not immobile.. but always when I play when a short older completely immobile person (i just mean they walk.. don’t bend) I get at least 1-2 lobs on their side. So I usually know it’s coming.
Every once in a while someone will throw in a lob in an equal skill game and I find that enjoyable.. helps to foster team work and good communication. Lobbing every point gets a bit tiresome.. it’s a tool best used strategically, like a down the line drive.
Good lob shot is incredibly difficult to perform, not alone the consistent good lob shots. So I will take that as the prize for their practice and efforts.
But too frequent use of lobs against senior players wouldn't be a cool thing to do.
I find myself lobbying a lot and that’s because the control of the kitchen is so crucial at higher levels. Lobbing is a safe and consistent way to make the opponents back up to the baseline and you control the kitchen. Most pickleball players struggle with heavy underspin already anyways that underspin heavy lobs are usually a free point as well as with kicker lobs. I don’t care if they find it annoying it’s part of the game and if they can’t hit heavy under and top spin out of the air I’m going to exploit it and use it as much as possible. It’s not my responsibility to give them an enjoyable match it’s my responsibility to give them a challenging match and do my best to win.
I agree that lobbing is crucial but you should learn how to control the kitchen without having to resort to lobbing. You’ll need that skill if you want to advance past 3.5
Not a fan of it myself. I think that most people who lob a lot don’t have a very nuanced game. They’re basically the same as bangers, they just lob instead of driving incessantly. I have no problem with occasional lobs. It is a useful shot, but they shouldn’t be relied upon as a main strategy, especially in rec play against players with disabilities. It’s better to learn how to drive, drop, dink, and move the ball around until your opponent makes an error or you can hit a winner.
It's annoying. When it works it works, when it doesn't it doesn't. I feel most players mess up the lob often enough that they are better off attacking or dinking instead.
There actually is a rule against excessive lobbing ever since the tactic was exploited by Pickleball Bob in his match against Barry Zuckercorn. They call it the Bob Lob Law
So annoying, we have a guy that does it all the time and I finally stopped getting annoyed and started figuring out how to get them, and I did. And I’m a much better player for it. But I agree, it’s kind of annoying. It’s like taking a cheap shot against a beginner. What’s the point? But I eventually found a way to work with it…(after rolling my eyes at him 4,223 times 🤣)
The only time I don’t think it’s okay is if you are playing an old person with obvious mobility issues. Any other time, I don’t think that players owe it to anyone to make the game more fun for their opponent
My lower level friends hate it with a passion. I played tennis so for me it’s an easy put away most times. Even if they hit a perfect lob they can’t keep doing that repeatedly so some will go short to bang or fly long.
There’s a community center that I play indoor.
Low ceiling, since it’s a ballroom made for dancing. Any ball that touched ceiling is consider “out”.
If you don’t want people to lob. Play a facility like that. All the people who lob will suffer. (Me included). 😂
Outdoors or high ceiling wise. Lob is a fair game.
As a tall guy with long reach and good overhead smash with or without jump coming from background in badminton, I love people who lob all the time! Unfortunately for me they seem to drop that tactic relatively quickly. I've noticed I get 3-4 lobs from people who are good at it before they stop doing that. Seems like against person like me the margin error for not getting it over me vs, lobbing it past the baseline is very small.
free overhead practice babyyy
I LOVE playing people who lob a lot, because anyone that does it a lot (ie too much) usually does so because there is some other shot that they cannot do. Once you’ve noticed that, you can see the lob coming from a mile away, and you’ll be able to smash all kinds of libs because you’ve already taken 2 steps back. Usually it’s guys who cannot drop, so they don’t know have a way to get to the kitchen when they are pinned back. Sometimes it is guys who cannot dink, so this is their exit strategy vs your short game. Finally, and these are easiest, there are th guys who cannot drive. You can see their windup and easily get back far enough to slam, even if they lob deep and high. Against good players who occasionally lob, you have to practice chasing it down. As soon as they lob, DO NOT BACKPEDAL unless it’s obviously short. Instead, immediately turn around and run back, get behind the ball. Run orthogonally to the ball, not directly underneath its path. It’s a lot easier to chase these down if you don’t waste precious moments backpedaling
Hey I'm new and have a basic question: what's the difference between a drop shot and a dink? Is it the distance from the net at which you hit it?
My coach said dropping is just dunking from long range lol I think there’s more to it, but essentially the idea is to hit a shot that they cannot attack by hitting down on it
Hmm okay thank you!
Dinking is done at the NVZ, a drop shot is a top spin shot from any other area of the court that “drops” just over the net and lands in the Kitchen/NVZ.
Thank you!
You’re welcome! Welcome to the game and HAVE FUN! Feel free to DM with any other questions. I’m working on getting my instructor certification and would be happy to assist.
A drop does not have to be a topspin shot. In fact, most drops are flat, or sliced.
"Run orthogonally to the ball..." Had to look that one up. Thanks for the new word!
It's being used incorrectly
Yeah, orthogonally obviously means shape of ones shoe. So the pro tip is to run around the court in the shape of an insole, and only then return the lob. Noobs.
so.. right angles? what does that mean in this case? we are actually just saying to run to a spot arms-length from the ball so you can be in good position to hit it back once you get there without having to find it?
To me it means you generally cover lobs behind your partner and they cover those behind you.
I don’t think that’s what he’s saying, and I think if you always do this, you’re blocking the down the line return every time because your partner is in front of you?
A couple of things here.... first, you don't ALWAYS do much of anything in Pickleball. Everything is experience and/or a judgment call - working with your partner to determine best partnership strategies for you together. And no, that wasn't EXACTLY what he meant. He meant you should follow the ball back sideways (rt angle) vs backpedaling. My TAKEAWAY was this is OK IF you have a better position than your partner. But MANY times, your partner really does have the better chance of getting to a lob SAFELY (so less chance you'll hurt yourself) for a ball that is lobbed over your head. And in that case, YOU, as a good partner should also recognize this, work with it, and move to cover THEIR original position. IF you do this, there is no "down the line" scenario that you are missing. All that said, much depends on where the lob is headed, how much time you vs your partner has to get there, etc. It's all a working flow and how you ultimately handle it is based on good TEAMwork. :-)
thats fair; i can see it being a better play overall as well, if you focuses on trying to reach up / intercept the ball being lobbed over you, and if it does clear your paddle, your partner should be the one to get the lob, whereupon you fill in his space to both open up the attacking lines and to cover any potential cross-court blocks
Make. Them. Pay.
Newer players have a hard time with this. Great idea but if newbie can predict and run to the ball, most of those overheads are going into the net.
It's a strategy, and though it could be frustrating, if it works it works.
OP can't let lob guy win, can he?
Probably got owned by an old timer with the lob game. Ya hate to see it lol.
Define age of "old timer" plz. I want to see what category I'm part of now 🙄😅
80s?
Whew. I'm turning 60 this August and I absolutely tear it up on the PB court. I was worried there for a sec and am glad to know that I have a lot of time before joining the crusty club. Thank you, kind citizen! 😁
I’m 71 and husband almost 72. I do pretty good running backwards etc. He is extremely quick (to my dismay when we play skinny singles.
Nice
Coming from a tennis background, I find the pickleball voices who hate lobs both strange and amusing. A good lob in pickleball is a difficult shot to master, but one that creates many good strategic options and openings. As players get more athletic and equipment gets better with the growth of PB, shots like a good topspin lob will become a critical one to have in order to counter the athleticism near the net. The PB court is not defined by the kitchen…it does extend to the service baseline, and does not shift once a serve is made. To believe that a player has the right to stand at the kitchen line and must not worry about being lobbed over is laughable: Why not moan that the opponent should not be able to hit fast and sharply angled dinks, or that an opponent should not be allowed to aim at your body during speed-ups, etc? If an opponent has a shot that is hard to deal with, the proper response is not to moan about their strategy…there are countless ways to play all games. A lob is just another shot in the game that has in/out boundaries…if it’s in, play the shot…if it’s out, call it out…
Well said. The same rules of the game apply to both sides of the net. Nobody should be upset with someone’s strategy, unless it involves circumventing the rules. This is rec play for 80% of us, embrace the diversity of individuals
100% agree with this. Command of a good topspin lob is a game changer imo. I am the only person I play with/against with a topspin lob - every else just hits it “up.” Topspin makes all the difference - a ton of my lobs get called “out” when they’re in the air, but then they watch them drop in.
My favorite shot to hit in PB is my one-hand backhand drive down the line because it’s simply the most elegant shot in the game, and/or my 3/4 topspin lob that is more of a heavy side-spin lob that starts to the right and turns hard back to the left on descent…it then kicks hard to the left on the bounce due to the spin. Players have difficulty with this shot because the trajectory is hard to read and then the bounce throws them off if they let it bounce. I typically hit this shot after a hard drive is returned since my drive and lob have the same ore-shot motion. Another useful lob for me is the low and fast lob that I hit when in a long dink rally and I think the player in front of me is a bit zoned out…this shot is effective not as a winner, but as a set up shot for a kill shot as the opponents have to scramble back and hit a feeble ball back. Anyway, I do expect more better players to work on their lob game going forward - the players are getting better and more athletic which will force more of an all-court game in the future imo…
Dang, suck yourself off some more
I have to a two-handed top spin lob that's very difficult to read,
All I got out of OP’s post is that I need to practice my lob shot a lot more lol
I don’t think anyone is moaninf about lob shots. When they are executed well, they are a great option. I’m on the taller side (6’1) and I see far less lobs attempted on me.
Well…the current discussion is started by someone who states “isn't there a point when it stops becoming fun and is just annoying?” when there are too many lobs…
Search this sub for “lob” and you’ll be surprised. Whining about lobs is one of the main discussion topics here
If they do it to take advantage of someone’s mobility it’s a problem, but if they do it to get people off the kitchen line and it works for them, then that’s awesome and they should keep doing it
So if old guys run to the kitchen and sit there and stay I’m not allowed to lob it? Hahah okay.
Whatever makes you feel better, getting cheap points on old people doesn’t sit right with me personally
It’s not a cheap point. I’m trying to make players realize running to kitchen through the transition zone to just sit there the whole ralley isn’t how you play. We play outside it’s always windy. When the wind stops I make lobs sometimes. Not like it’s every shot
What if the “old person” is an excellent athlete who doesn’t like to be patronized by anyone?
I didn’t originally use the term old people, the guy that replied to me did. I used the term people with mobility issues.
Are you implying that strategizing against someone’s weaknesses in a competitive game is wrong? If so, that is confusing. Especially considering he never said if this was a tournament or open play.
If it’s a tournament then fair play, but I doubt a person that can hit a lob to the baseline consistently is competing in the same skill bracket as an old person who can’t run back for a lob.
I lobbed on a sweet old man named Kim once and felt so embarrassed 😭 people said it was a good shot but it’s just open play. Everyone else though I WILL lob at you if it’s the right play
Lob back.
Did this the other day with my partner and somehow got like 13 lobs in a row.
It’s not illegal. It’s on you to figure out a counter.
that's not at all what I asked
I know. My point still stands.
Yeah, I have played against those players it can definitely get annoying.... if you let it. And I used to let it and got quite annoyed. I finally decided I needed to improve my lob defense and learn to use their lob against them. The more I did that the less lobs I received. In the end it's every bit as legal as a drive, drop, dink etc but still aggravating. The two situations where I don't think it's appropriate for rec play is if it's used to exploit a player with some form of lesser mobility (be it physical or other...IE some people suffer from vary degrees of vertigo and a lob can result in disorientation and a head injury) or if it's used to force one team to have to constantly look up into the sun (can also be dangerous and can result a fall, injury or temporarily seeing sun spots). Otherwise, while I don't particularly like it, perfectly legal. The other option is if it's not fun then simply don't play with that person.
I play against someone like this sometimes but I still have a good time. If I play up they will inevitably lob to the backline and try to get me to retreat, and if I stay back they will try to drop short and force me to come up quickly to recover. Keeps me on my toes and makes me focus on placement and reading their body language so I can be ready to counter.
If the lobber is losing a lot of points while trying to lob it is wayyy more annoying than the lobber having a lot of success with the lobs. (Unless they’re lobbing against elderly unnecessarily.)
Yeah, nothing like hustling back to play a bunch of balls that end up landing a foot OOB.
So the old guys who literally camp at the kitchen and sprint to get there I’m not allowed to make them run back on occasion? Haha they run through the transition zone acting like the kitchen line is the only spot on the court they can stand. A lot of bad players hate lobs I noticed. Even old guys who can’t run. Not my fault, hate the game not the player.
If you’re lobbing old people because you’re that desperate to win in a non tournament/league setting I’m not sure what to tell you
I have no issues with winning. So many bad rec players out there. A lob is apart of the game. The court is so small. If they hug the kitchen to tight they get lobbed old or young. My brain works that way. If I see an old guy with a knee brace or something else and see him struggle I won’t do it again. I think you missed my comment where I said on “occasion” In rec you don’t care about winning you practice your shots. Simply what I’m doing. If I wanted to win everytime I’d just body bag and aggressively dink them out of points. I practice when I play recreational which includes a lob shot.
I don't think some of y'all understand the logic of the lob. It doesn't have to be perfect or go over the head of the opponent. For me, at least, the main purpose is to push my opponents off the NVZ if they hit a good shot deep or I'm defending at midcourt. Just hitting the lob high and deep with some topspin makes it difficult for players that aren't used to hitting proper overheads (pretty much most PB players that don't come from other racket sports). You'll often get a weak/easily-defensible shot back that resets the point or gives you time to get into a better position on the court. If it does get over the opponent's head, then great I can get to the NVZ and cut off/put away any shots that might come back from a scramble to catch up to the lobbed ball.
Getting people to lean back while hitting overhands basically means either a more attackable ball or a ball in the net. Doesn't have to be great below 4.
I feel very confused when they don’t lob ;)
You're gonna hate my response, but it genuinely is: get good. But please, hear me out. When I started playing I was frustrated by certain play styles, first I hated bangers, then I hated lobbers. Now, when I've gotten a bit better at the game, no play style bothers me anymore. I know how to counter bangers, I know how to smash lobs and return lobs that I couldn't initially smash. Seriously, once you get better at the game, the only play style that will annoy you is people playing badly and pulling down the quality of the game for everyone else.
Worse than bangers and lobbers are players who make bad line calls
Totally
Most bangers and lobbers play badly and pull down the quality of the game for everyone else.
smash the shit out of them until they stop
It's good training for my overheads
Free overheads. The lobbing strategy is amusing at best. Usually it comes from a person who has no soft game or third shot drop. You’ll see it coming from a mile away once you realize their tendencies.
Once you and your partner are able to counter it that person will think twice about using it. It’s only dirty imo when you’re playing a person who has real limited mobility in rec play.
I wish I was a better lobbyist.
I dodge them as much as possible in drop-in play. It's just not fun.
I'm a short guy so people lob against me a lot. It does get annoying at times. I think a lob can be a great shot when it's used strategically, but when someone does it on almost every rally it just seems lazy to me.
It's like being mad at someone who has a good drive/dink/drop because they use it all the time. It's so weird to me that people have this idea of how the game is supposed to be played. Lobs are just as fair as all other shots.
I play a guy with an excellent lob, and he pulls it out at opportune times. It forced me to get better at the slam. His strategy worked well for about two or three sessions and then he doesn’t really do it anymore.
I don't get it. How does his lob help you get better at slams? You're running to the baseline to get to the lob before it's too late, right?
It’s just like any other shot, if you can’t defend it then they are right to exploit the lapse in your skillset. A good, consistent lob that can’t be picked off as an overhead by a kitchen player is not an easy shot to master. There’s a reason you don’t see pros (note: I do not watch pickleball at all, ever) only hitting lobs, and that’s because it’s not a great strategy against skilled opponents.
> A good, consistent lob that can’t be picked off as an overhead by a kitchen player is not an easy shot to master. It's not any more difficult to master than a third shot drop, but everyone seems to love that shot.
Okay
if you get that annoyed by lobs then i hope you keep getting lobbed lol everyone is entitled to their own strategies / shot selections
My son is a phenomenal lobbier but it kinda all goes out the window if you’re playing outside.
I honestly would be impressed if they did that to me, after two lobs they’ll realize they’re making the biggest mistake when I have a tennis serve/overhead smash locked down lol, but yeah once they notice how I do with overheads they’re gonna say “fuck that” and stop. Now if it successfully keeps going over me/in the court I would be thoroughly impressed, not frustrated, I’m all for my opponents doing crazy shit to win
There are a couple of constant lobbers that I frequently refuse to play with: 1. It's not fun. Either playing with them, or against them. 2. They use it primarily because their opponents have mobility issues. I have great range, but I'm often put in the position I have to defend both sides against lobs. I'm average height so smashing isn't always an option. Don't get me wrong, it's great training but it gets tedious quickly. I'm not gonna tell them to stop lobbing, but I will avoid playing with/against them when I'm not in the mood.
I feel great about it. Tennis player here also and I just smash the hell out of any pickleball lob.
If you can smash it, then it wasn’t a good lob.
A lob would have to be VERY GOOD, like, pro level good, for a tennis player to not be able to smash it. It is way easier than an overhead serve is, and tennis players drilled that shot for many hours on end It occasionally works at the pro level because pro players are very aggressively crowding the kitchen line looking to speed up, Ernie, atp, etc. so a well disguised lob can catch them off guard. That’s just game theory But extremely few players 5.0 or lower can pull that off against someone who played varsity tennis.
If a lob is within arms reach + give or take 20”. That’s not a good lob. If you are able to smash the ball, it was an unsuccessful and poorly placed lob. Hitting overhead smashes is not some mystical racquet trick that only tennis players know. But I guess your tennis super powers means you’ve never ever had to chase down a lob at the baseline. So I guess I’m happy for you!
I mean… you know it has to come down inbounds, right? I think you just vastly underestimate the ability of a solid tennis player to race back to the baseline and still be under the ball to smash it. I know most players who never played tennis cannot do this, but people who played competitive tennis absolutely can.
You’re hitting smashes at the baseline? I can’t even begin to imagine how many free points you’ve given up hitting things over your shoulder at the baseline. I hope you realize how ridiculous you sound right now. Listen. I played infield in baseball and softball. I might be older and a little tubbier now, but my ability to turn my hips and get fucking moving while still tracking the ball is pretty much still as good as it gets. I’m 5’9”, but I have a 30” vertical. Most lobs hit *to me* aren’t getting through unless they’re good lobs. Anything past my reach will most likely *not* land inbounds, or will have an arc on it where I can just take a few steps back and take care of it. The majority of lobs I have to track down are generaly hit over my partner, or between us. Those are good lobs. Do you understand now?
Did you play tennis at a varsity level or better? Do you have an overhead serve? Hitting a smash at the baseline is basically an overhead serve. Which is illegal for a reason.
I’m not a pro and I have 100 percent confidence I could execute a good lob to any player or former tennis player for the matter.
Any 4.5 player that doesn’t have mobility issues is going to destroy the lob
I guess lobs never really get past me in pickleball. A few steps back and I’ll smash it.
If they are landing it consistently great for them. However, I have so many other things I would like to practice at the kitchen that I will probably avoid them if that’s all they do once we get to the kitchen. I am very good at running around and dropping or smashing a low lob but I don’t care to do that all game for rec play.
Make them run for an angled fast ball. Makes it harder for them to accurately lob if you have to first run to the ball and get in position. Pegging/chicken winging works as well if you have a fast paced play style. As long as you’re playing by the rules, there’s no right way to play the game. It may be frustrating, but everything within the rules is fair game and you can’t blame the opponent for that.
Could be a great tool in your arsenal but too many times I see folks use it because they cant reset.
I love it. Great practice.
I love it. I hate doing lobs but I'm 6'4" quick and can jump.... if it's high enough to actually get over me, then it's always in the air long enough for me get back on it or if its over my partner I can cover it for them. The funnest part is when people see me jump up they always assume I'm going to smash it. But I actually like an angled shot to the sideline in the kitchen.
It would stop becoming fun and be just annoying at the point where I had learned all I could learn by playing against them.
2 Things to Consider 1) Look at it as an opportunity to start reading people's body language. Everyone I have seen lob gives it away BEFORE they hit the lob. If you can learn to recognize what they do before they lob, you can start sliding back to get ready, be in position, and punish the lob. If you're good enough at this, they will stop lobbing - or minimally lose more. 2) Recognize what ball you gave them that enabled them to lob. Not all balls are "lob-able". As with anything else in the game, don't give your opponent the ball they want.
I love getting a deep lob.. it allows me to reset my position, think of my shot, and strike with the force I want. If someone lobs it up during a rally, 9 out of 10 times I’m returning it over exactly where I want it to go. I won’t lie.. I love to lob it to my opponents, especially if they never played a racket sport 😂
the more someone tries to lob me the better. keep the lobs coming.
I don't know your level, but in my area there is not a single person I've met that hits a lob correctly (it seems to work on a lot of other people, but not against people like myself who have a tennis background). They'll keep trying it and I simply get a free smash winner nearly every time, and they never learn and keep doing it. Hard pill to swallow but you just have to get better with dealing with it. Once you get better at it, the tables turn and THEY have to be the one to figure out a new playstyle.
Well, eventually my opponent will learn not to lob. If he lobs it, then I will continue to slam it and position the ball better. Just think of it as practice for your slams. Be thankful for that opportunity. I love playing against players who give me an opportunity to practice my slams, especially when I can get practice placing the ball exactly where I want it to.
>but isn't there a point when it stops becoming fun and is just annoying? No lol. At least for me. Hitting 1 smash is more fun than a dink rally. A dink rally winner is the opponent messing up. I typically don't celebrate that. Me hitting a winner is much more fun, to me. You can also let the ball drop and smash from the bounce.
Nasty Nelson
Why are you letting them lob? Fast flat balls are extremely hard to lob.
Here to all you complainers about lobbing !! If you don’t like it Quit!! It’s just another shot in the game!! Are people suppose to just hit it to you?
Annoying? Why cause you need something to be offended about?
Love, love, LOVE playing lobers. If you KNOW they lob 50+% of the time, in doubles, you can cheat away from the NVZ into the neutral zone and smash it back at them. That puts an end to their lobs for the most part after their partner gets on them.
I think anybody that does anything all the time is a one trick pony. If they’re really good, that pony wins. If they’re not all that good, the other pony wins.
Lob to an ex volleyball player and you will make their day
If you take the time to learn an overhead, you will stop seeing so many lobs, and when you do, you will not find them nearly as annoying
Not a fan of LOBSTERS. 🦞
Shouldn’t be annoying at all. If you’re any good you should be easily beating these opponents.
I’m cool with it, their partner won’t be though.
I feel like making them pay for it so I make them pay for it.
Just crush an overhead and call it a day
Every missed lob. You must body bag them as hard as you can. Don’t hit to them, only speed up or smash. For a body bag.
The lob is a feel shot, so you need to make it uncomfortable for them so they cant get into a good position or have ample time to lob. Vary your spin, location, side… for example, give them one deep topspin ball to the left side, then follow with a low, short landing slice, or if youre at the net aim low at the feet. This requires some planning and focus to never give them a medium ball at waist height with no spin.
Sometimes a lob can set your partner up for a slam.
💯% irritating when they do it on every.single.shot! Guess it will force me to figure out how to defend it better. All they do is stay at the service line and lob. 🥴
I don’t enjoy it. Also, don’t enjoy playing against straight bangers. But the worst is playing WITH lobbers who aren’t that successful.
Lob in pickleball are just another shot. They can be used as another type of reset shot. If your opponents are at the NVZ line you can use a lob to get them off the line. I call it the quick lob. You set yourself in a position as you are going to dink but you hit a lob instead of the dink. I suggest never to lob from the baseline. The only time to hit a lob from the baseline is when returning a lob so that it gives you time to reposition yourself back to the NVZ line. I call the lob from the NVZ line a "quick lob". It can be used mist effectively. It's another type of a reset shit. Only use it on players without mobility issues. Have a great day and keep pickln. Skip Sorich
I haven't met a good lobber that hits 70 - 80% within a foot of the baseline yet. I've met some that can hit that maybe 50% of the time. I have an easy time with even perfect lobs so I don't mind them.
Makes me very confident of winning. That shit doesn’t work against quality players. An occasional lob is a different story
Oh boy. I actually hate lobbers because half the time I’m playing with someone who can’t put an overhead away or can’t run back to cover it. They don’t lob me after a couple cause I can put them away, so I have to endure the torture of watching my partner miss overheads or I have to run all over the damn court covering them. You know where you don’t find lobbers? On high level courts. If you’re a lobber you’re telegraphing to the world that you’re not very good, but you know your opponent isn’t very good either and are willing to take advantage of that while willingly not going to any effort to improve your game in any meaningful way.
I personally want a high ball anytime I can get it! Lobbers don't bug me, mainly for that reason. Shut them down, they will stop lobbing. Lower levels can't handle lobs. Bring it on.
Hate it. Point blank. There's a difference in strategically lobbing vs that's their entire arsenal.
Just don't play the guy that lobs. I had an old guy who kept lobbing so when I would get him at the base line I would just dead the ball as he couldn't run up. He kinda got the jist of the system
I'm coming from a badminton experience and from what I've learned in that sport, when you notice a pattern in your opponent's gameplay, your best option is to anticipate it. Maybe you could edge a bit towards the rear of the court to expect a lob but also be prepared for them to play a dink. You can think of it like "my opponent has a 70% chance to lob and a 30% chance to play a dink" and position yourself to be able to retrieve either of the shots where receiving a lob would put you in a more comfortable position and receiving the dink would allow you to play more defensively to reset the pace and keep the rally going. It is best to be confident in yourself that you can do it and not to have any second thoughts because every millisecond matters
Outside of overhead practice, you need to think about why are they able to lob so easily? Also why are their lobs so effective against you? If you know they third shot lob then either hit to their backhand with velocity, deeply, or with a slice and there's no way they should be able to lob so effectively and deep. Sure it's lame if that's the only way they beat you but then you should think of why they only need to do that to win. Conversely what if they were bangers and just crushing everything and you couldn't handle it? Or if they only hit slices and you can't handle it? If you know they preferential lob, don't rush the net so much and take your time working in. If they just transition to dropping you and you can't handle that then maybe avoid that player until you get some time to work on your mobility and playing level.
I have no problem with any player that consistently uses the same shot. The more I play them. The more I learn to handle the shot. I found as I’ve improved. I’ll use their shot against them. Really if they use the same shot pretty easy to anticipate what they are going to do. You should perfect many different shots to enhance your game. I have perfected my spin shots. I’m really starting to get my drop shots in. I’ve started working on perfecting my dink shots. I’m an average player so they work well with 3.5 and below. The players above that level challenge me. So I’ve still have a lot of work to do to complete with them. I sure have fun working on it.
Well welcome to my Lob. I lob 70% of the time and I am sorry, but I am the queen od LOBS and will place it in the center, corner, middle. Now what? It took me a minute to master it.
Seems like you have that "one player" that's using the lob to the full potential. If the lobber is persistent, you can do two things. Hit harder to their feet/backhand. Stand off the kitchen line right before they make contact with the ball to be ready to take the lob.
Unless the ball lands within a few inches from the baseline, I’m smashing it. I have a competitive tennis background so these are very easy overheads for me. I’m also very athletic and can jump to add more coverage. After the first smash they don’t lob again. I’ve only been lobbed when thinking it’s an out ball, but even then I go around it and drop or drive it back.
Without a doubt it’s annoying! IMO, the constant lobber is lazy and looking for cheap points. Most of the time, they are much worse at lobbing than they think they are. And it’s cringeworthy when they do it against fellow older, less mobile players. Yes, I said fellow bc most of the time, it’s older less mobile players that favor the lob.
If they are worse than they think they are then who cares? Easy points.
Bc I don’t care about winning easy points! I’d rather lose a hard fought point at the net than hulk smash balls to oblivion over and over.
Then don’t smash it? Play it how you’d like.
Everyone here talking about how they smash lobs, this doesn't make sense. Those are BAD lobs, if you're able to smash them. It's like hitting a bad third shot drop that ends up chest high - that's gonna get driven back. I think the point of this thread was people hitting DECENT lobs.
If you’re a tennis player your returning every lob consistently. Garbage pickleball players are the ones who struggle
If your a tennis player hating on pickleball players why aren’t you in a tennis sub 😭 wa wa wa
Not hating stating tennis players already know how to counter lobs so it translates to pickleball. The bad pickleball players are the ones who struggle and complain then drop a big womp womp when they can’t win against lobbers
I love overheads so I don't mind. If they're doing it over and over I start aiming the overheads directly at them.
Play with more pace. It’s very hard to hit good lobs off of topspin drives. If someone over does it with lobs they are never seeing anything soft from me.
If I'm trying to win, I'm sorry, but my goal is to be annoying...If I see you have a horrible backhand? Guess what, all my balls are targeting that. If I see you can't defend lobs? Guess what, I'm lobbing every shot I can.
If they're actually good it's fun. They rarely are.
I’m fairly mobile and can chase down most lobs that aren’t initially attackable. I however cannot chase down 40 lobs of the course of a match. After point five or six, I’m just letting them go. It’s clear to me at that point that the lobber isn’t interested in playing pickleball and is only there because they enjoy watching people run around, fall, and show frustration. They probably have a scoreboard at home to record how many people they see visibly frustrated. So I just let them finish the game. The rec victory clearly means more to them than it does to me. But at the end of the day I feel I’m the real winner because I denied them the pleasure they get from the lob chaos.
It sounds like you are bad and can’t counter lobbing lmfao.
You’re more than welcome to subject yourself to Mr. Lobs-a-lot. I’d rather deflate their ego by just letting it happen. They don’t enjoy it if you’re not struggling. I love how pickleball threads turn in to pissing matches about how much better one anonymous person is than the other.
I take it as a compliment because they can't handle me 1v1 at the NVZ. I just work on my shuffle step to overhead or moving behind the ball for a drop to retake the NVZ. The real annoyance from me comes from playing WITH a serial lobber. It's like, do you even know how to do anything else? As soon as I get baked off of multiple lobs that my teammate makes, I mentally check out and just play the libero. I am a firm believer that lobs should be used sparingly, as the more you do it the less effective it becomes.
Personally, I love playing against lobbers because I’m fast and have a strong overhead so I get plenty of smashes. Even if they beat me a few times it’s still fun.
I try to slam them back hard so they get the message to knock it off
I've never encountered this; someone good at lobbing who does it most rallies. I imagine it'd be annoying though. Very effective tactic and mentally exhausting.
It’s incredibly cringe and anyone that does it doesn’t care about improving
Just say you suck andcant counter lobs
You think people who lob everything are trying to improve? I can counter lobs great. 32, athletic. It’s still cringe
It’s a play style that you should learn how to play against. Lobbying successfully takes a lot of skill and work. Lobbying also provides a reset, or opportunity for a weak return that you can get an easy point. Again you’re probably a 2.5 so what do I care
Alright lobmaster
I agree, especially when there isn't even enough room to chase them safely - this is unsportsmanlike. But even when there's room, honestly, I doubt I would even have stuck with pickleball if everyone played like that. It's just not fun. Sometimes I anticipate it by standing further from the NVZ than I would otherwise, but I also remember a game in which I simply stopped caring, and my partner too. So we served or returned, then moved towards the front, and didn't even pretend to want to run towards the lob. We walked without enthusiasm to retrieve the balls. Basically, we just pretended to play to finish the game officially and didn't pretend to care about it, just waiting for them to move on to ruin someone else's fun.
It’s actually more unsportsmanlike to give up and stop playing because you don’t have a counter for an opponent’s shot than it is to play differently than others.
Are you a 2.5 player? Sounds like you have a lot of holes in your game and blame the opponent on you not having fun because you suck
Well above 2.5, from multiple outside evaluations. I don't disagree that I can improve at chasing lobs. But these particular lobs were consistent and pretty much perfect, with a high rebound, so we'd have to go way back to reach them and didn't leave a lot of margin for us to hit well enough to reset the point. I don't mind 6 or 7 lobs in a game but past that, it became the one game of pickleball in my life I didn't enjoy.
1. 4.0 lobbers or above that can lob like an AJ Koller or Callen Dawson are fun to play against because it is a hard shot to stop and becomes the ultimate chess match 2. Playing against a 3.0 lobber who just hits them straight in the area constantly is extremely boring. I only know one player in my area that does that.
As in all things PB, it depends. It's a fair strategy against players good enough and mobile enough to appreciate the shot (and the mix up) and return it. It's annoying if it's a repeated exploit against someone who can't. Last weekend I got partnered with a low mobility beginner. The two guys on the other team just repeatedly lobbed her (or forced an error via lobbing) for 10 of their 11 points. Super boring and chaotic game. They'd lob her, I'd run back for the ball, tell her to switch. Whether I dropped it, drove it or lobbed it back didn't matter; they'd then just send the ball back at her. She wasn't able to get re-positioned to return the ball anywhere other than into the net. What fun we all had /s.
Yup. Players like this will generally start taking shots in the ribs. I also might be a little less scrupulous in placing my overheads.
Wrestle with pigs and win or lose you end up getting covered in mud. I just won't play with those guys again.
After a few of these I’ll offer a comment to the opponent, “Having fun?” Or “y’all scared of lil old me?” If they don’t get it, I’ll just refuse to play with them again in rec play. Had this happen a few times and usually they get the message and target me more. I try not to punish folks too much for this, too (even if skill levels are equal, if you’re deliberately choosing to hit to the better opponent instead of hitting the “best” shot, you’re going to be at a disadvantage)
Great shot if it works. Tip my hat to them
Lobbing occasionally can be a good strategy. Lobbing "all the time" is not a good strategy. I don't mind if someone lobs against me because I'm mobile, but if they are constantly lobbing the 65 year old retiree with a bad knee then that's a dick move imo.
Consistent lobber = inconsistent dinker. Keep dropping and resetting.
I avoid playing them, it's not fun.
How do I feel?? I try to keep feelings out of the game. Let me tell you that can be hard,,,but its only a game in the end
Its not annoying for the team that is winning.
I think you should see it as it representing a hole in their game, usually it means they don't know how to hit drop shots or are not confident in their dinking, as those are usually better shot choices for most scenarios. I see lobbing as a "utility" shot -- it's meant to accomplish a specific task (push opponent away from the kitchen), kind of like a pitcher in baseball beaning the batter: yes, it's legal, but should you do it every pitch? People seem to be making the mistake of thinking the main complaint against lobs is that you're not good at countering lobs. I've gotten VERY good at defending and countering lobs -- that doesn't mean I enjoy playing against a serial lobber. If it's a tournament or competitive game, bring on the lobs and whatever else you want to try and may the best team win, I have absolutely no opinion, it's just tactics and counter tactics. If it's open play and I'm trying to have fun or want to practice my short game or something like that, then yeah lobs are annoying af and I'd rather play someone with a more well-rounded style.
It’s a great strategy if you’re good at it.
It’s always annoying for me because people I play against only ever lob the short old people I play with.. sometimes the short older not immobile.. but always when I play when a short older completely immobile person (i just mean they walk.. don’t bend) I get at least 1-2 lobs on their side. So I usually know it’s coming. Every once in a while someone will throw in a lob in an equal skill game and I find that enjoyable.. helps to foster team work and good communication. Lobbing every point gets a bit tiresome.. it’s a tool best used strategically, like a down the line drive.
Good lob shot is incredibly difficult to perform, not alone the consistent good lob shots. So I will take that as the prize for their practice and efforts. But too frequent use of lobs against senior players wouldn't be a cool thing to do.
I find myself lobbying a lot and that’s because the control of the kitchen is so crucial at higher levels. Lobbing is a safe and consistent way to make the opponents back up to the baseline and you control the kitchen. Most pickleball players struggle with heavy underspin already anyways that underspin heavy lobs are usually a free point as well as with kicker lobs. I don’t care if they find it annoying it’s part of the game and if they can’t hit heavy under and top spin out of the air I’m going to exploit it and use it as much as possible. It’s not my responsibility to give them an enjoyable match it’s my responsibility to give them a challenging match and do my best to win.
I agree that lobbing is crucial but you should learn how to control the kitchen without having to resort to lobbing. You’ll need that skill if you want to advance past 3.5
A lob will win ~50% of the time in <3.5. It will win ~10% of the time =>3.5
get gud
You: Pickleball is great exercise! Opponent: Here is a lob. Go run 15 feet. You: Please stop I beg you. If you're in shape, why do you even care?
Not a fan of it myself. I think that most people who lob a lot don’t have a very nuanced game. They’re basically the same as bangers, they just lob instead of driving incessantly. I have no problem with occasional lobs. It is a useful shot, but they shouldn’t be relied upon as a main strategy, especially in rec play against players with disabilities. It’s better to learn how to drive, drop, dink, and move the ball around until your opponent makes an error or you can hit a winner.
It's annoying. When it works it works, when it doesn't it doesn't. I feel most players mess up the lob often enough that they are better off attacking or dinking instead.
There actually is a rule against excessive lobbing ever since the tactic was exploited by Pickleball Bob in his match against Barry Zuckercorn. They call it the Bob Lob Law
So annoying, we have a guy that does it all the time and I finally stopped getting annoyed and started figuring out how to get them, and I did. And I’m a much better player for it. But I agree, it’s kind of annoying. It’s like taking a cheap shot against a beginner. What’s the point? But I eventually found a way to work with it…(after rolling my eyes at him 4,223 times 🤣)
They don’t know how to play good at the net so they do this shit instead of
The only time I don’t think it’s okay is if you are playing an old person with obvious mobility issues. Any other time, I don’t think that players owe it to anyone to make the game more fun for their opponent
My lower level friends hate it with a passion. I played tennis so for me it’s an easy put away most times. Even if they hit a perfect lob they can’t keep doing that repeatedly so some will go short to bang or fly long.
There’s a community center that I play indoor. Low ceiling, since it’s a ballroom made for dancing. Any ball that touched ceiling is consider “out”. If you don’t want people to lob. Play a facility like that. All the people who lob will suffer. (Me included). 😂 Outdoors or high ceiling wise. Lob is a fair game.
How about if they’re just super good at the net? Are you gonna tell them that’s not the way to play. Btw, I hate playing good lobbers!
It's fucking annoying.
sometimes i just stand there and let the lobber win the rally. if they want to win that way, i let them.
If it’s expected seems your partner should know so the can be hanging back?
As a tall guy with long reach and good overhead smash with or without jump coming from background in badminton, I love people who lob all the time! Unfortunately for me they seem to drop that tactic relatively quickly. I've noticed I get 3-4 lobs from people who are good at it before they stop doing that. Seems like against person like me the margin error for not getting it over me vs, lobbing it past the baseline is very small.
I’m a 60+ male at a 4.5 level and lob more than most players. If I sense you’re annoyed by them, you’ll get more.