How to deal with the lob in doubles - 5 simple tactics for club players
Fed up with watching the ball sail over your head in doubles matches? Here’s a practical club players’ guide to dealing with the lob - and the serial lobber…
It’s the bane of the doubles court. The game slows to a grinding halt. The length of the average rally goes into double figures as an umpteenth ball is sent over your head and plops back to the baseline.
You are facing a serial lobber and there’s nothing you can do about it.
This is quite common at club level… and I get it. If you don’t know how to counter the lob, it’s a perfectly viable option for the criminal on the other side of the net dishing them out.
Don’t be scared though! I’m here to give you five different ways to deal with the lob - enough to make your opponent think twice about using them so frequently…
1. Learn how to hit an overhead properly
The overhead is the most appropriate response to the lob. How many of us actually hit them right though?
In terms of the actual mechanics of the shot itself, I’m a firm believer that anyone can learn the correct technique for an overhead.
Use the chopper grip to allow racket rotation through the shot.
Position yourself behind where the ball is dropping to move forward through the shot.
Non-dominant arm up to track the ball, to balance and to leverage some power into the shot.
Chest facing to dominant side to allow more rotation.
Throwing motion through the shot.
Go learn how to put some pop on your overheads (which is surprisingly easy after practicing with these adjustments)! Or book an hour with a coach and nail it.
Alternatively…
2. Learn how to place an overhead
I work with recreational players that generally don’t have the proper technique for an overhead in their arsenal.
That’s fine because technique is most helpful for generating speed - and speed is only one of two of your best assets for executing the overhead.
Learning where to place the overhead is just as important. Many club players will often try to snatch at the shot at the expense of actually keeping it away from the lobber.
Even with a pancake grip, putting away an overhead can be simple. Assuming the most common doubles formation from your opponents (one front, one back), here are your targets:
If you’re on top of the net, four times out of five, aim behind the net player with depth. This isolates things to the lobber and, provided you’ve hit with depth, will give them a harder time getting their next lob back into play.
The baseliner will start to anticipate your overhead landing behind the net player. Mix it up every so often by going back behind the lobber to keep them honest.
If you’ve been pushed back a little farther, aim deep to the lobber. If they lob you again, rinse and repeat - deep to the lobber. You are in the ascendancy in this rally dynamic and should come out on top if you stay solid.
Learn how to hit a strong overhead and/or place the overhead WITH DEPTH.
3. Approach to the service line
Those overhead tips are all well and good if you’re already forward. But what if you want to come forward from the baseline to break the monotony of those tiresome baseline lobs?
After you hit an approach shot, rather than rushing all the way from the baseline to parallel to your partner (i.e. both of you are right on top of the net), split-step on the service line to cover the lob.
If it goes over your partner’s head, you’ve got it.
If it goes over your head, you’ve got it.
This is where knowing how to appropriately overhead comes in handy. All you need to do is guide that lob deep back to the opponent’s baseline to make their next lob tricky. You’re not trying to win the point outright - if you get the lob back deep, your opponent will likely be forced into playing a subsequent weaker lob that you can put away.
Approach to the service line to counter a lob over you or your partner’s head and play the overhead intending to finish the point in multiple shots.
4. Close Down The Net
If you’ve approached to the service line, it is imperative you close down the net if you’re given anything resembling a shoulder-to-waist-height volley.
So often I bring players into the service line but they also take the following volley from the service line, their legs rooted to the spot.
You need to move forward to take on those volleys… Is this relevant to the lob? Absolutely!
Moving forward through the volley will generate pace. This takes time away from the opponent - time is the lobber’s best friend.
Closing down the space between you and your opponent will force the ball onto them quicker than it would have from the service line. Again, this takes time away from the opponent.
Moving forward will make it easier to hit the ball from above the height of the net. This will give you more chance of being able to hit a putaway volley or it will at least allow you to keep the ball low in the court, keeping the ball out of the serial lobber’s comfort hitting zone.
Close down the net if you’re given a volley to make the lobber’s next lob difficult!
5. Slice from the baseline
Finally, if you are still glued to the back of the court, the slice is a great way to deal with the sludgey pace of a lobber.
Some players struggle to generate pace off of a lob. Respond to the lack-of-pace in kind with a slice. Just make sure you don’t give the ball a ton of height over the net and - even without a ton of pace - it should skip awkwardly below the lobber’s preferred hitting zone.
Even if this doesn’t force a ton of errors, at the very least, it’ll hopefully mess up the rhythm of the opponent who may have been lobbing off of the same type of ball repeatedly.
The variation of backspin and the low contact point will hopefully make the lobber’s life a bit more difficult.
Summary
There you have it! As promised, five keys to dealing with the lob…
Add some pop to your overhead.
Try and keep the overhead deep in the court.
Counter lobs by approaching to the service line.
Close down the net when given a volley opportunity.
Slice from the baseline to keep the ball low and knock the lobber out of their rhythm.
Any questions or thoughts, tweet me @ontheline_jack. Happy hitting!
Jack Edward is a tennis analyst and host of the On The Line podcast, which takes regular deep dives into ATP and WTA tour matches. He’s also a qualified LTA coach and on Talking Tennis he brings his unique analytical insights to help club and recreational players to be more effective on the court.
See also:
Tennis tactics: 5 simple, effective doubles strategies for club players
Doubles Play: How to stop worrying about your volleys and start loving the net
Tips for playing smart tennis in bad weather and tricky conditions
Image top: Credit Mirasha
