I'm not great at returning lobs, but you usually don't have to be great at this. Even a 4.0-rated lobber will have an immediate failure rate of 50% (at least), with 30% going OOB, and at least 20% getting smashed back. I don't worry if a lob gets past me. Usually by the end of the game the lobber is the one who has lost more.
Here's my thinking when I lob--add the length of the opponent's court (22') + the 7' to my kitchen line. That's 29'. From my kitchen line to the opponents' kitchen line is 14'. So 14' is half of 29'. All I think about when lobbing from the kitchen line is to have my lob reach its zenith at the opponents' NVZ line. If I do that, the ball easily falls into the court. Hope that makes sense.
Great advice. I still need to get better with offensive lobs. Against the guys I play against (who are usually better than I am), I still have a losing percentage.
@@Joe_Baker Well, I'm a quasi-beginner. Against better players, yes, it doesn't work nearly as well. BTW Joe, I'm a member at Palm Desert Resort Palm Desert CA. I asked others how to get better, and they said "Watch Joe Baker videos". You've been a big help. Thank you.
Its not so much about the winning percentage of my lobs. Its about the winning percentage of my lobs vs winning percentage if I don't lob it.. I am not great with the 3rd shot drop shot especially from beyond midcourt so if my opponent has forced me deep to the baseline and are waiting for me at the net my odds are already pretty low. By hitting a high lob shot that at least gets them to retreat I have flipped the table a little bit. Yes, low percentage but lets say it is 35% vs 25% trying to hit a drive shot or drop shot in front of them so it still makes it a good decision.
I agree that often a low percentage shot is better than a shot that is even lower in percentage. If I have to run down a lob, I usually return it with a lob because, for me, it's my best chance, even though it's a low percentage shot. I do encourage you to keep trying to develop the third shot drop.
