Is the lob the most unheralded shot in tennis?
A booming serve. A sizzling forehand. A stunning backhand. A deft drop shot. A cheeky tweener. A solid volley. There is a hyperbole associated with every tennis shot.
Serena’s powerful serve. Rafa’s sledgehammer forehand. Stan’s swash-buckling backhand. Roger’s wily tweener. Novak’s perfect pass. There is a tennis hero associated with every tennis shot.
But what about the lob? It is seldom characterized by a superlative and almost never identified with a tennis hero.
A spectator’s delight
Two tennis greats, a gripping rally and a riveted audience.
The rally continues as neither player is ready to give in. The ball travels, tirelessly, from one baseline to the other crying out for help. The crowd is about to yawn when one of the two players executes a breathtaking drop shot to draw his opponent closer to the net.
The crowd wakes up to this sudden change of dynamic. As the opponent hustles to the net and gets his racquet on the ball to send it back over the net, the crowd waits in anticipation. A lob comes into the mix!
The crowd holds its breath and prays for their heroes. Some of them pray for the lob to sail high up into the air, travel the right trajectory and land well inside the baseline for a clean winner. Some hope for the lob either to sail wide or be within reach for an overhead smash. Some couldn’t care less about the outcome and are engrossed in the splendid tennis on display.
The lob not only evokes emotion but also keeps the suspense lingering in the air for a while.
A Game Changer
A lob adds immensely to the entertainment quotient and has the inherent potential of changing the texture of the match. It is probably the most under used shot of modern contemporary tennis. Most of the players these days use the lob when pushed against the wall or try it out of sheer desperation to get out of the soup.
What makes it challenging for a player is the fact that an effective lob commands great feel and of course, hours of practice. Apart from dexterity and skill, a player must have the heart of a lion to play it. It is a high risk high return sort of a shot. It is no doubt quite tricky to play it in a pressure situation. But when it is played with the apt trajectory, placement and spin it can reap rich dividends.
Another dimension of the lob that makes it dicey for a player is its variant. There is the aggressive top spin lob and the defensive lob. Both these variants can be hit down the line or cross court and can be hit either on the run or with a firm footing. They can also be used with a lot of disguise to surprise the opponent. Executing the right variant at the right time depends on tennis aptitude and ability.
The lob is an integral component in the Doubles where the dynamics shift very fast. It is often used to push the players to the back of the court and also buy time to get back in position while defending. It could also be used as a service return to keep one of the opponents at the back of the court and opening up the court at the front with only one opponent covering the net. Each point is played at great pace. A lob pulls the reins in on the game and gives a breather for the players as well as the spectators.
Best lobs in contemporary tennis
Agnieszka Radwanka
On the women’s circuit, Agnieszka Radwanka reigns supreme as far as touch tennis is concerned. She is one of those few players on tour who rely more on court craft, finesse and placement rather than power. When on Ninja mode Radwanska, with her tennis instinct and racquet skills, makes tennis look like a piece of art. And the lob! Well, you will have to see it to believe it.
Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova has added more dimensions to her game over the past 18 months. The drop shot, the back hand slice and the topspin lob were on display for the tennis fans at this year’s French Open. And she did not play them all in just one match. She used all these weapons from her improved arsenal until her Quarter Final match against Lucie Safarova.
Andy Murray
Andy Murray, by far, has one of the best lobs in the Men’s game. Virginia Wade, a British tennis player and a former World No.2, while sharing her views on the dying art of the topspin lob said, “I watched Andy Murray in a match recently where he hit a lob off a two-handed backhand.
Players who play two-handed backhand lobs always pull off great lobs because playing the shot this way conceals what shot you are going to play. Murray's was a great shot, but you need to have very quick wrist action to pull it off, so make sure you build up your wrist strength with stretches before attempting it.”