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Their backhand overhead is solid. Where do you lob instead?
Solid backhand overhead? Lob very deep to the forehand corner. Depth neutralises the forehand and pulls them off the middle.
The opponent you keep lobbing has a reliable backhand bandeja. Is there a better target than the backhand shoulder?
Solid backhand overhead? Lob very deep to the forehand corner. Depth neutralises the forehand and pulls them off the middle.
Why
The backhand overhead is the usual lob target, but some players have a reliable backhand bandeja, and against them the target changes to depth rather than side. A lob landing very deep in the forehand corner cannot be smashed, it is played as a bandeja from near the glass, or let bounce, and it drags the player wide, opening the middle for the next ball. The lob to the forehand side is only a mistake when it is short; deep, it is as neutral as any other and it varies the pattern enough to keep them thinking.
What this means at your level
Beginner
If they keep hitting good overheads on one side, lob the other side, but make it very deep.
Intermediate
A deep forehand-corner lob followed by a ball through the middle is a simple two-shot pattern that works at every level.
Advanced
Watch which overhead they reset with and which they attack with. Lob toward the reset; a pair that only resets never wins the net back.
Common questions
The opponent you keep lobbing has a reliable backhand bandeja. Is there a better target than the backhand shoulder?
Very deep to the forehand corner: a bandeja at best. Solid backhand overhead? Lob very deep to the forehand corner. Depth neutralises the forehand and pulls them off the middle. The backhand overhead is the usual lob target, but some players have a reliable backhand bandeja, and against them the target changes to depth rather than side. A lob landing very deep in the forehand corner cannot be smashed, it is played as a bandeja from near the glass, or let bounce, and it drags the player wide, opening the middle for the next ball. The lob to the forehand side is only a mistake when it is short; deep, it is as neutral as any other and it varies the pattern enough to keep them thinking.
Why not keep lobbing the backhand. It will break eventually?
A player with a solid backhand bandeja is not going to break. Change the question you ask them.
What should a beginner do here?
If they keep hitting good overheads on one side, lob the other side, but make it very deep.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Watch which overhead they reset with and which they attack with. Lob toward the reset; a pair that only resets never wins the net back.
Puzzles like this one
Both of them are at the net. What is the highest-percentage ball?
Only the lob moves a net pair backwards. Everything else invites them forward.
intermediateWhat do you do with the return of serve?
The return lob is how the receiving pair steals the net. Aim over the player who is still moving.
advancedThey are camped at the net and you cannot lob. What now?
If you cannot lift it over them, make them lift it for you. The chiquita is a slow ball at their feet.