Ask ten amateurs which shot to master after the basics, and most will say the smash or the bandeja. Almost nobody says "the lob" — and that's a mistake. The lob is what decides who gets to attack from the net and who spends the whole match defending against the back glass. It's the most underrated shot in padel, and the good news is it's easier to learn than a flashy smash.
What the lob is and why it's underrated
A lob (in Spanish, globo) is a high ball you float over the pair standing at the net so it lands deep, near the back wall. The goal isn't to win the point in one stroke — it's to push your opponents off the net and swap positions with them.
The lob gets overlooked because it isn't glamorous. It doesn't blast a winner, nobody jumps out of their seat for it, and from the outside it can look like you just "hit one high." But in padel, points are won by position, not power — and there is no more reliable way to take position from your opponents than a deep, accurate lob.
A quick reminder of the geometry, so the logic makes sense: a padel court is 20×10 metres, walled in glass on every side, and the walls are in play. Smashing a winner past a net pair is nearly impossible — the ball just rebounds off the glass. But lobbing them and forcing them to retreat to the back wall is on the table in every single rally.
Why the lob decides amateur padel
At the amateur level, the net is won and lost with the lob. The pair at the net presses down on you; the pair at the back waits patiently for a mistake. The whole match comes down to who pushes whom back — and the main tool in that battle isn't the smash, it's the lob.
Aziz Karimov, a national-team coach you'll find in our PlaySport coaches section, puts it bluntly: "Amateurs spend hours on a smash they use five times a match, and barely practise the lob they could hit fifty times. The pair that can float their opponents deep takes the net without a single power shot."
The logic is simple and works at every level:
- Your opponents take the net and press.
- You answer with a deep lob over their heads.
- They have to turn and run back to the glass.
- While they dig the ball out of the wall, you move up to the net and trade roles.
Now you're the one attacking. One accurate, low-risk shot has flipped the entire rally — that's the power of the lob.
The defensive lob and the offensive lob
There are two kinds of lob, and confusing them is a common error. The defensive one rescues you from pressure; the offensive one seizes the initiative. The difference is in the situation — and the risk.
| Defensive lob | Offensive lob |
|---|
| When | Under pressure, awkward ball | You control the rally |
| Height | Higher — you need time | Lower and faster — so they can't react |
| Goal | Reset, get back in position | Push them back and move up |
| Risk | Minimal — just don't leave it short | Medium: short = a smash on you |
The defensive lob is for when you can't play a normal shot: the ball has dragged you off court, the bounce is awkward, the opponents are pressing. You float it high, buy a second or so, and recover your position. Here height matters more than precision — the cardinal sin is leaving it short.
The offensive lob is a weapon. You play it when you have time and balance, and you disguise it as an ordinary shot: until the last instant your opponent thinks you're going to play low at their feet, then you lift it over them. This lob flies lower and faster than the defensive one, lands deep, and they can't turn in time for a clean reply. Most often they hand you a weak bandeja — and you're already at the net.
Technique: the lob in six steps
You can lob off both the forehand and the backhand — the mechanics are the same. Here's the breakdown. This sequence is "how to learn the lob":
- Continental grip. Hold the racket "like a hammer" — the same all-purpose grip you use for the volley and the bandeja. No need to switch: the open string face does the lifting for you.
- Early preparation. The moment you see the ball is yours, turn your shoulders side-on and drop the racket head below the ball early. The lob travels low to high — you have to get under the ball.
- Low contact point. Take the ball around knee or hip height, to the side and slightly in front. The lower and calmer the contact, the easier the height is to control.
- Soft hand, lift upward. Don't hit — lift. Brush the strings up the back of the ball as if tossing it to the far corner. The power comes from the shoulder and body; the wrist stays soft.
- Long, high follow-through. The racket keeps travelling high, up toward your target. A short, abrupt finish is the number-one cause of short lobs. Reach after the ball.
- Decide immediately: forward or back. Played an offensive lob — move up to the net. Played a defensive one out of the corner — recover into line with your partner. The lob isn't finished until you've taken your new position.
Marco Rossi, a coach with World Padel Tour tournament experience, sums it up in one line: "The lob isn't a power shot, it's a height-and-length shot. Don't think 'how do I hit it harder', think 'how do I hit it higher and follow through longer'."
Where to aim the lob
A lob that doesn't reach the back third of the court is a gift: your opponent turns and punishes it with a smash. So depth is everything. The basic targets:
- Deep, in the last 2–3 metres before the glass. The ideal lob lands so your opponent reaches it right at the back wall and can only return another lob or a weak bandeja.
- Over the opponent's backhand. For a right-hander, that's a lob over their left shoulder: attacking from there with a smash or víbora is far harder than over the forehand.
- Into the far corner from you. Make your opponent not just retreat but also slide across diagonally — that's how they lose both position and the connection with their partner.
- Sometimes down the middle. A lob right between the opponents sows doubt — "whose ball is it?" In an indecisive pair, that's a free point.
What to avoid: short lobs into the middle at comfortable smashing height. It's better to float the ball half a metre past the glass (losing one point) than to leave it short and eat a smash at your feet.
The lob and the walls: how padel differs from tennis
In tennis, a deep lob that lands near the baseline often wins the point outright. In padel, the walls are in play, so your opponent will almost always dig the ball out after it rebounds off the back glass — and that's fine. Your lob doesn't have to be a winner; it just has to take the net.
That's exactly why the lob and playing off the back wall are two sides of the same coin. You lob — your opponents learn to recover off the glass; they lob you — your own wall work saves you. Understand both, and you stop fearing deep balls from either side.
The lob in pair tactics
The lob is a team decision, not a solo trick. When one of you lobs, the pair moves together:
- Hit an offensive lob — you both move up. The point of the lob is to take the net, so after a good deep lob you and your partner advance to the net in sync, as one "wall of two."
- Hit a defensive lob from the corner — you both stay back. If the lob came up short and your opponent is loading a smash, don't push forward — drop back to the baseline and defend.
- Talk. A simple "up!" or "back!" after the lob saves points. For more on moving in sync, see our piece on positioning as a pair.
The key idea: the height and depth of your lob tell you what to do next. Deep and over their heads — attack, move up. Short and low — defend, drop back. Learn to read your own lob in flight, and the decisions become automatic.
Six common mistakes
- The lob is too short. The most expensive error: a short ball at smashing height is a point for your opponent. Fix: aim for the last 2–3 metres and don't be afraid to float it past the glass.
- Hitting with power instead of height. A sharp, flat stroke flies low and fast — right into a smash. Fix: soft hand, low-to-high motion, long follow-through.
- Contact point too high. If you take the ball at chest height, controlling the height is nearly impossible. Fix: get under it, contact at knee–hip height.
- No disguise. Your opponent reads the lob a metre out and calmly retreats. Fix: prepare for the lob exactly as you would for a shot at their feet, and change your mind at the last instant.
- Lobbing over the forehand. It's easy to punish with a smash there. Fix: default to lobbing over the backhand (for a right-hander, over the left shoulder).
- Not moving after the lob. You hit a great lob and stood still — you've handed the net you just won straight back. Fix: drill the rule "deep lob — step forward."
Drills: from feeds to live points
Like any shot, the lob is built on repetition. Here's the progression we give players in lessons.
Drill 1. Target by the back wall (depth)
Put a cone or bag 2 metres from the back glass. Your partner feeds you a ball, and you calmly lob into the zone beyond the cone.
- 4 sets of 10 reps. Only count a lob that lands past the cone as a success. Speed doesn't matter — depth does.
Drill 2. Lob over the backhand (accuracy)
Same feed, but the target is to float the ball over an imaginary left shoulder, into the far corner.
- 4 sets of 8 reps into each corner. Practise both forehand and backhand.
Drill 3. Lob under pressure (defence)
Your partner hits you an awkward ball at your feet or into the corner, and you answer with a high defensive lob and recover your position.
- 3 sets of 8 reps. Here the priority is height and time, not angle.
Drill 4. "Lob and move up" (tactics)
A semi-live point: you're at the baseline, your opponent is at the net. You hit a deep lob and immediately move forward, trying to take the net, while your opponent recovers off the wall.
- 8–10 points. Count how many times you manage to take the net after your own lob.
A coach speeds this up: they spot the short follow-through, the high contact or the predictable lob and fix it on the spot. You'll find one in the PlaySport coaches section, and you can drill the shot at any of Tashkent's courts with a decent back wall. To find partners for regular practice, use player search.
The lob as the foundation of tactics
Let's put it all together. The lob isn't a fallback "when I have nothing else" — it's the main tool in the fight for the net:
- Your opponents take the net and press.
- You answer with a deep lob over their backhand.
- They run to the glass and hand you a weak bandeja.
- You're already at the net — and you finish the rally from above.
Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, and the standard of opposition rises every season. The pair that can patiently float its opponents deep with the lob is almost always a step ahead of the one trying to solve everything with power.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a lob different from just hitting one high?
A lob is a deliberate high shot with a specific goal: to float the net pair back and land the ball deep at the back wall. A random "I hit it high" usually lands short, at comfortable smashing height, and loses the point.
Which grip should I use for the lob?
The continental grip ("hammer grip") — the same one you use for the volley and the bandeja. The open string face does the lifting, and you don't have to switch grips mid-rally.
Why does my lob keep getting smashed?
Almost always because it's short or floats over the opponent's forehand. Aim deeper (the last 2–3 metres before the glass) and lob over the backhand by default — smashing from there is much harder.
Is the lob a defensive or an offensive shot?
Both. The defensive lob rescues you from pressure and buys time; the offensive one — disguised and deep — pushes your opponents off the net and lets you move up yourself.
Can a beginner learn the lob?
Yes, and you should learn it early. The lob is technically simpler than the smash and pays off immediately: you stop crumbling under pressure and start taking the net. Begin with depth on a static target; speed and disguise come later.
Where is the best place to aim a lob?
Deep, into the far corner, over your opponent's backhand. That kind of lob forces them both to retreat and to slide diagonally, losing position and the connection with their partner.
