Padel lob: choose a balanced ball and make opponents retreat

A useful lob has a job

A lob sends the ball high over opponents who are near the net. It can slow the exchange, make them retreat and create a chance for your pair to advance. Height alone is not enough: a high ball that lands short can give the opponents a comfortable overhead. A fast, low lob can rebound off the glass into another attack. Begin with a generous deep landing area, not a tiny corner. The goal is to move the opponents while keeping the ball in court, then read their reply before claiming the net.

Choose a ball you can control

Look for time to set your feet and place the racket below the ball. A comfortable low-to-medium ball or a readable back-glass rebound is a useful starting opportunity. If you are fully stretched, falling away or trying to lift a ball from your shoelaces, a lob may leave you in more trouble. Use a simpler controlled return when you cannot organise the upward action. This is a decision about your balance and the incoming ball, not a ban on every low-ball lob. In the selected demonstration, compare the unstable attempt with the more settled contact.

Prepare low, then guide upward

Use your ordinary shoulder turn and continental starting hold. Move your feet so the ball is beside and slightly ahead of you, then bend the legs enough to get the racket under its height. Guide the racket upward through the ball with a controlled open face and finish high. Keep your base stable rather than jumping upward to manufacture height. The movement can rise naturally, but it should not throw you off balance. A right-handed forehand lob uses the right side; a left-hander mirrors it. On a backhand lob, prepare across the non-hitting side and create the same comfortable contact space rather than reaching with the wrist.

Separate height, depth and recovery

During the first practice block, watch where the ball lands. A high ball inside the service box is still short; a deep ball beyond the service line is only useful if it also gets past the opponents’ comfortable overhead reach. Leave margin from the back glass and side boundary so a small miss is not immediately out. If a lob repeatedly lands short, check whether you began under the ball and completed the upward action while balanced. If it repeatedly hits the opposing glass before the floor, reduce its forward travel rather than keeping the same action and hoping. After contact, return the racket to ready so you can respond even when the lob is poor.

Go only when the response gives you time

Watch the opponents, not just the flight you hoped to produce. If the lob gets over them and makes them turn or retreat, call go and move forward with your partner while time is available. Be balanced again as the opponent hits; you may have to stop short of your preferred net position. If the lob sits up for a comfortable overhead, call hold and organise your defence. You can make the right decision after a poor lob by not charging into the next attack. Conversely, a deep landing does not guarantee safety if the opponent has already set up comfortably under it.

Read the reply and take the net together

Fix the short lob without adding several new cues

A last-second wrist scoop often comes from late preparation or a contact too close to the body. Slow the feed and rebuild a stable, low start. If the ball has height but no depth, keep the same balanced base and allow a fuller guided action instead of only opening the face more. If every attempt changes wildly, return to a self-drop feed and compare landings. Once the flight is repeatable, introduce an opponent who decides whether to retreat or take an overhead. That tests the purpose of the shot; landing in a painted target alone cannot tell you whether the pair should advance.

Take it to the court

Use these suggested practice doses to compare your own sessions; they are not a rating or a pass requirement.