Short lob

A short lob is like throwing the point away, but what constitutes a short lob is not quite so easy to state. Against the average player, any ball that will fall inside the service line should be considered a short lob, and most players will have long odds in favor of their being able to kill the ball, if they can smash from within 15 feet of the net. Some players are able to kill even from back of the service line, or at least to smash hard enough they get better length than this.

To be out of danger, safe from hard smashing, a lob should not fall more than 10 feet inside the base line of court. Except when the opponent is caught “anchored” at the net and passed overhead with a low lob, any lobbed ball is defensive and the lobber can hardly expect to win, except through an error by their opponent, until they are able to turn the attack against them.