Tips to play and improve padel lobs

The lob is most important shot in padel – used to control the space and time on the court as a great tactical shot.  

An effective padel lob technique allows you to push your opponents back when they are at the net, gives you chance to move forward, and allows you more time to get set up for the next shot. It can also be used to move your opponents around the court and tire them out during rallies. 

A high percentage of points in padel are won at the net and the lob is one of the most effective ways to counter your opponents when they are volleying. 

LTA Women’s National Coach Libby Fletcher talks us through the key elements to a successful lob, techniques you need to know and how you can practice on court. 

Preparing the padel racket 

Like with your groundstrokes, you want to prepare early when hitting a lob – getting sideways on with your racket taken back. 

The big difference with the lob is that you want to have your racket face more open, pointing more towards the sky. This is what will give you the height on the ball.  

Racket path from low to high 

The racket path on the padel lob is very important – you want to start the racket low position and finish with it high, above your head. 

Your legs can help you with this. Bend your legs to get low and then push up through the ball as you hit it to get that steep racket path. 

How to practice the racket path for a lob 

• Start by balancing the ball on your racket facing up and flicking the ball into the air 
• Then progress to dropping the ball onto the racket and hitting it up 
• You can then practice in rallies tapping the ball up before hitting a lob back to your opponent 

Hitting a deep lob 

The key to a great padel lob is the depth of your shot. You want to be aiming for a lob to bounce just beyond the service line but before the back glass.

This is important because: 

• It means you can push your opponents out of position to return the ball 
• Your opponents are more likely to play a defensive shot in return 
• If the ball is landing deeper in the court, it's harder to play an attacking overhead 
• It gives you more time to set up for the next shot 

You may also want to think about the height of the ball. You want the ball to have good height, so it goes over your opponents’ heads and so it has less rebound off the glass. 

Top tip: Aiming cross court is more effective as it gives you a longer distance for the shot to cover, so you have more room for error. Remember, you want to aim for the ball to bounce beyond the service line as well.