Beginnerstrategy

Lobs and overheads: look up, don't fall down

Sooner or later someone throws a ball over your head, and what you do next matters for your scoreboard and your safety. This lesson covers both ends of the lob: how to chase one down the right way (never backpedaling) and how to punish a short one with a confident overhead.

Watch: Pickleball Lob Survival Guide
7 min
Watch “Pickleball Lob Survival Guide” Better Pickleball · captions

Key takeaways

  • Never backpedal for a lob. Backward shuffles while looking up are the most common cause of serious falls in rec pickleball. Turn sideways ('open the door'), then run back like an outfielder.
  • Decide early: if the lob is short enough to smash with the ball in front of you, take the overhead; if you'd have to reach behind your head, turn and run instead.
  • In doubles, the partner who isn't lobbed often has the easier chase, so call the switch loudly ('mine!' / 'switch!') and cross behind.
  • On the overhead, hit at a three-quarter reach with your body sideways and aim down at the deepest open court; placement beats raw smash speed.
  • Use the lob yourself: a defensive lob buys time to reset when you're stretched, and an occasional offensive lob off a dink keeps kitchen-line opponents honest.

Drill to try

Partner tosses 10 lobs of mixed depth from the other side. For each: call 'smash' or 'run' out loud, then execute: sideways pivot and run for deep ones (no backpedaling, ever), overhead for short ones. Score a point only when the call and the footwork match.