September 19, 2008

Lob

verb (used with object)
1. Tennis. To hit (a ball) in a high arc to the back of the opponent's court.

Ok. But how do we defend against a Lob Queen? According to USTA.com, "the answer to this query is dependent on the players' athletic ability, tennis skill, mobility, and teamwork, as well as the exact type of lob hit."

• The net person hits the lob if 1 - The lob is a decent/bad one (not one that lands right near the baseline) and she is more athletic and/or is a much better player than her partner or 2 - The lob is fairly short, within a couple of steps of the net player.
• The baseline player hits the lob if 1 - It is a very good lob right near the baseline or 2 - If she is a much better player than the player at net.

Basically, we have two shot options: take it outta the air with an overhead smash OR lob it back. Coach Vern has suggested, too, that we can agree ahead to just cover each other's lobs. Onward ladies.