How to Lob in Table Tennis

Last Updated on July 10, 2024 by Alex Horscroft

What Is a Lob in Table Tennis?

A lob is a defensive shot that involves hitting the ball upward into the air with topspin, allowing the opponent to attack. You use a lob when you are forced away from the table and need to defend. Players will also commonly use sidespin to make the ball harder to smash.

Why Should I Lob?

Lobs are the ideal shots in certain scenarios, namely when you are forced away from the table and have to defend. By taking several steps away from the table, you give yourself more time to react to the ball. Furthermore, by lobbing well you can create a situation where you can begin attacking again. 

Lobs are used by just about every professional player to some extent, so this should speak volumes about how effective they are. 

When Should I Play a Lob?

Should

You should use lobs whenever you are forced away from the table — they give you more time to play your next shot.

Shouldn’t

There are far more instances of when you shouldn’t play a lob than when you should.

For starters, you should never play a lob when you are close to the table. Not only is there no reason to, but lobs played from close to the table are very easy to smash.

Secondly, if you are on the offensive, don’t switch to lobs. When attacking you are in a strong position, and if you switch to lobbing you allow your opponent to take control of the rally.

I would also recommend avoiding lobbing against backspin balls. These are difficult to lob as they are often low/short and it can be difficult to add the appropriate amount of topspin. And once again, there is no need to lob in this situation. It doesn’t provide an advantage. 

How to Perform a Lob

The key to lobbing effectively relies on three characteristics: depth, topspin, and height.

The most important of the three is depth. You should aim to have the ball land as close to the back edge of the table as possible. This is because it gives the opponent less of an angle to play their smash. As such, they can either hit it hard and risk missing, or take some of the pace off making the ball easier to return.

Topspin is the next most important factor. By imparting topspin on your lobs, you cause the ball to kick forward when it hits the table. This means the opponent is forced to strike the ball deeper than if your lob had no topspin. 

As for height, you should aim for your lobs to bounce to at least head level. This ensures you are lifting the ball high enough to give yourself the time you need to get into position to make a return. High lobs are also more intimidating to smash — it often throws off the timing of many players. 

Step 1: Stance

• Quickly move away from the table. Anticipate the depth and sideways position that you need to stand.
• Your feet should be wider than shoulder-width apart. This gives you a good base to quickly move in any direction.
• Stand square to the table. You can make micro-adjustments depending if the ball lands on your forehand or backhand side.
• Knees bent. Promotes balance and movement.
• Leaning slightly forward. For the same reasons.
• Playing arm out in front of you bent at the elbow. Favor neither forehand nor backhand.

Step 2: Build Up

• Quickly move to get behind the smash. Make sure you move forward or backward as needed.
• Retract your racket downward and toward your body. Get ready to play a backhand or forehand as appropriate.

Step 3: Striking the Ball

• Contact the ball at around belly button to chest level. This is the optimal height.
• Strike through the ball and upwards. This gives the ball the height it needs
• Use an open racket angle partially facing the ceiling. This gives you the perfect angle to produce topspin, making the ball harder to smash.

Step 4: Finish and Recovery

• Continue following the stroke through until your racket is above your head. This ensures your stroke is fluid and has enough height and topspin.
• Move to where you anticipate the next smash will go. This means you have less distance to travel when your opponent hits the ball.
• Return to the ready position. Racket out in front of you and knees bent to prepare for the next shot.

Recommended Videos to Help You Learn How to Lob

As always, Ping Skills provide excellent skill breakdowns, and their tutorial for lobbing is no different.

If instead, you want to see some lobs from the top level, check out Michael Maze. He was well known as a master of lobbing. He loved to put sidespin on his lobs and often looked for an opportunity to switch back to looping to regain control of the rally. 

My Top Tips For Ping Pong Lobbing Success

I lob more than most and have a good degree of success with it. My main advice is to really focus on your depth and topspin. While good sideways placement on the table is best practice, it is nowhere near as important.

This is because lobs are the longest shots in table tennis — your opponent has more than enough time to position themselves to smash the ball. As such, depth and topspin are more important as your opponent has no control over this.

Depth can sometimes be hard to get right, so ensuring all of your lobs have heavy topspin is really important. By focusing on a brushing motion (much like a loop), you will guarantee that all of your lobs have a lot of topspin. 

I also recommend introducing sidespin into your lobs as well. This causes the ball to bounce sideways rather abruptly and it will catch many players off guard. 

Common Mistakes

1. If you love lobbing then watch out, as you may be guilty of this mistake… lobbing too much! I’ve found that players who like to lob will lob the ball even when they are in a strong position. This is a bad idea. Only lob when you need to go on the defensive and are at a medium to far distance from the table.

2. Another common mistake is lobbing too close to the net. As mentioned earlier, the main goal with lobs is to make the ball bounce as close to the end of the table as possible. By having the ball bounce close to the net, you present your opponent with an easy smash.

3. Not looking to attack. Many players are too content in a lobbing rally, you may be consistent, but most of the time the odds are in favor of the player smashing. For this reason, you should always be looking for an opportunity for a counterattack. If they hit a poor smash you may be able to smash or loop the ball back, thereby re-taking control of the rally.