How to Beat Lobbers in Table Tennis

Last Updated on May 1, 2024 by Alex Horscroft

At the surface level, playing a lobber feels like an easy task. They’re simply feeding the ball up high for you to smash, what’s so difficult about that? Quite a lot actually. 

Lobbers are very consistent table tennis players, and most have refined their lob shots to limit the quality of your attack. By understanding their strategy, you can start to formulate an effective game plan rather than hitting every ball as hard as you can.   

Why Do Some Players Become Lobbers?

While lobbing the ball usually puts you at a disadvantage because it invites an easy smash, quality lobs can give many players trouble. Therefore, it’s a feasible style if you put the time into training.

Quality lobs land deep and bounce further forward than you might expect due to the high levels of topspin. This makes them difficult to attack. What’s more, lobbing is not a particularly common style to face, therefore some players can feel out of their depth. Particularly, those who can’t smash well and have poor footwork. 

For context, I’m an aggressive looper, but whenever I’m forced away from the table I switch to lobbing. I’ve found against poor attackers I probably win around half of all rallies, so not a bad percentage given it’s not my specialty. But I also lob for another reason — it’s a tonne of fun, and that’s what I’m here for!  

Strengths of Lobbers in Table Tennis

1. Consistent 

Think of lobbers as the blockers of far-from-the-table play. They love topspin rallies, and although you feel that you might be able to overwhelm them with attack, it’s a lot easier said than done.

Skilled lobbers seem to get back almost everything that comes their way. While this may seem implausible, you have to remember that by standing far from the table they give themselves more time to react. The ball has further to travel and slows down considerably by the time it reaches them.

2. Patient

For the most part, lobbers are waiting for a mistake from you. Sure, some attack, but hitting winners isn’t their primary objective. Instead, they feed you lobs which are more difficult to attack than they seem.

3. Masters of Spin & Depth

The most dangerous element of a skilled lobber is their ability to vary spin. Almost all balls land deep and come loaded with topspin; this makes it more difficult to attack. 

It shifts your contact point much further backward which reduces your angle to play a smash. As such, for safety, you may have to take some of the pace of your smash or introduce more topspin. This is something that many intermediate players refuse to do, and they miss as a result.

To make matters worse, lobbers will incorporate sidespin too. So not only does the ball kick forward when it bounces, but it also darts to the side. Troublesome indeed!

4. Can Loop at a Moment’s Notice

If you think about it, quality lobs are a lot like loops. They involve brushing the ball to impart heavy spin — they’re just slower and directed more upward rather than forward. Consequently, most lobbers are skilled loopers in their own right. As such, you always have to be on guard for them to shift to looping. 

How to Beat Lobbers in Table Tennis

1. Smash Hard!

The best strategy for tackling a lobber is to smash hard. Really hard. This is easier said than done, and you certainly need to be thoughtful of other elements such as placement, but pace is ultimately the most important.

Cracking flat smashes are a great tool as they are the most efficient transfer of energy — you don’t sacrifice any pace for spin. Also, speaking as somebody who lobs, flatter smashes are more difficult to return than those with topspin.

Something else that is important to note is that many of us play in fairly small areas. Lobbers need a lot of space and they usually don’t have enough, so use this to your advantage. By smashing with enough force, either the barriers or walls may prevent them from playing a return. 

2. Smash to the Corners

Lobbers stand far away from the table for two reasons. Firstly, because it allows them to lob deeper, and secondly because it gives them more time to react to the ball. But this comes at a cost. By standing so far away, they have to cover a lot of distance. 

Therefore, you should aim a good chunk of your smashes at the corners. Also, don’t be afraid to use sidespin, as this will make the ball even more difficult to return. If you choose to go this route, I recommend fading or hooking the ball (sidespin loops) instead of smashing it.  

3. Move Your Position According to the Spin on the Ball

As mentioned earlier, lobbers are very skilled when it comes to spin, and it catches a hell of a lot of players out. If you’re in this camp, simply take a step or two back. That way you won’t be too close when the ball kicks forward as it bounces. 

Now for the sidespin. It’s simply a matter of watching which direction your opponent strikes the ball. If it’s from your left to right, it’s clockwise spin, so the ball will bounce to the right. If, on the other hand, it’s right to left, anticlockwise spin is at work. So expect the ball to bounce to the left instead.  

By understanding this simple concept, you can adjust your footwork as soon as they make contact. And given the ball has a good distance to travel, you have more than enough time to position yourself correctly.

4. Adjust Your Stroke to the Spin of the Ball and Height of Contact

While hitting the ball nice and flat with plenty of pace at around shoulder height is ideal, things don’t always work out that way. In fact, sometimes it’s simply not a good idea – you need to vary your stroke according to the lob you receive. 

If you find yourself too far from the ball, don’t strike it as hard as you can — you’ll probably miss. Similarly, if you’re hitting the ball later than you hoped, it might be a better idea to loop the ball instead of smashing it. Choosing the right type of attack for the job is essential to keeping a lobber under pressure. 

5. Drop Shots

Drop shots aren’t particularly common in table tennis, but they have their place. And the best place to use them is against lobbers and choppers as they stand so far away from the table. Ideally, you want to get the ball to bounce twice on your opponent’s side but this can be quite difficult to do. Especially for lobs with heavy topspin that bounce near the end line. Nevertheless, drop shots are certainly a tool you should incorporate into your game plan. 

6. Pushes

Lobbers like topspin like most other players, so usually they get to play the way they want. However, you can take them out of their comfort zone by pushing the ball. Few lobbers will play a lob here as they are too close to the table to execute a high-quality lob. This forces them to either try and loop the ball or play passively. 

An Example of a Lobber in Action

One of my favorite professionals who lobbed is Michael Maze. What made him such a skilled lobber was not only his consistency to defend against the world’s best, but also his ability to use heavy sidespin both when lobbing and looping. 

Closing Thoughts

Most lobbers are a lot more difficult to play against than you might think, yet there are many ways to beat lobbers in table tennis. I recommend smashing the ball very hard and to the corners. Pay close attention to the spin they produce and don’t stand too close to the table otherwise the topspin will catch you out! 

*Cover image provided by XIAOYU TANG under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license | unedited

Next Lessons 

If your smashing needs some improvement, that’s your first next step. Without a quality smash, lobbers will give you real trouble. You can check out my forehand smashing guide and backhand smashing guide for help.

Forehand loops will also come in handy. Fortunately, I have a forehand loop guide as well.