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A 2 minute read, written in August 2026 and read over again on 10 October 2026

The lob in padel: the most undervalued shot in the game

The lob is not a panic shot. At every level from club to professional it is the main tool for taking the net, and the players who lob well are the ones who look like they have all the time in the world.

Why it matters so much

A pair at the net hits downwards; a pair at the back hits upwards. You cannot out-hit that difference, so you have to change it. The lob is the only shot that moves a net pair backwards. Everything else, drives, drops, angles, invites them forward.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
Over a pair leaning in When both of them crowd the net, lob deep over the backhand shoulder and take the net while they turn.

Where to aim

Cross-court, deep, by default. The diagonal is about 22 metres against 20 down the line, so you get more margin, and the ball lands behind the player with the furthest to travel. Down the line is the surprise, worth playing when their net player has crept in too close or has a weak overhead on that side.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
When you are lobbed: back to the service line Their lob goes over you. Drop back to the service line, let it come down in front of you and play the bandeja deep.

Aim at the back fence, not at the sky. The most common lob error at club level is not hitting it long. It is hitting it short, which is a free smash.

How to hit it

YouPartnerOpponentsBall

Your call

You and your partner are both at the back. Both opponents are established at the net. What do you play?

Only the lob moves a net pair backwards. Everything else invites them forward.

The whole reasoning, at every level

Read the rest of this part 1 min
  1. Get side-on and take the racket back low.
  2. Open the face and lift from low to high, brushing slightly up the back of the ball.
  3. Contact out in front, and finish high with the racket pointing where you want the ball to go.
  4. Keep the swing long and slow. A lob is a push, not a hit.

The half nobody plays

A lob without a run forward is a wasted lob. As soon as the ball clears their net player, both of you move in together, stop about two metres from the net, and split-step as their racket goes back. If you stand and watch it, you have bought two seconds and spent them on nothing, and they will simply lob you straight back.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
Open racket face, hands low. What is coming? Open face plus low hands equals lob, nearly every time. Half a second of reading beats two metres of running.

If you cannot get in safely, neither of you goes. A connected pair at the back beats a broken pair anywhere on court.

Reading the reply

Watch their contact point as you move forward. Set up comfortably underneath it means a bandeja is coming and you should stop and split. Reaching, turning, or taking it behind their head means they are in trouble: keep going all the way in.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
You are hitting a bandeja. Cross-court or down the line? Bandeja cross-court and deep by default. It buys margin, and it keeps you covered while you recover.

When not to lob

Against a pair with a genuinely big smash who are reading your lob, a third identical lob is just feeding them. That is when the chiquita earns its place: a slow, low, dying ball into their feet that has no pace to use and forces them to lift instead. Lob is your default. It should not be your only note.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
The chiquita worked; they lifted a weak volley. Now what? Weak volley off the chiquita: firm volley to the other net player's feet, complete the approach. Do not give the moment back.

Defending against the lob

The same shot is being played at you. The answer is to turn early rather than backpedal, take it as a bandeja whenever you can reach it in the air, and only let it bounce when you genuinely cannot, because every ball you let bounce behind your own service line is a metre of court you just gave away.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
The lob is perfect and deep. Do you hit it in the air or let it bounce? A perfect deep lob is played off the glass, not out of the air. Let it bounce, reset with a lob, and go again.
The Playbook, chapter 3: The lob, and when not toDepth first: land in the last two metres, not near the service line.See the chapter

Try it on court: chains on this idea

The slow one at the net

The player on your right at the net is a step slow to turn.

The slow one at the net, from the right

The player on your left at the net is a step slow to turn.

Attack is right 5% of the time

Lab note: Every position in the Lab's bank has one right call and up to three wrong ones, each with a written reason.

What the pros and coaches say

Sanyo Gutiérrez built a career on the lob: not a hard one, a deep one, hit with the same swing every time so the other pair cannot read it. Bela's teaching on it is about the target: aim for the last two metres before the glass and accept the occasional long one, because a lob that lands short is a smash for them. Coaches at every level add the second half of the shot, which is the run: a lob nobody follows in is a wasted lob.

Drawn from match analysis of Sanyo Gutiérrez, interviews with Fernando Belasteguín, and the transition drills used by club coaches.

Questions people ask

Why is the lob so important in padel?

It is the only shot that forces a net pair backwards. Because the pair at the net controls the point, the lob is the main way the defending pair takes that control back.

Should you lob cross-court or down the line?

Cross-court by default. It is the longest line on court so it carries the most margin, and it makes the furthest player travel. Go down the line when their net player has crept in or has a weak overhead on that side.

What should you do after hitting a good lob?

Move to the net with your partner as soon as it clears their net player, stop about two metres from the net, and split-step as they strike the ball.