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A lob is coming. Bandeja or smash: what decides it?
In front of you and high: smash. Pushing you back: bandeja. Depth decides, every time.
You are at the net and a lob is on its way. What is the first thing that tells you whether to smash or bandeja?
In front of you and high: smash. Pushing you back: bandeja. Depth decides, every time.
Why
The overhead you choose comes from where the lob lands relative to you. A lob you can meet in front of your body, high, without retreating is a smash: hit it down and finish.
The rest of the reasoning
A lob that makes you move backward, that you would be hitting from behind your head, is a bandeja: a controlled, sliced overhead that lands deep and keeps you at the net. The smash on a deep lob goes into the net or the back glass and comes back; the bandeja on a short lob wastes a winner. Read the depth as the lob leaves their racket and the decision makes itself.
What this means at your level
Beginner
If you have to run backwards, do not smash it. Turn sideways, hit it firmly and deep, and get back to the net.
Intermediate
The bandeja is the default; the smash is the exception. If in doubt, bandeja.
Advanced
The line between them moves with your court position and the ball's height. A lob that is a smash from two metres is a bandeja from four. Track both.
Common questions
You are at the net and a lob is on its way. What is the first thing that tells you whether to smash or bandeja?
Whether it is in front of you or behind. In front of you and high: smash. Pushing you back: bandeja. Depth decides, every time. The overhead you choose comes from where the lob lands relative to you. A lob you can meet in front of your body, high, without retreating is a smash: hit it down and finish. A lob that makes you move backward, that you would be hitting from behind your head, is a bandeja: a controlled, sliced overhead that lands deep and keeps you at the net. The smash on a deep lob goes into the net or the back glass and comes back; the bandeja on a short lob wastes a winner. Read the depth as the lob leaves their racket and the decision makes itself.
Why not how hard they hit it, and with what spin?
Pace on a lob matters less than where it lands relative to you. Depth decides.
What should a beginner do here?
If you have to run backwards, do not smash it. Turn sideways, hit it firmly and deep, and get back to the net.
How does this change for an advanced player?
The line between them moves with your court position and the ball's height. A lob that is a smash from two metres is a bandeja from four. Track both.