Advice for Attacking Lobs

So this has been a long-running embarrassing problem for me ever since the first time I picked up a racket... I cannot reliably smash against high quality lobs with a respectable amount of power for an adult male, let alone consistency .  By high quality lobs, I mean spinny lobs that land deep on my side of the table and kick every-which-direction.

Edited by schen - 02/19/2016 at 12:34am

The key for me is to keep my feet moving.  Too many players stop moving when they see the lob coming and when it spins off to the side they are standing flatfooted and can't get into position to make a good shot.

I also try to keep the ball to the lobbers backhand.

Be very patient.  Too many players get frustrated when some of their smashes get returned and try to really kill the next lob and usually miss the table or whiff the ball.

schen wrote: So this has been a long-running embarrassing problem for me ever since the first time I picked up a racket... I cannot reliably smash against high quality lobs with a respectable amount of power for an adult male, let alone consistency .  By high quality lobs, I mean spinny lobs that land deep on my side of the table and kick every-which-direction. Fortunately for me, I rarely play opponents under 2200 that are capable of lobbing well in matches and I can hide my smashing weakness by playing drop shots or touchy nonsense, but I inevitably lose whenever a good lobber is across the table from me... and I'd like to stop doing that. For now, I just wait for the ball to drop and just loop it back, but I'd like to be able to actually smash the ball like I see many higher level players do.  But regardless of attempted loop or smash, I have a high tendency to mis-hit or completely whiff the lob...  .  I miss off of the table more frequently than I net the ball, but both problems show up frequently. A couple questions off the top of my head about this: - Is it better to keep the racket high and swing forward or try to swing at the ball in a straight line to the table (I seem to only be able to do the latter when the ball lands relatively shallow on my side of the table) or something else? - Is there a "correct" jumping form to attack very high lobs?  Every time I try to do this it's just a gamble and it feels very awkward. - What are some other guidelines or tips for keeping my smashes more consistent? Bonus question - how do you even lob effectively/consistently in the first place??   About me - I am a USATT 1979 rated 5' 9" cpen attacker with rpb and inverted rubber both sides (see signature... yes I switched back to penhold after 6 months of shakehand chopping with short pips).

Some lobs are just hard, i don't care who you are. Usually i crush high balls so hard that they crack when they hit the table. But. When our coach lobs the ball bounces at the end of the table and it is so high that I can't get on top of it. It also kicks sideways and I have to make last second adjustments. I lose a lot of these points and yet I still think I am very good in killing high balls. Some lobs are just difficult to kill, and I know this and don't get upset when I lose a lobbing point.

schen wrote: About me - I am a USATT 1979 rated 5' 9" cpen attacker with rpb and inverted rubber both sides (see signature... yes I switched back to penhold after 6 months of shakehand chopping with short pips).

It's not easy to smash high ball with PH grip. Even Ma Lin changes to SH grip to smash high lob balls, so maybe you should try it too.

There are some common mistakes when dealing with high ball, which I don't think you do, as your USATT indicate you are quite a good player already.

The common mistakes are getting to the ball too early or too close, and they have to look up to see where the ball is going, and miss. What they should do is tracking the ball early, guess where it's going, then move in and hit, not moving-in while still tracking the ball. Another mistake is the racket is at a low starting position, so this mean the stroke will have to go up, then hit down, which is very hard to do with a high bouncing ball. The racket should be at high starting point, so you only need to step in and hit the ball down. All kids have problem hitting high balls, and I remember my coach had us work on these 2 things that I mention. This was many moons ago though

.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4-mCPEiTr8

Victor_the_cleaner wrote: I think if you are under 2000 you shouldn't even try dropshot. There is no practice for this, you need to be pretty good to have that kind of touch. Also, you can't dropshot high and deep lobs.... dropshot is more feasible near the net or at least the middle of the table.

But on the other hand, most U2000 can't punish weak drop shots, right? They'll get them back but it's a nice change of rhythm. Also saves your stamina and burn theirs since you make 'em run. Of course the hard part is to land the drop and gotta be careful vs. someone athletic and fast on their feet...

The standard smash starts low, goes up and then down.  Same for both penhold and shakehand whether it is done on the ascend or descend.  The swing trajectory goes like the script letter l.

Edited by Lestat - 02/19/2016 at 10:06pm

 I have seen plenty of sub 2000 players doing drop shots. And doing them well. It does take practice. In any case I defeated your argument.

"I think if you are under 2000 you shouldn't even try dropshot. There is no practice for this, you need to be pretty good to have that kind of touch. "

I've seen sub 2000 players doing drop shots and other difficult techniques. According to Victor I must be a liar as well though because it is 100% impossible for a low level player to have a few good shots in his/her arsenal. Is this a debate forum where internet trolls pretend to be the most well educated person on the planet to touch a keyboard?? 

can an admin close this 

"and this last little guy" ..... lol  Not sure what you are trying to accomplish with that tough guy.