forehand topspin lob

[rohan]

I am trying to learn how to hit a forehand topspin lob. I cannot find this stroke anywhere on the site. Any ideas how I can learn the basics and how to practice this shot?

[carrerakent]

hit your forehand by putting your sweet spot way below the contact point. really it's just a different trajectory of the forehand. people do it so many different ways, but wouldn't it be better to have fewer shots to perfect than many.

[tcuk]

No one ever comes to the net these days...so topspin lobs are hardly ever seen!

Best exponent ever of the topspin lob was Nastase, but he's a long time ago and used a continental grip. Any film clips are likely to be fuzzy.

From memory, the book World Class Tennis Technique may deal with the mechanics of the shot, but I can't be sure.

I get students to take a deeper swing and pump more spin as they lift the ball...sometimes even lean back. A 'stroked' topspin lob can be just as effective, too.

With the grips young players use these days the shot ought to be easy to learn with practise.

[carrerakent]

tcuk...players do come in so much less, but that is typically the fault of everyone trying to hit the ball hard to pass the baseline. Since players don't volley anymore, and i play alot of tournaments, i have mastered my short slice backhand that forces all of these non-volleyers to the net and then pass them or use a top spin lob.

i would say that i win 90% off all top spin lob points and about 80% drop shots...as winners. the guy/gal asking how to hit the top spin lob may be seeing the vast opportunity that i exploit....i win at least one point per game using this sort of tactic. the best part for me is when you top spin lob people a few times they really start pausing between their mid court ball and volley position, so they are even easier to pass.

i teach my students that a good drop shot and top spin lob are some of the best weapons to have.

[CraigC]

Easy topspin lob drills.

If you can find a court with fences in between them, here are a couple of drills. Stand at the center service line, the one that divides the service boxes in half. Face the side fence. On the next court, have a partner stand on the center service line, facing you. Now, maintain a topspin rally over the fence and trying to land the ball in the near service box.

This can also be done over a back fence, using the service line as the baseline. Thus, both players are standing on the service line on different courts. They hit over the back fence, trying to maintain a rally in the singles courts. The advantage here is that there are generally windscreens covering the back fence, and you will have to move quickly to set up for the ball because you cannot see where your opponent is hitting it, until it comes over the fence.

Hope those help.

CC

[rohan]

Thanks for the responses, guys. But I am still looking for the mechanics of the shot. I know how to simply stroke the ball over the net person's head. But don't know how to strike the ball to create a topspin lob. I tried carrerakent's advice, but I guess I need it broken down even further - how to hold the racket, feet placement, visualization, stroke, follow through, etc...

If anyone can help with how to learn to hit this shot - it would be much appreciated. I'll also try to use google to see if there is anything out there outside of tennisplayer.net.

Thanks

[tcuk]

Rohan,

This is about the best link I could find for how to hit a topspin lob. It's much better to see a walk thru of its execution than for me or anyone else to describe the process via the written word.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyoGZlVRqWI

[airforce1]

If you can find a court with fences in between them, here are a couple of drills. Stand at the center service line, the one that divides the service boxes in half. Face the side fence. On the next court, have a partner stand on the center service line, facing you. Now, maintain a topspin rally over the fence and trying to land the ball in the near service box.

This can also be done over a back fence, using the service line as the baseline. Thus, both players are standing on the service line on different courts. They hit over the back fence, trying to maintain a rally in the singles courts. The advantage here is that there are generally windscreens covering the back fence, and you will have to move quickly to set up for the ball because you cannot see where your opponent is hitting it, until it comes over the fence.
CC

Maybe not what he was looking for, but I like this drill!

[carrerakent]

Macci's "brush."

Guys, I've found that most people that associate topspin of any sort with a brush up the back of the ball hits alot of balls shorter in the court than they intend. The reason for me emphasizing a standard topspin groundstroke with a lower racket head position and more upward trajectory is to avoid a very common mistake of changing forearm and wrist action to cause the brush.

I believe that the a player can go from a topspin shot of three feet over the net, increasing to 20+ feet over the net over the course of a few dozen balls will get the more accurate feel of hitting a topspin lob that came about with all of the same dynamics as their groundstroke but simply changing the location on the ball the it contacted and the trajectory of the path of the sweet spot through the shot.

I understand the desire to want a new grip and all other kinds of adjustments because it seems natural, but as Macci said, you want it to look just like a groundstroke at setup, then a drop of the racket head lower below the ball and stroke as normal.

I've found that my students and myself do not hit the typical topspin lob that lands just past the service line because we didn't create and have to perfect a whole new shot.

Keep it simple and logical. I hope the poster of this thread will try to gradual increase of trajectory and spin as I described above before they start changing and challenging the body to learn yet another different stroke.