The lob and the soft game

At improver level, matches turn on the lob. A deep, high lob pushes the net pair back so you and your partner can walk forward together, not one at a time. The lob is a reset you choose when opponents are pressing the net and you have time to lift the ball. Depth beats power. A lob that lands short around the service line is a gift. One that lands in the back third buys you the net. Hit it, move as a pair, racket up, and hold what you earned.

You should already know the diamond shape. The lob comes before the bandeja. That overhead is a later guide. See the bandeja and the shot order.

The lob and the net

Open the face and swing low to high. Turn sideways, racket back early, and point the face more towards the sky than on a drive. Bend your knees and push up through the ball. Your legs create the lift, not a jab with the arm. Contact in front of the body. Finish high above your head with a relaxed grip.

Cross-court is the safer default. The longer diagonal gives more margin. Once that is reliable, mix in deep middle and down the line.

This is the high defensive lob. Fast topspin lobs are a later refinement. The bandeja is how you answer a lob once you are the net pair.

Lob when you can create enough height and depth to move opponents back, not because you are scared of the rally.

A good lob is only half the point. The other half is recovering together. When your lob pushes opponents past the service line, walk forward with your partner, ideally before the ball bounces off their back wall. If the lob is short or attackable, stay back and build again.

1. Move diagonally. Cover your half and stay balanced.
2. Split-step as you arrive. A small hop, both feet, as opponents hit.
3. Racket up at chest height, continental grip, ready to volley.

At the net, stand roughly 1 m behind the cord and aim for depth and placement on your first volleys. Block or push deep to keep them pinned. Do not hunt winners on arrival. When they lob you back, both players retreat together. A lob over your head is a reset. Handle it, rebuild, and lob forward again.

There is also a flatter attacking lob: deep over a net player who has crept too close. It can win the point or force a weak bandeja. Depth still beats height. A lob that lands near the back wall is hard to bandeja. A high but short lob gets killed.

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The chiquita

At club level, the player who controls the ball softly usually wins. The chiquita, the tactical lob, and a deliberate change of rhythm break up opponents who are set and waiting. Power comes back off the glass. Softness forces errors.

Against a pair camped at the net, slow the ball down at their feet. They have to generate all the pace, and most club players cannot.

The chiquita is a slow, low shot aimed at the net pair's feet, usually from mid-court or the back, sometimes off a block. Minimal pace, flat trajectory. It dies low and forces a weak, lifted reply you can then attack.

Play it flat, off a volley or after a bounce, with almost no pace. Padel Underground (opens in a new tab) says no topspin: a brush up sits the ball up. Aim low and short, just over the net, into the corner or at the weaker volleyer's feet. The goal is a ball you can attack next, not the point itself.

When to play it	When not to
Opponents are set at the net, waiting to volley	You are off-balance or stretched
They are hitting hard and you want to break their timing	A lob is the better reset
You want a lifted reply you can attack	The opponent reads slow balls and attacks them

Do not play at one speed. A hard volley can be followed by a chiquita. A rally at pace can become a slow, deep lob. Acceleration, then deceleration, then acceleration again. Pairs that read one tempo fall apart when you change it. Pairs that cannot adjust to slow balls give you free points.

Ten chiquitas at the net. Watch the replies lift. Then feed it under pressure: Chiquita under pressure.

Power comes back off the glass, faster, and it rewards the opponent's volley. Placement forces movement and errors. A drive can be played when you are stretched. A chiquita cannot. Fast indoor surfaces reward controlled aggression, not raw hitting.

Practise it

1. From behind your service line, hit 10 lobs into the back third. Count how many bounce past the service line. Aim for 7 or more.
2. After each deep lob, take two steps forward with your partner and say "up".
3. In a rally, play one slow ball for every three fast ones.

The linked lob drill is the net player's decision, not the depth lob. Call "mine" or "back".

Take it or track it · 2 players · 15 min

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Common errors

• A panic lob from trouble. Lob only when the ball allows height and depth. Otherwise block low.
• A short lob around the service line. Open the face, finish low to high, and aim for the back third.
• Power instead of height. Placement and depth over pace.
• A good lob and no recovery. Walk forward with your partner as soon as they retreat.
• One up, one back on the approach. Both advance or both hold, at the same depth.
• Sprinting to the net without earning it. The net is a reward. Earn it with a deep ball first.
• A chiquita when you are stretched. A drive can. A chiquita cannot.
• Brushing up. The shot is flat. Topspin sits the ball up.
• One speed for the whole rally.

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