Hi everyone!

Here’s a group drill to learn how to defend against lobs when you’re alone at the net.

When you come to the net, you expose yourself to lobs. In this group exercise, you’re alone at the front of the court, and the three other players, positioned at the back, try to lob over you. It’s up to you to move back quickly, defend cleanly, and stay composed under pressure.

The objective is to work on defending against a lob by learning to move back quickly, read the trajectory, and send back a short, controlled ball without panicking.

How to run the drill:

Player A is positioned alone at the net, in the centre.

The other three players (B, C and D) line up at the back of the court on the opposite side, forming a queue. They play one after the other.

1. A ball machine sends a high ball (lob-type) towards the net every 5 seconds.
2. The player at the front of the line (for example B) hits a lob over the net, trying to pass A.
3. Player A, who is at the net, moves back quickly to try to defend the lob. They must send back a low ball, either a drop shot or a slice.

Once the point is over, the next player (C) takes B’s place and in turn sends a lob towards A, and so on.

Player A stays at the net for 6 consecutive lobs, then goes to the back of the line, while the player at the front of the queue takes the net position.

This 3-on-1 format puts you under pressure, forces you to react quickly, stay clear-headed, and chain together technique + movement without stopping.

(Image created with the ETDM software – Download it here)

With this drill, you can work on two aspects:

1. Attacking with the lob from the baseline
2. Defending a lob when you’re at the net

Download this drill sheet in PDF format