Perpetual defensive topspin lob rally?

Wise one said:
It's an attitude. These guys are eager to continue rallying when there were opportunities to attack.

Last week it was mild here, and I hit some balls outside with a buddy. He hit a nice passing shot low and very wide to my left side, which I managed to hit backhanded with my back to the net, dropping it over the net on the side-line. Perfect stop-volley winner. I didn't even see the ball. This comes from an aggressive attitude and hitting lots of volleys.
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Would love to see a video of your play! :)
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
Well, keep trolling. Maybe someone will agree with you. By most people's standards, that's some pretty darn good tennis. Maybe you just have really high standards.
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Well..most people don't claim that people drive for miles to watch them hit backhands as Wise One did.

Hey...he could be a semi-pro or an ex-pro. Just put up those videos, especially if people are driving miles to watch you hit backhands. You have to be somewhat famous anyway for folks to do that.
 
Wise one said:
The point is that if you have a single-minded dedication to getting to the net and getting your racquet on the ball, it could happen!
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On that, we agree: I've come up with some unintentionally amazing volleys simply because I'm close to the net and have quick reactions. Frame, dampener, handle...makes no difference to me if I win the point. My opponent can complain and I can apologize but it's obviously not important enough for him to start attacking the net.
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
On that, we agree: I've come up with some unintentionally amazing volleys simply because I'm close to the net and have quick reactions. Frame, dampener, handle...makes no difference to me if I win the point. My opponent can complain and I can apologize but it's obviously not important enough for him to start attacking the net.
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Exactly! Quick reflexes and soft hands are all you really need!
 
The moonball strategy works pretty well.

It's somewhat easier to be more offensive and take the ball out of the air or on the rise these days with the larger-headed rackets, but it still can be a winning strategy, especially at lower levels.
 
TimeToPlaySets said:
Here is more examples at 3:44 and 4:40
Excellent defensive hitting.
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LOOL he picks out 2 of most aggressive shot makers you will ever see at 4.0 level and uses them as examples for a few judiciously applied moonballs. Are you on drugs?
This is aggressive attacking tennis with plenty of pace. They could both hit winners from way behind the baseline.
Obviously these are highlights but they're really good players, except their serves are horrendous. Maybe that's why they're stuck at 4.0.
 
TimeToPlaySets said:
Every hard hitters know to use moonballs.
I'd say 50% of 3.5 players do not have this shot, and would lose the point right there with a UE.
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I don't care much for your fictitious statistics but isn't it time you stopped setting such low standards for yourself? Who cares what **** players do or what they can't do.
 
TTPS is always degrading 3.5 players, yet he is less than one. A few months ago he posted that the first 100 balls he tried to hit with a ball machine, that he never even made contact!!!! Not even once! Yet he is on here posting all day long about playing with 4.5 players...he’s full of crap.

Probably a teenage kid posting from his parents computer.
 
I am thinking of using a topspin lob as an approach shot in doubles at 3.0 level. The lob should avoid the net player. The ball is deep and has speed and kick. The opponent will most likely hit a weak lob.
 
diggler said:
I am thinking of using a topspin lob as an approach shot in doubles at 3.0 level. The lob should avoid the net player. The ball is deep and has speed and kick. The opponent will most likely hit a weak lob.
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3.0s don’t hit this type of ball. If they did, they would be 4.5s.
 
diggler said:
I am thinking of using a topspin lob as an approach shot in doubles at 3.0 level. The lob should avoid the net player. The ball is deep and has speed and kick. The opponent will most likely hit a weak lob.
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If you can pull it off, go for it.

Note that if you don't hit it deeply enough, the net man might hit an OH and make you pay.

A more conservative choice might be a backspin lob: unless you're trying to win the point outright by, for example, hitting over both net men, simply lobbing deep might do the job.
 
@diggler

At 3.0 dubs, just place the ball to make your opponent move 2 steps or place the ball low. 3.0s don’t hit well on the move nor do they know how deal with low balls. No real need to get fancy with lobs.
 
Topspin moonballs work. High school varsity girls tend to have this weapon. At the rec 4.0 level a deep moonball with spin can basically take over the rally. Sometimes even a not so deep one works because the opponent may be tempted to do something too aggressive with it and miss. It happens to low 40 a lot.
 
moonballs said:
Topspin moonballs work. High school varsity girls tend to have this weapon. At the rec 4.0 level a deep moonball with spin can basically take over the rally. Sometimes even a not so deep one works because the opponent may be tempted to do something too aggressive with it and miss. It happens to low 40 a lot.
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And it doesn't even have to be TS; just putting the ball up high in the air can cause problems because the other team has poor OHs and footwork; it can also frustrate them because it's not "real tennis". At 3.0, I can easily see how all 3 would be big factors.
 
A topspin lob over the net player could be a tough shot to hit. I actually meant a cross court topspin lob to make poaching harder. I think that would be quite a good approach shot in 3.0 doubles.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk
 
diggler said:
A topspin lob over the net player could be a tough shot to hit. I actually meant a cross court topspin lob to make poaching harder. I think that would be quite a good approach shot in 3.0 doubles.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk
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Practically anything can be a good approach shot in 3.0 doubles though.
 
A topspin lob isn't as high percentage as people think. Sure there is a lot of margin for error if you hit it correctly but in an extreme topspin you hit the ball very "thin". This means that the timing window to hit the ball is very small, a couple inches late or early and you shank it. That is also why the advice just swing extremely hard and with topspin doesn't work for low level rec players. Sure those shots are high percentage but you need perfect footwork and timing to hit the ball cleanly otherwise you will hit it off center or on the frame. Even in the pros extreme spin players have higher shank rates than "flatter" hitters.

So high spin moon balls won't be a winning strategy for 3.5 players, not because opponents can neutralize then (they can't), but because the 3.5 player doesnt have the footwork, timing and stamina to execute that consistently over a match (they also lack the swing mechanics but even if they had them the rest would still be lacking).
 
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dominikk1985 said:
A topspin lob isn't as high percentage as people think. Sure there is a lot of margin for error if you hit it correctly but in an extreme topspin you hit the ball very "thin". This means that the timing window to hit the ball is very small, a couple inches late or early and you shank it. That is also why the advice just swing extremely hard and with topspin doesn't work for low level rec players. Sure those shots are high percentage but you need perfect footwork and timing to hit the ball cleanly otherwise you will hit it off center or on the frame. Even in the pros extreme spin players have higher shank rates than "flatter" hitters.

So high spin moon balls won't be a winning strategy for 3.5 players, not because opponents can neutralize then (they can't), but because the 3.5 player doesnt have the footwork, timing and stamina to execute that consistently over a match (they also lack the swing mechanics but even if they had them the rest would still be lacking).
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This is true I think there is a big difference between a regular moon-ball lob and a heavy topspin looping shot. I use high topspin looping shots a lot and it’s effective but not easy to hit consistently. If I brush to much my shot can be short and weak without much kick and if I don’t brush enough then good chance it will go long. So it does take pretty good timing to hit this shot repeatedly.
 
@tlm yes, the risk is that it goes short. But, think of the context.
You've gotten a topLob as a defensive reply in the first place.
So, if playing singles, your short topLob will rarely be attacked.
You can get away with it. But, when you rip a topLob deep, it is a weapon.
I would be less prone to replying with topLob in doubles.
 
TimeToPlaySets said:
@tlm yes, the risk is that it goes short. But, think of the context.
You've gotten a topLob as a defensive reply in the first place.
So, if playing singles, your short topLob will rarely be attacked.
You can get away with it. But, when you rip a topLob deep, it is a weapon.
I would be less prone to replying with topLob in doubles.
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Hey TTPS is back that’s good kind of boring here without you around.
 
diggler said:
A topspin lob over the net player could be a tough shot to hit. I actually meant a cross court topspin lob to make poaching harder. I think that would be quite a good approach shot in 3.0 doubles.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk
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Simon_the_furry said:
Practically anything can be a good approach shot in 3.0 doubles though.
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a topspin lob to the bh - approach shot, is good all the way up to low 4.5... beyond that everyone knows to just lob it back, or take it on the rise (or out of the air), and can execute it fairly consistently. i see the tactic used alot at the BG12 levels
 
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