What is the Lob Serve?
Also known as the “High Soft Serve”, the lob serve is a high-trajectory ball that’s hit with medium or slow speed (based on the height) and aims to land close to the baseline.
Pickleball is unique to other similar sports (Tennis in particular) because of the “return must bounce” rule. That rule, among other things, creates an interesting dynamic around why and when to use different serves.
At every level of play, your main goal when serving is to get the serve in EVERY time. That’s it. If you don’t get the ball in, no matter how well you play, you won’t get the point (“Thanks, Captain Obvious!”). I realize that sounds simple, but it’s surprisingly difficult and often overlooked.
At every level of play, your main goal when serving is to get the serve in EVERY time.
Why use the Lob Serve?
The lob serve is a great serve for the purpose of sticking with that goal – getting the ball to land in bounds. It’s a high-percentage serve that’s easier to hit than other serves like the Drive Serve or the Soft-Angle Serve.
You might think the lob serve is only used to ensure your serve lands in-bounds. But it’s much more than that! It’s a great serve for any level of play. Because of its height and lack of speed, the lob serve forces the receiver to put their own energy into returning the ball, as opposed to simply blocking it as with drive serves. When the ball lands close to the baseline, it forces the receiver further back, extending the time it takes them to reach the net, making your third-shot easier.
A visual representation of the lob serve in pickleball.
Variations on the Lob Serve:
- Adding topspin makes the return of a lob serve much more difficult, though it’s more difficult to serve, and takes a good amount of practice.
- A “sky ball” is a variation on the lob serve that’s hit SUPER high and drops near vertical as it hits. This is often used against spinners to make it more difficult for them to add spin on their return.
When to use the Lob Serve:
- All levels of play!
- When you’re having trouble consistently getting the ball in bounds with other serves.
- As an additional serve in your repertoire to keep your opponent on their toes.
- When playing against a “spinner” (someone who often puts spin on the ball).
When NOT to use the Lob Serve:
I don’t often suggest NOT using a serve. It’s always good to have a variety of serves in your repertoire. That being said, you may find yourself playing against an opponent with a very strong ground stroke (tennis players for example) who love nothing more than to smash the daylights out of a high-bouncing lob serve. In those cases, I’d suggest only using the lob serve in rare occasions simply to throw them off or keep them guessing. If you use it more than once or twice, you’re likely to get a very hard return at a down angle, which makes for a difficult 3rd shot. If you’re able to handle their returns, then go for it – keep using the serve! But if not, you might try a lower drive serve instead.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on when and how you use the lob serve. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Did I leave anything out? Leave your comments below!
Improve Your Lob Serve
If you want to improve your lob serve accuracy and reliability, try the First Three Shots drill.
The article is great. Some thoughts that fit within the article’s tips include- I’ve found it’s difficult to use this serve if it’s windy, and very fun to use indoors. It tends to make novice players nervous with the extra time to think about how they will return it and also can frustrate better players as in it makes it look as though the server does not feel the returner is good enough to warrant hitting a drive serve to them. Those things being said, if a player has a killer forehand the lob serve basically becomes a disadvantage. When I use the serve, I just aim for the deep middle part of the box, and essentially it just ends up in a variety of spots but hopefully always deep. But like Rigg said- getting the ball in is number 1. I would add- Getting it deep is number 2. Everything else is just gravy even at high levels.