A lot of players seem to love to hit the low, powerful driving serve. However, another great option to have in your serve repertoire is a high, deep lob serve. The benefits of a high, deep lob serve include (1) pushing your opponents back on their side of the court (a) making it more difficult for your opponents to take the Non-Volley Zone or Kitchen Line since they have more ground to cover; and (b) likely causing your opponents to hit you and your partner a shorter return to allow you and your partner an easier third shot; and (2) giving you and your partner more time to react to the return of serve because it will travel slower to your opponents.

The key differences between a driving serve and a lob serve are:

1. Contact Point – For a lob serve, you will strike the pickleball lower on the ball. You should get further under the pickleball, with a more open paddle face up toward the sky, in order to cause the pickleball to take a higher trajectory. To do so, you may need to hit the pickleball from a slightly higher point above the ground.

2. Follow Through – For a lob serve, your follow through will be more vertical in comparison to a driving serve. Again, this is designed to cause the pickleball to take a higher trajectory. Remember to keep your paddle face toward the sky all the way through your follow through.

Remember to strive to keep this lob serve high and deep on the pickleball court. However, do not aim for the baseline on your opponents’ side of the pickleball court. Rather, aim for a few feet inside the baseline to avoid any unnecessary unforced errors. Also, be aware of the wind conditions. Wind will have more of an effect on lob serves than other types of serves, so be sure to take the wind conditions into consideration.

Key Takeaways:

1. A lob serve is a high-arching serve that could help you keep your opponents pushed back on the pickleball court and give you and your partner more time to react to the return of serve.

2. To hit a lob serve, keep the same mechanics as the basic serve (as discussed in a prior lesson), except:

a. Strike the pickleball lower on the ball, with an open paddle face, to cause the higher trajectory; and

b. Follow through up toward the sky with a flat paddle face.

3. Be aware of wind conditions on the lob serve, as the wind will likely have more of an effect on lob serves than other types of serves.