Mastering Doubles - Being lobbed (Two up scenario)

There are two events that require movement on a lob if your team is lobbed.  One when you and your partner at both at the net, and one where one of you is at the net and the other is at the baseline.  This post will examine the former.  The next post will examine the latter.

When you and your partner are both at the net, the player who is lagging behind (the player cross court from the ball)  is responsible for all lobs.  If you are positioning yourself correctly you should never be next to your partner.  One will always be forward of the other.  The player down the line from the ball should always be in an aggressive forward position, while the player cross court from the ball should always lag slightly behind.  Our first scenario shows team A playing the ball to Player B1.  It is not relevant if B1 is at the net or not, nor if player B2 is at the net or not.  See the illustration below.






 
 In the above illustration, player A2 is cross court from the ball, which has been played to player B1.  A1 has moved closer to the net because they are down the line from the ball.  B1 will now lob player A1.  The next  illustration will show the proper movement for all players.

 
 Both teams are now playing next to each other, and team B has taken the net from team A.  A2 and A1 have crossed in an X in order to properly retrieve the lob and position themselves for the next ball.  Note A1 is slightly in front of te baseline.  Player B1 positions themselves closer to the net since they are down the line from the ball, while their partner, B2 lags behind.

But what happens when B1 lobs A2 to begin with.  Back to the original illustration.




Now B1 will lob A2.  Here is the result of this event:

 
Note that there is no "switch" here.  A2 was deeper so they are closer to the ball and have te best chance to do something.    Note that A1 is again just inside the baseline.  In this event, B1 only moves to the service line, lagging behind their partner, B2, who has moved forward to a more aggressive position.

Of course it is possible to play the opposing net player in the initial situation.  Let's take a look at those scenarios as well.


So here team A has played the ball to player B2.  Because of this, A2 is closer to the net as they are down the line from the ball, and A1 lags behind since they are cross court from the ball.  If B2 lobs
A2, the result is as follows:




Player B2 has moved forward to an aggressive position because they are down the line from the ball,  while B1 has moved to the service line and is lagging behind, since they are cross court from the ball.  A1 has crossed behind A2 and retrieved the ball, while A2 has moved to a position just in front of the baseline. This is a switch. Team B is ready for offense, Team A is ready for defense.

Now lets look at the final scenario when Team A is two up to begin the point.  Back to our original positions.



And now B2 lobs A1.

 
Now A1 must retrieve this ball as well, since they began the point further back. Note that there is no "switch." A2 retreats to a position just in front of the baseline.  Player B1 moves forward to an aggressive position inside the service line since they are down the line from the ball, and player B2 actually retreats behind the service line or to the service line lagging behind their partner since they are cross court from the ball.

Now everyone is in the correct positions after the lob.  If team B started the point at the net or both back, the result of the positions after the lob would remain identical to what was described here in the illustrations.  If you find yourselves in the wrong positions, the rule is "the player furthest from the net gets the ball," then make your way to a two back position like in the illustrations.  Someone should ALWAYS be furthest from the net..

As with everything, perfect practice makes perfect.  Next post: how to adjust to lobs if your team is lobbed when you are in a one up one back initial position.