Cross-Court Volley Lob

A Cross-Court Volley Lob is an exquisite, high, slow shot that goes from one side of the court to the other and force the opponent to turn and face the back.

The Cross-Court Lob is a difficult shot to master initially, as it is typically played overhead and with such a long way to travel it is also easily mis-judged. The rewards for mastery however are great.

This shot is very useful in response to a ball that is dropping into the back corner and requires Volleying as it won’t bounce back out. It can also be a very good Serve Return. The reason it is so effective as if it is played well and the necessary height is achieved, it almost guarantees that you will force the opposition player to turn towards the back corner, leaving their options and shots very limited.

Play a Cross-Court Volley Lob in four steps:

When you play the Cross-Court Volley Lob, try to apply the general principles for playing any good Volley shot, such as taking the ball as early as you can to take even more time away from your opponent and also always looking for the opportunity to Volley with your racket ready, with those of playing.

Hit the ball out in front of you – Try to hit the ball when it is out in front of you, as this will help you achieve a good Cross-Court angle. To make it easier to hit the ball earlier, make sure you step forwards.

Open Racket face – Make sure that your racket face is open when hitting this shot, as the spin this will apply is important for keeping the ball in the air longer. If you are struggling with keeping an open racket face, look into how you hold the racket here.
Hit the ball whilst it’s high – When playing the Cross-Court Volley Lob, hit the ball whilst it’s still fairly high and you can use the height already on the ball and avoid having to lift the ball too much. This can reduce the number of errors when playing this shot, as if you allow it come down to low, you have apply a lot of lift which is not always easy to judge.
Letting your hand go through the ball – Your follow through should be long and your hand should go beyond the point where the ball was when you hit it. Letting your hand go through the ball is crucial to ball control.
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→ Check out our other related Volley pages:

Boast | Reverse Boast | Drop | Cross-Court Drop | Straight Volley Kill | Cross-Court Volley Kill | Volley Nick

→ Recommended posts for those looking at Volleying or Lobbing :

Controlling the T-Position, Changing the pace of the game, Watching the Return of Serve, The Importance of Lobbing