When Your Tennis Lob Hits The Ceiling, Who Makes The Call?

I bet you're reading the title of this post and thinking, "Is that really a question?" Because that was my first reaction when I got this question from Tennis Fixation follower Wendy.

Wendy recently saw this post: When You Hit The Ceiling In Indoor Tennis. That post discusses exactly what happens when a lob hits the ceiling on an indoor tennis court. Specifically, it explains that the ceiling is a permanent fixture and, per Rule 13 of the USTA's Official Rules of Tennis, if a ball touches a permanent fixture before it hits the proper court (the opposing player's court), the player who hit the ball loses the point.

Now, while you would think it would be obvious whether or not a ball hits the ceiling, I can imagine a ball barely grazing the ceiling and there being a dispute. Look, I play in an indoor league on Fridays that is a very "competitive" league (and that is putting it nicely). Balls are often lobbed pretty high and I can see a dispute breaking out over whether or not a ball actually hit the ceiling.

As far as who makes the call in this situation, here is what I think:

While we know the outcome when a ball hits the ceiling (see the post cited above), the rules do not address the issue of who makes that call. So you have to go to The Code which governs the conduct of players in tennis matches.

This exact situation (hitting the ceiling) is not discussed. But I believe Paragraph 5 of the Code applies here. That paragraph states - 

 Player makes calls on own side of net. A player calls all shots landing on, or aimed at, the player's side of the court.

So if your opponent hits the lob, and it is obviously aimed at your side of the court, you get to make the call. And if your call is that the lob hit the ceiling, you win the point.

Thanks to Wendy for this great question. I really had to think about it. And now I'll be ready with the answer if it ever comes up in one of my own indoor matches.



© Kim Selzman 2012 All Rights Reserved

Tip From The Pro: Counteracting The Baseline Lobber In Doubles

This is a guest post from Brian Montez, tennis pro and owner of K Factor Sports. Brian is a teaching pro working with players of all levels and abilities, from kids to adults, beginners to open-level, and everything in between. Here, Brian gives a great tip for dealing with lobbers.


How do you get out of a rally with a baseline player that lobs the ball every time they hit it you? Attack! Don't be afraid to take the ball out of the air and attack to the net player's alley or angle the ball off and away from the baseliner, forcing that person to move out of position and opening up the court. You should never stay at the baseline and hit it right back to the lobber because they will only continue to lob. Playing the lob game will cause you much frustration and take you out of your game!


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© Kim Selzman 2011 All Rights Reserved

Quick Tennis Fix: Don't Forget The Lob Return!

"Houston, we have a lob!"

For some reason, I never think to hit a lob return until well into a match.  And it can be a really great shot to use for many reasons:

1. It mixes things up which is often all you need to do to win a point.

2. It can put the brakes on, or at least slow down, a serve and volley player.

3. In doubles, it keeps the ball away from a net opponent who has been poaching well. Done enough times, it may force him or her to back off the net.

4. If you're returning serve from the deuce side and the server is a rightie (or if you're on the ad side against a leftie), a deep lob return down the line and over your net opponent forces the server to run down the ball and take it with her backhand. This is not an easy shot even if the server moves well.  It is very difficult for a server who has trouble on the run or avoids his or her backhand.

Now, I'm not saying that every return should be a lob return - I've actually played opponents who think the lob return followed by the short shot is the key to victory (and it may be at lower levels but not at OUR level, right?). But I am saying don't avoid this return just because you think it's not a serious shot or it's not real tennis.  The lob return can be a great shot if hit well and used at the right time.  So don't forget it!

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© Kim Selzman 2011 All Rights Reserved

When You Hit the Ceiling In Indoor Tennis

I'm talking about literally hitting the ceiling in tennis (not just hitting a figurative ceiling in your game).

I play in an indoor league and during a recent warm-up, I hit the ceiling when feeding lobs. I asked the other players what happens if I hit the ceiling during the match and no one knew. Maybe you already know the answer to this one and think this is a stupid question with an obvious answer. But I've been playing in this indoor league for about 4 years and nobody out there that day knew what happens when a ball hits the ceiling during play.

So here's the answer!

According to Rule 2 of the USTA's Official Rules of Tennis, the ceiling over a tennis court is a permanent fixture (as are the backstops and sidestops, the spectators, the stands and seats for spectators, all other fixtures around and above the court, the chair umpire, line umpires, net umpire and ball persons). Rule 13 then explains that "If the ball touches a permanent fixture after it has hit the correct court, the player who hit the ball wins the point. If the ball in play touches a permanent fixture before it hits the ground, the player who hit the ball loses the point."

So if I hit a lob and it touches the ceiling before coming down on my opponent's side of the net, I lose the point. If I hit a ball those touches their side of the court and then somehow bounces up and touches the ceiling, the ball is good and can be played. (I guess I need to work on hitting overhead smashes that somehow bounce up and touch the ceiling.)

I think the lesson here is - hit some lobs to your opponents during warm-up to get an idea of just how high the ceiling is and then make sure you don't hit it!

© Kim Selzman 2009
All Rights Reserved

Tip From The Pro: Neutralizing The Lobber

Here is my first guest post from an incredible tennis pro that I have been working with for the past few years. Brian Montez is a teaching pro working with players of all levels and abilities, from kids to adults, beginners to open-level, and everything in between. Here, Brian gives a great doubles tip.

Everybody has been beaten by the infamous lobber. So how do you defend it? Staying back is an option, but does this really allow you to play offensively or are you just playing defensively and waiting for your opponent to make a mistake? In my opinion doubles is won at the net in most situations, so here is my solution:

As a team you should be in the net zone together as much as possible. When you are both in the net zone one of you should be on the offensive, moving forward, while the other is positioned in a neutral spot, the service line, to cover the lob as well as a possible shot that may be hit in your direction (the offensive player should be the one that is directly involved in the rally). As the ball is switched from player to player your positions should change as well. If you were the offensive player and the ball has been hit to your partner in the neutral position, you should then become the neutral player, sliding back to the service line, as your partner becomes the offensive player and moves forward. This type of movement should be incorporated on every shot to effectively cover that pesky lob!

If you want to contact Brian for lessons, call him at 713.417.6780.






© Kim Selzman 2009
All Rights Reserved