Dustin Brown's lob
Traced frame by frame from real footage.
Dustin Brown lobbed like few others. In 21 charted matches, 16 % of his lobs were winners against a 7 % tour rate, and he won 40 % of the points where he lobbed against 30 %. At Halle in 2014 he broke Nadal with two lobs in a row.
- 1Seen from behind, he turns early and tracks a high ball, racquet already prepared.
- 2The preparation stays compact while he waits for the ball to drop.
- 3The swing lifts up through the ball to a high finish over the shoulder.
Our own observations from the traced frames. Flip through the plate above to check them.
By the numbers
In 21 charted matches (a small sample): 70 lobs, 16 % winners (tour 7 %), 26 % ending the point (tour 15 %), and 40 % of lob points won (tour 30 %).
Match Charting Project, read Sep 2026At Wimbledon 2015 he served and volleyed on 80 % of second serves, against 5 % for the field, and led the event with 20 return winners.
ESPN, Jul 2015
Halle 2014
As a wildcard ranked 85th, he beat Nadal 6–4 6–1, hitting two audacious lobs in a row to break early in the second set.
AP via Tennis.comWhat you can copy
His strategy coach's warning: what works for Brown can't work for everyone. He practised these shots endlessly from childhood, which shifts his percentages.
Craig O'Shannessy to ESPN, 2015