Lob

A shot that is hit high into the air with both sidespin and topspin, often used to improve control and make the ball harder for the opponent to put away.

An aggressive lob (sometimes known as a fish) is used by a player who is balanced and in position but is being attacked aggressively by an opponent. The aggressive lobber hopes to force a weak attack from their opponent that can be counter attacked. An aggressive lob is hit fairly high in the air, with great forward speed and heavy topspin.

A defensive lob is used in order to give the player time to regain balance and get back into a better court position, while still being difficult to put away .Good defensive lobs are hit high into the air (higher, and with less speed than an aggressive lob), with heavy topspin, before dropping near vertically deep on the opponent's side of the table.