At Wimbledon, it often leads to a smash (3)
I believe the answer is:
lob
'at wimbledon' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'it often leads to a smash' is the wordplay.
'it' becomes 'lb' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'leads' says to take the initial letters.
'to a smash' indicates putting letters inside (some letters smash into others).
The first letter of 'often' is 'o'.
'lb' going around 'o' is 'LOB'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lob that I've seen before include "Shot of Murray" , "Send in a high arc as in tennis or cricket" , "Throw a slow, high ball" , "High throw or hit" , "Elevated shot" .)