How best to handle a pusher?

[tennisbean]

I played this kid yesterday (high school varsity tennis) and got absolutely sheeee-lacked (6-2, 6-0) by him. He has a really slow but consistent serve with the slightest bit of slice, and he usually sends back floaty drop shots. My lobbing is awful, so when he comes to the net I was generally screwed. I managed to keep him back at the baseline by hitting the ball deep, but he would just put his racket between the ball and the fence every time. This also affected me on my serve; I could serve it 75 mph or 25 mph and the return was the exactttt same thing. He was admittedly very consistent on his groundstrokes, however. How do I "push back" when the time comes for an actual challenge match?

[sctennis1]

serve and volley and get to th n et as soon as possible when you are receiving.

[JMS]

Go to this thread: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=126199

There is a lot of information there.

[NmKnight]

go to the net every point

[robmachado23]

To me "everyone plays a pusher". The thing is, people that play consistent will win almost any match not at a professional level. To many times people go out there trying to kill any ball that looks weak. Especially in junior tennis, at any level, the key is to be consistent. Hitting deep, spinny balls will win you most matches. Pushers tend to win a lot of matches because they do that...

[ndtennis]

just beat up before the match... just throwing that option out there

[trojankid]

run him in the first set, win or lose, he will get tired and in the second set balls will drop shorter put those away by the third if you even get that far but if you do he will be so tired it will either be 6-0 or 6-1 you

[TennisProdigy]

Ya I agree. Just run him corner to corner every point if you can. He will tire.

[tuk]

Ya I agree. Just run him corner to corner every point if you can. He will tire.
I don't think that's the solution......that would be playing his game and by doing that you are more likely to start missing your shoots than he is to get tired (pushers are usually in god shape because if you are going to just push back every ball you better be prepared to run from side to side).....so I agree with other people saying that the best thing you can do is go to the net as much as you can and shorten the points, don't give him rhythm

[Babb]

First of all, genuine pushers don't come to the net.

Secondly, if you want to beat him, stop talking and start practicing.

[TennisProdigy]

I don't think that's the solution......that would be playing his game and by doing that you are more likely to start missing your shoots than he is to get tired (pushers are usually in god shape because if you are going to just push back every ball you better be prepared to run from side to side).....so I agree with other people saying that the best thing you can do is go to the net as much as you can and shorten the points, don't give him rhythm

I don't think you will miss shots against a pusher because they don't hit with much pace. I played someone who would be considered a pusher earlier today and I won 5-7 6-1 10-2 super tie break. I did play his game as I just sat at the baseline and I ran him corner to corner. Even though he managed to pull out the first set I knew I would win since he started tiring so his movements were half a step slow.

This guy would be considered to be in good shape too as he practices karate 4 days a week and can do backflips with ease :). Every point I attempted to run him corner to corner, occasional hitting behind him but there is a limit that a person can continuously scramble.

I chose not the play the net because 1. I'm not that great at the net. 2. He could hit good lobs. Even though I sometimes hit a bit wide it was worth it since he was doing 4 times the running that I did.

[tennisbean]

Thanks TennisProdigy, that entire situation matches up pretty well, with the my net play sucking and his lob play being pretty dece. This kid is way out of shape, so hopefully a tiring-out strategy will work.

[BradBaughman]

run him corner to corner and every ball you take mid court should be a drop shot

[TennisProdigy]

run him corner to corner and every ball you take mid court should be a drop shot

I like the drop shot idea, once in a while when he's use to the drop shot fake it then slice to the open court when he starts moving foward e.g. Nishikori Vs. Blake.

[topspinhunter]

I played a pusher about a week ago lost 6/1 6/3 and i should have beaten him he liked 2 come 2 the net a good bit after a high loopy ball so i would say go out and work on passing shots lobs and swinging volleys thats what i did and won this week 6/0 6/2

[2ndserve642]

come in off the moonballs and you got urself a sitting overhead :/

[Loco4Tennis]

what i read on how to beat a pusher is to be patient, after all they are not know to hit hard, so you have time, the balls will come back to you asking you what to do with them(its a good thing), sooo i wait until i get a nice puffy one and i let them have it, i would then expect a bump back or a weak return (pushers are frustrating like this), one i would put away with a volley, because normally i would chase to the net a good shot of mine, either a hard corner shot or a decent jamming shot to their feet
one other thing i would do, is come in closer than normal, usually to get to the junk they send back when they return my shots, constanttly looking for hint of a drop shot, short ball, slice which i would pounce on
one thing i would not do, is try to out push a pusher, they have mastered this technique, and its a technique thats not easy to do well, try it sometime and see for yourself, another thing i would not do is run to the net on everything, pushers have developed the ability to get over your head once they have you in the net, so parking it at the net is not a good thing against someone who can hit a high lob all day long

[tennisboi]

fu*k pushers. i play varsity tennis. #2 on my team and i just played a pusher today. damn was it getting to my head. the scores 6-7,6-3,7-6. that's the closes match i've had all year. but it's all good. i'm still undefeated. 7-0 for the season. but anyways. the way to beat a pusher is to get them running and then hit a dropshot. or come to the net a lot. you'll need to stay consistent too. the way tennis works in high school is the who can keep the ball in play the longest wins. that's all you got to do. but for a fact, we tend to not do that but try to kill the ball each time. you'll get the concept once you play a lot of tennis. and another thing, be mentally tough. i have not lost a match all year. and the ones that go to three. i win them. if you have a tough mind, then you'll win. and be patient. that's all i got.

[mrmo1115]

just take your racquet and swing it at him hopefully knocking him out

[roddick89]

Stand inside the baseline.

[ufg8r]

The way to beat a pusher if you do not have the agressive shots to beat him is to bring him to net.

[BullDogTennis]

unless you lob well that could be suicide(bringing him to the net) because if you dont have aggresive shots its gonna be tough to get it around him.

[(FEDERER)vs(NADAL)]

I played this kid yesterday (high school varsity tennis) and got absolutely sheeee-lacked (6-2, 6-0) by him. He has a really slow but consistent serve with the slightest bit of slice, and he usually sends back floaty drop shots. My lobbing is awful, so when he comes to the net I was generally screwed. I managed to keep him back at the baseline by hitting the ball deep, but he would just put his racket between the ball and the fence every time. This also affected me on my serve; I could serve it 75 mph or 25 mph and the return was the exactttt same thing. He was admittedly very consistent on his groundstrokes, however. How do I "push back" when the time comes for an actual challenge match?

i hate playing these guys!

[Moz]

FFS, not again..... I must admit I find all this complaining about pushers unbelievable.

Here's a guy giving you easy balls, without any biting spin and giving you hours of time to do with the ball what you want. You're not going to have to run much and he's one of the few types of players you will play where you can consistently make him run with high % shots. He's giving you the game from the very start and all you all do (in general, not singling out this particular thread) is bloody well complain. Friggin priceless.

The way to beat a pusher is with attitude. Do what it takes to play high percentage tennis on each point, maintain good footwork with each shot and make him work harder than you on every point. Don't be damn lazy and don't get frustrated. Don't develop this ridiculous persecution complex that you are in the moral right and what he's doing is unjust. Buck up and get down to business.

If you are patient, diligent about footwork / racquet preparation and fit you will win EVERY TIME.

If you do all three of those and you lose. You didn't lose to a player who pushes the ball you lost to a player who is just better than you. Deal with it, don't complain and get back to the practice court.

[GeorgeLucas]

To handle a pusher, you must beat them.

Clarification: At tennis...

[SoCal10s]

HOW TO BEAT A PUSHER: let me take a shot at this...
three things you must do...
1.you have to take away the time they have to run and hit the ball....
a..you do this by hitting more solid shot,hitting harder more flat-line balls(getting rid of the topspin shots that most people hit)...
b..take the earlier..just think..every step you move forwards,is that many steps you make your opponet rush to get that ball ...most pushers are great runnners but still you can make it so tthey cannot run to get the ball if they don't have the distance they don't have the time to get to that ball...
c...you need to hit more sharp angles and down the line shots and make it work...(shortest line = less time to get there) ...

2.you have to hit well placed shot....
one of the easiest play to do is to hit the ball behind the runner... Mr. Pusher will chase down balls forever so you have to out think and out guess them... just wait til you can control the point and then pull the trigger and hit into the same court.wrong footing them...
3.you have allow them to swing and generate their own pace...
when a pusher ,pushes they seldom swing at the ball.. they are using your own pace to work against you,so you have to let them swing and hit and miss-hit... you can do this by using a nice slice(keeping the ball nice and low);;an occational no speed neutral ball(moonball) ;;dropshots ;; a nice low cut slice into the front court(bringing them up to the net where they are not comfortable being)then you can drill :evil:them or just pass or lob them...

I hope this helps ,,,,

[babolatisduhbomb]

run to the net cuz when they push u can slam the ball at net

[Legend of Borg]

Mix up your game. Be innovative. Use slice to keep him off balance. Attempt dropshots. As previously stated, attack the net.

[Macdaddy1129]

Mix up your game. Be innovative. Use slice to keep him off balance. Attempt dropshots. As previously stated, attack the net.

Agreed.

Hit a solid approach shot(preferably to their backhand b/c most less advanced players do not have developed backhands) and attack the net. Just like every other shot they have hit, they will just push it back and you can either place the ball cleanly into the open court or smash the felt off the ball.

I have found that keeping very long points with pushers can be very mentally frustrating. So, for me, ending a point at the net is an easy way to win and not deal with all of the frustration.

[baseline08thrasher]

You have to be creative, because if you are truely better you can get past all of that nonsense.
You know you know how to beat them, it's just the matter of doing it and making it happen.
These are the people who lie in the way of true champs.

[Mick]

to beat pusher, you have to be playing at the same level or at a higher level than he is.
if he is a 4.0 and you are a 3.5, you probably will never beat him even if you apply all the strategies discussed in this thread.