I love pushers

[aurelius]

Does anyone else love playing a pusher? Pushers get maligned a lot on here but I love playing against them. Maybe not every single day as I like variety but a USTA event when you play a pusher is great. What's not to love? Someone without a weapon to beat you with and without the pace to pass you with and is consistent enough for you to have a fun game no matter what.

I think part of the problem is that people come in against pushers with a bad mental attitude. I've played the 3.0 and 3.5 guys that many people complain about with funky spin and strokes. It's got to be one of the easier games ever.

It's like a practice session because of their consistency but whenever you want to win a point, it's easy because they never have enough to take control of a point. Flip a switch, move them around, maybe come to the net, win a couple games, then practice some other stuff and see how it works. If it doesn't, flip the switch again and win a couple more. It's not as if they're going to suddenly be able to go on a winning streak ripping points left and right even if it's just by luck because that's not their game. The pusher can't hurt you...don't worry, be happy.

I saw one link on fuzzy yellow balls about pushers, which can help you imagine practicing setting up points just by dinking the ball about - http://www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/how-...nnis-footwork/ (if the link doesn't work google fuzzy yellow balls how to beat a pusher)

[Larrysümmers]

i dont mind playing pushers who are worse than me. but when im playing a pusher who is as good as me, well its a war

[Dragonmuffin]

I like it as well. Crush the ball from side to side, and wait for the girls 14 and under floater. You have to move in, and be aggressive or get ready for a marathon.

[jakemcclain32]

Originally Posted by Dragonmuffin

I like it as well. Crush the ball from side to side, and wait for the girls 14 and under floater. You have to move in, and be aggressive or get ready for a marathon.

Some of those 14 and under girls are starting to crush the ball now, haha.

[DeShaun]

Really tough pushers are not as annoying to play as I once thought, because this type of pusher usually has more game than they are showing but realized that they could beat me simply by playing good smart defense and by pushing deep fluffy balls ad nauseum corner to corner against me; so, good on them.
What gets me though are those pushers who, when pressed into counterpunching reflexively, they clearly do not even have the strokes needed to hit for pace if they had to do so to save their own mother's life, yet they still manage to beat me by their playing with a more powerful frame and having great retrieving skills. Those are the pushers who make playing tennis less fun for me, because I feel like they cannot seriously trouble me at anytime in most rallies, and if we were to lay our strokes side by side and be judged on the merits of technique, I would seem to have a decided edge over them; but because they are so cagey and more clever than me, it burns me to lose against them. It's as though their entire game has been built not around developing technique but around frustrating the opponent so as to secure the victory for themselves, which outlook strikes me as being results-oriented or as justification of the means used in attaining some end, as opposed to being process-oriented or geared to making constant-improvement. That's why I dislike playing pushers whose whole game consists only of pushing, because it forces me to question my own values.

[Fuji]

I like playing pushers, sure most are still in 3.5, I still find it a fun game in the fact that I get to practice my strokes repeatedly from all over the court. Plus it's a good work out for both of us.

-Fuji

[axel89]

Originally Posted by jakemcclain32

Some of those 14 and under girls are starting to crush the ball now, haha.

HAHAHA NICE ONE JAKE!

[F L O B B E R]

Can't stand it...if I realize during warmups that my opponent is a pusher I instantly get upset and view the match to come as torture rather than fun. It's definitely something I need to work on because I know my attitude is the main reason I struggle against pushers.

A teammate once told me to imagine I'm playing with my 8 year old daughter and that should help me remain patient - I'll try that next time I face one (shudders).

[floridatennisdude]

Originally Posted by F L O B B E R

Can't stand it...if I realize during warmups that my opponent is a pusher I instantly get upset and view the match to come as torture rather than fun. It's definitely something I need to work on because I know my attitude is the main reason I struggle against pushers.

A teammate once told me to imagine I'm playing with my 8 year old daughter and that should help me remain patient - I'll try that next time I face one (shudders).

Agreed...the pusher is a necessary evil to learn to beat. Some guys are really good at the dinks, slices, and lobs. It takes fairly specific skills to take those shots away.

And you almost have to have a good day when playing a pusher within your NTRP level. They are at your level for a reason...they can compete.

[anantak2k]

I actually LOVE playing pushers. It is one of my favorite match-ups. I love knowing that my opponent has nothing that can hurt me. Even if I am playing poorly on a particular day, the consistency of a pusher without the actual ability to end points helps me get into a nice rhythm at some point in time. I am a very rhythmic player and if someone gives me time to get into a zone, I feel very comfortable. And I don't mind if they push short or deep or with different spins into the corners. I move very well so it's all good.

The players that I absolutely hate playing are the ball bashers. By that, I mean the ones who can have a good day and hit lines or have an off day and miss everything. Either way, these type of players do not let me get into any type of rhythm, so I myself start hitting a ton of unforced errors because I never feel warmed up. Win or lose, I hate those matches because I don't feel like I played tennis. I also hate the fact that, I feel that many (not all) of the players of this type play a mindless game of tennis. Its like they don't even know where they are hitting or aiming, they are just taking a whack at the ball every time.

[GameSetMatchWin]

Personally, I hate playing when people don't put pace on the ball, even if I can rip a winner off of it. The consistency war is a nice challenge but I like having the ball pounded at me

[nickarnold2000]

If you have the weapons to attack then playing pushers is fun(although I don't go out of my way to set up these kinds of matches).
When I first started playing I would get very frustrated with the consistency and off paced balls but then this pushing style forced me to keep improving.

[nhat8121]

your 4.0 self will never hit a winner off the 4.5 so you're a pusher, you don't know yet. Did you see the post last week some guy made about you not able to hit a winner against him and called you a pusher?

[floridatennisdude]

Originally Posted by nickarnold2000

If you have the weapons to attack then playing pushers is fun(although I don't go out of my way to set up these kinds of matches).

Soooo, it's fun but you avoid it? What else do you consider fun? Colonoscopy? Root canal?

[jdubbs]

Its been gratifying to move up. I have been lucky enough to play mostly 5.0s lately and no more pushing. We play pro style tennis, and its so much more fun.

[nickarnold2000]

Originally Posted by floridatennisdude

Soooo, it's fun but you avoid it? What else do you consider fun? Colonoscopy? Root canal?

If I don't have a match set up and show up at my club then sometimes it's means playing singles with a pusher. It's either that or go home - I'm much less thrilled with root canal.

[TeflonTom]

playing pushers is boring. take the net, finish pts quickly. easy peasey, not a challenge

[Mick]

Originally Posted by TeflonTom

playing pushers is boring. take the net, finish pts quickly. easy peasey, not a challenge

yeah but the problem is some people here can't execute that plan

imo, if a player thinks he/she is a decent player and he/she can't handle a pusher, he/she probably would have more difficult time with other types of player who have better weapons to take his/her game apart.

[InspectorRacquet]

Originally Posted by TeflonTom

playing pushers is boring. take the net, finish pts quickly. easy peasey, not a challenge

I don't think you've ever met an athletic pusher. The athletic types don't care how good you can volley - it just means they have to run a little bit more. You make volleying sound easy, but it really is a skill to volley well. Pushers don't allow you to end the points quickly when not volleying, unless you make an unforced error.

Pushers are great to test the solidity of one's strokes and if you can actually execute the same stroke over and over again.

[TeflonTom]

ur missing the point dood. if two players of the same ability meet and one is a pusher, the other guy will smack him down easy if he plays smart. bcoz pushers are passive they let u impose ur game on the match. they are one trick ponies

once u have the tactical key to beating a pusher it is game over man, game over. u just execute.

if a 4.5 pusher plays a 4.0 player then they will probably win but thats because they are a better player, not coz pushing is great tactic