Just got DESTROYED by a pusher.

Pushers just play a style of tennis that is annoying and unfamiliar to most of us. We're usually used to playing with people who likes to show their sportsmanship by giving everything they've got.

I, myself, am offended whenever I play pushers, mainly because it seems like I'm not good enough for them to even try to hit winners pass me, even though I know that's not what they're thinking. It's the same thing as if someone on the pro tour starts serving underhanded, it's offensive to passionate players if you show them that they're being underestimated.

With that same idea in mind, whenever I play pushers, I give them my all at the very beginning, with the intention of crushing them with everything I have.
 
Zachol82 said:
..... We're usually used to playing with people who likes to show their sportsmanship ..... I, myself, am offended whenever I play pushers, mainly because it seems like I'm not good enough for them to even try to hit winners pass me, even though I know that's not what they're thinking .....
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Spot-on, Zachol82, spot-on !!!

That was the exact sentiment i tried to express earlier.
You explained it better than i could possibly myself.

Yes, i despise PUSHERS for their conceited attitude and lack of true sportsmanship.

Of all the PUSHERS that i met so far, i have yet to encounter one PUSHER who would give me due credit when i hit winners against them.

They all act like i was lucky and they had bad day or something.

The truth is ,, none of these PUSHERS had any true skills.

So, yes, their lack of true skill offends me.

But what really offends me is their pint sized conceitful ego of unknown origin.....
 
ms87 said:
lol i bageled a pusher today, you are just not as good as you think you are. Once you have a big AND dependable serve, can generate your own pace, hit to the corners, and put away volleys, playing pushers is like a laid back practice session.
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Exactly...
 
35ft6 said:
Once you get better, short balls are called "put aways." Or sitting ducks. Go play an open tournament, you'll see that balls with tons of pace relentlessly hit to corners is much tougher than short balls with no pace just sitting there.

At least you played a nice guy. He said you had nicer strokes, that was cool of him.

Against consistent players, you have to work the point. Just hit corner to corner, don't worry about what he does, play the ball, not the person.
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Right on with that observation, 35. "Pusher" is such a degradatory term. I think super consistent, non-risk hitter is a better term, and I have no problem playing against them. It takes some practice but "put away" shot is generally what you're looking for because it's the easiest shot to the opponent's open court. It's harder to find open court from your baseline when you play against a more advanced player.

The other day I came across this guy who's small and fast. He hit every shot extremely consistently and distinctively lack of "winner" risk. I, on the other hand, was hard-pressed on learning to hit powerful, pacey shots. I tried to hit angled shots so much and made tons of long balls along the way. Next thing i knew I was down 2-4. Then...he quit!!! LOL. I couldn't talk him back into continuing the game. He was unbelievably exhausted. It's not easy to play "pushing", non-risky, ie paceless & hi percentage, game against capable hitters.
 
user92626 said:
Right on with that observation, 35. "Pusher" is such a degradatory term.
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Just go to any public court, 90% of the people hit like maniacs and never really improve. They miss the shame shots over and over again, shots they don't really possess, but "can't believe" they missed because, you know, they actually made two of those shots in a row about 6 months ago.

People watch the pros and see two guys pounding balls into corners and think that's what they should aspire to. What they don't notice, generally, is that they are very consistent, and normally don't miss unless pressured.

I will say that "pushers" do tend to hit a limit in their tennis because their technique is usually pretty suspect. There's a limit to how good you're going to become with bad grips and poor form. But same can be said about the people who think they're Federer or Gonzalez, their technique will be better, but their shot selection and tendency to go for too much is going to keep them permanently in weekend warrior land.

It's like in basketball, if some guys decided to play 2 on 2, the "pushers" would be the guys who set picks, play solid D, box out guys, pass the ball around to set up easy lay ups and easy jump shots. The guys here who complain about pushers would be the dudes going for fade away 3's, who try to break ankles, never pass, and try to do all kinds of crazy spin moves on their way to completely losing control over the ball under the basket... and they'll probably call a foul on the other team.

Hey, some guys just like to compete and problem solve. Those are your "pushers." The dudes who don't like to drill but do enjoy picking apart other people's games. Nothing wrong with that.
 
ms87 said:
lol i bageled a pusher today, you are just not as good as you think you are. Once you have a big AND dependable serve, can generate your own pace, hit to the corners, and put away volleys, playing pushers is like a laid back practice session.
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Again, can we see a vedeo or two of your game?
 
A nice, friendly "pusher" who can hit everything but a clean winner right back to you sounds like an ideal partner for grooving your own rally strokes... cheaper than a ball machine! :D
 
... players who criticize "pushers" tend to forget that we don't award style points in tennis ... the point system is pretty "cold" in the sense that all it wants to know is who won the point ... and ... who lost the point ... we tend to get a little arrogant and like to denigrate those players who don't own "classic" strokes ... playing a pusher, as I've said before, is a humbling experience and highlights, in a pretty glaring fashion, those strokes that we need to work on ...
 
i find most pushers i play are pushers because thats all they can be. At least they will never move up levels.
I did my best this year ever at age 37 then i ever have in tennis.
I decide to push back at times. Most of the time i would just do a slice drop shot over the net and would fine it annoyed them because they couldn't keep pushing those shots
 
I love playing pushers, I feel like my game is the perfect counter for that style.

I use heavy topspin on my forehand, hit a flat one-handed backhand, and hit a slice backhand.

My best shot is my forehand cause its so consistent and tough to handle because of all of the topspin on it so in a rally with pushers Im consistently stepping around backhands to whip my forehands, the pushers usually crack before I do in these situations because my shots are more aggressive and just as consistent as their shots.

Then as a change up Ill serve and volley sometimes and chip and charge sometimes, often times suprising the pusher and giving me easy put aways.
At this point Im really in his head and he's totally off balance cause he doesnt know what Ill do next.

Ive used this strategy against pushers for years now and Ive had alot of success against them.
 
It makes no sense to complain about losing to pushers. These players hit with no pace and spend the match giving you easy, slow balls to set up on? How much else can you ask for? Would you prefer that your opponent hits winners past you instead of giving you short sitters to crush?
 
BlewByU said:
PUSHERS are failures of tennis world who simply could not acquire adequate skills to play good tennis.

When they fail in their attempt to gain proper skills, instead of acknowledging their shortcomings, PUSHERS go the other way.

They try to use their junky strokes to slice/dice the ball and send it back to the other side at all cost.
(In doubles, their shortcomings get exposed very easily as their shots get chewed up at the net.)

They have to develop good defensive foot coverage to enable their kind of game.
They develop trash talk habits.
They desperately develop everything except good proper strokes.
(remember they are proven failures in that department!)

Their only ultimate weapon is a pathetic psychological manipulation:
"You have better strokes/skills than me. So you should win in scores too. Shouldn't you?"

In the end, PUSHERS are but a vain psychological trip.

They exist on tennis court to prove that they might have failed in tennis but they still have redeeming reasons to continue playing.

Their supposed redemption comes when they outscore seemingly better skilled but inconsistent developing players.

Here is a good essay on them ---> http://www.stretchvolley.com/2009/07/dont-hate-playerhate-game-pusher.html

Thank you.
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What many don't understand about us pushers is that it is our mindset rather than our skill set that leads us to play the way we do.

I'm a very solid 4.0 with a "pusher" style. I beat most 4.0s and about 50% of 4.5s I play. I really feel that I've topped out, however. In two 4.5 tourneys, I lost to the eventual winner both times.

I can rip forehand winners and service winners all day long, and will usually sprinkle a few in during a tight match. But, my pusher mentality throttles me back.

My strategy as a pusher is to hit the last ball that remains in play. I don't hang out at net for fear of being passed or lobbed. I don't hit too hard for fear of hitting out. I hit the last ball that stays in play.

If you stay back, I'll drop. If you close to the net, I'll lob. If you hit with pace, I'll block it back to see how consistently you can generate your own pace. If you're weak, I'll run you senseless with short angled shots.
 
Nuke said:
Pushers don't destroy you. They just provide the opportunity for you to destroy yourself.
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A+
I think people hate playing them because they destroy the self-delusion that the tennis one plays has a significant similarity to the way professional tennis is played.
 
PUSH BACK! hehehe

I just slice a deep floater and setup for volleys against those players. Base lining with those people won't really improve your ground strokes and reaction so work on something productive. Volleys =)
 
Grapto said:
You and your friend should thank God!
Pushers are the best *teachers* for 3.5-weak 4.0s to reach solid 4.0.
Respect them and learn to master your game plan, patience, building up a chance to a winner by placing shots, developing dependable second serves and footwork, anticipating (or forcing) their lobs and answering them with put away overheads. These are the main things you must possess to become a solid 4.0.
Once you begin to beat them consistently by 6-2 or something, you have reached 4.0! It requires efforts and time but you will certainly reach there as you already have started this 'course' by posting this thread.
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I agree with the term "teacher"!
I always tell people that if you lose to a pusher you're not at the level you think you are at. In the past, I purposely played with pusher styled players, and I don't think I wold be at my current level without them.
 
*sigh* Besides not moving my feet, doing long-division while I waited for the ball to float over the net fom my opponent, and then getting so tight because I couldn't decided where to hit the damn ball, I'd say I played great today!!?
Oh yeah, and I completely lost my normal striking point on my usually reliable forehand.
Complete breakdown of my game.
How on earth do you hit through on a groundstroke when the ball is just dropping down from the sky like a rain drop?
 
r2473 said:
Sounds like you have great footwork and reliable strokes. The problem is your opponent, not you. You're awesome.
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Don't forget that by the time I sussed out all of the problems I was having I was down 1-6, 2-3...eventually losing 1-6, 4-6. So clearly, I was thinking clearly.
I love it when a plan comes together!
 
Well, since I posted this I've jumped up a division to 4.5, and figured out that the chip and charge method worked for me against pushers.....until today!

What I HAVE to learn is how to deal with the high ball, with no pace. My problems are:

1) I try to take it off the rise so i can attempt to cut down the point.

In doing this my timing gets tweaked, and i end up not so much being aggressive as much as really just getting the ball back in play...

2) Once I see that my "on the rise" strategy is not super-effective I go back to taking more normal cuts at the ball....Except now my swing is so short from taking the ball on the rise that I'm dumping it into the net.
Now that I'm losing points left and right I tense up trying to get my stroke back, and inevitably lose a match I should be winning.

My question is:
What do you guys do in a match to get your timing back?
 
you take the ball early by starting the swing cycle early, not by shortening the swing.

this way there is nothing to screw up.
 
diamond brian said:
What many don't understand about us pushers is that it is our mindset rather than our skill set that leads us to play the way we do.

I'm a very solid 4.0 with a "pusher" style. I beat most 4.0s and about 50% of 4.5s I play. I really feel that I've topped out, however. In two 4.5 tourneys, I lost to the eventual winner both times.

I can rip forehand winners and service winners all day long, and will usually sprinkle a few in during a tight match. But, my pusher mentality throttles me back.

My strategy as a pusher is to hit the last ball that remains in play. I don't hang out at net for fear of being passed or lobbed. I don't hit too hard for fear of hitting out. I hit the last ball that stays in play.

If you stay back, I'll drop. If you close to the net, I'll lob. If you hit with pace, I'll block it back to see how consistently you can generate your own pace. If you're weak, I'll run you senseless with short angled shots.
Click to expand...

The definition of Pusher varies by post in this forum. I have been a Pusher in the past (my definition being no offense but just blocks the ball back). Years have gone by and my game is not even close to what i would consider pushers but if need be i will push (sort of my plan C) . Most opponents i play at the school often resort to baseline bashing and an occasional push here or there in a set makes a big difference.


To me your game is more like that of a counter puncher.
 
my hitting partner is a very good player, he can hit winners from all over the places but when he plays against players whom he perceives as lower level players, he would turn into a pusher. all he would do is to return their ball in the middle of the court and serve a very soft serve. i just laugh whenever he would do this because his opponents don't know how good he can be. they just think that he's a pusher and would get upset when they lose to him.
 
here is an annoying strategy that can even defeat many good looking players.. lob every ball..

here is an idea, create a new category of players, called lobbers.

lobbers will be more difficult to beat than pushers, and will be more annoying to lose to one.
 
dozu said:
here is an annoying strategy that can even defeat many good looking players.. lob every ball..

here is an idea, create a new category of players, called lobbers.

lobbers will be more difficult to beat than pushers, and will be more annoying to lose to one.
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i have faced someone like that but it's simple to solve that strategy -- maybe because he's not that good of a lobber :)
his first lob, i would lob back. his second lob i would get ready to smash that ball and once i did, the ball didn't come back.
 
hm... pushy lobs are no good, these have underspins and wont kick forward after the bounce.

topspin lobs sent way high into the sky... most won't have the confidence to hit before the bounce... but after the bounce, it kicks forward and may put the opp on the back fence.
 
yeah. he did not possess the ability to hit topspin lobs. top spin lobs are tough and people who can hit those shots regularly are usually pretty good players.
 
forget chip and charge... try lob and charge... lot more time for you to set up shop at the net, more difficult for opp to handle it than a chip (simply because nobody else uses this strategy)

this would never work at high level... but I can see it having great success at rec levels.
 
dozu said:
forget chip and charge... try lob and charge... lot more time for you to set up shop at the net, more difficult for opp to handle it than a chip (simply because nobody else uses this strategy)

this would never work at high level... but I can see it having great success at rec levels.
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While I agree this might work..it make my brain hurt to think that I would reduce my game to that tactic, which is why I have got to figure out how to regain my timing on my normally reliable, and improving strokes.

Also, this fella I lost to today...I wouldn't qualify him as a "pusher" per se, but more of a "push-ish" player....he would default to no pace...1 out of every 8 strokes had a little pace, and I think if he wanted to..or if I forced him to some how, he would have returned my pace back....he just didn't need to because his no-pace tactic ruined me.

This might be so far wrong to type, but I'd rather lose than resort to lob and charging the guy.
 
confucius says "pushers can not beat you, unless you beat yourself."

larry says "ive come to the conclusion that, for me at least, slice backhands and forehands to corner to corner work the best . it is more control, i make less errors, and it stays low enough that it can cause problems hitting low balls when you are on the run. It also is a good idea to stand up closer to the service line rather than the baseline, takes away their time.
 
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Larrysümmers said:
confucius says "pushers can not beat you, unless you beat yourself."

larry says "ive come to the conclusion that, for me at least, slice backhands and forehands to corner to corner work the best for me. it is more control, i make less errors, and it stays low enough that it can cause problems hitting low balls when you are on the run. It also is a good idea to stand up closer to the service line rather than the baseline, takes away their time.
Click to expand...


Agreed.
I see a ball machine in my future with lots and lots of floating tennis balls for me to deal with....maybe I'll go crazy and set it up so every few have some pace, and the rest are floaters..
 
not really, a nice loose QUICK whip of a windshield wiper forehand while skipping forward and transferring your weight forward into the ball is easy as hell.

why do so many people have issues attacking short balls?
 
I used to have trouble with this too. It is a mental problem you are having. Don't think because it is an easy shot to hit that you can just pound it to prove your point. Think more about court position on these shots. When you get a short ball that has no pace you can pretty much hit it where ever you want I usually just start working the corners or hitting it straight at their feet. just make sure you are putting it close to the base line.

Remember returning their soft shot hard into the net or long doesn't win the match. I have a guy that play with regularly that does this he take a nice soft shot and pounds it into the net or out of the court.
 
The pusher im used to playing with used to always beat me, but he gave me so many slow shots in the middle of court and up at net I eventually became an expert at putting them away. He's really improved my game sevenfold. You should play pushers like its practice and just hammer on every short ball, eventually you'll become amazing at ending points on short balls against all opponents.
In tennis, if you're not playing every match to become a better player, you're going to get worse through just "settling" for the W.
 
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