Simply you need to be a better tennis player. The pusher exposes people’s weaknesses.
Losing to a pusher
- Thread starter SteveXtreme1978
- Start date
Kavala
New User
Pusher is able to do this bc you are not dictating play. Learn to generate pace consistently (proper setup;body rotation;swingpath;use of legs; let arm / wrist be the pivot of the whip the prior create). This consistent pace, will control their no-pace return shots. Having done this see my above. You cannot let them dictate you - which will happen if you don't have a plan to construct the point.
FiddlerDog
Hall of Fame
Tennis players are stupid. They do not understand how tennis works.
The first step to this "pusher" nonsense is to recognize the other player is way way way better than you.
They are bored playing with an error generating maniac who can't hit 3 balls in a row.
The first step to this "pusher" nonsense is to recognize the other player is way way way better than you.
They are bored playing with an error generating maniac who can't hit 3 balls in a row.
pushers usually have something they dont like,
dont try to outsteady them you will lose.
they usually can run all day, so moving them around might not work.
maybe short stuff and bring them in and pass them, or lob over them
i played a pusher once and he was killing me, playing my usual game, i was behind 0-4,
and he never came to the net, i think he was afraid of it, because on a short ball, he would hit it ,and run back to
the baseline. if i continue to play like i was it would be double bagle time.
so i served and volleyed him on every point. fortunately his lobs werent that great
he had no serve, so i started to come in on every return,
i barely won in straight sets, and he mentioned that my serve and volleying
"was very disturbing" a great complement.
so my advice is to "find a way to win", there must be something they dont like.
z
slipgrip93
Professional
OP, you keep saying your pusher opponent is "good at the net", but what does that have to do with you being at the net and him not. Or are you also referring to him able to deal with your net game, so you also mean "good against my net game"?
And if your game depends on baseline rallying and probing for opportunities for a winner maybe watch some WTA matches for some ideas of how they control depth, pace, and angles. Like those girls can win points with "creating openings" to hit winners with mostly baseline, stepping inside, or midcourt game using such light tweenish racquets.
And if your game depends on baseline rallying and probing for opportunities for a winner maybe watch some WTA matches for some ideas of how they control depth, pace, and angles. Like those girls can win points with "creating openings" to hit winners with mostly baseline, stepping inside, or midcourt game using such light tweenish racquets.
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my only disclaimer is, if you cant figure out the weakness, the "pusher" is a better player than you are
but dont feel bad, happens all the time at any level. in tennis, someone wins but someone has to lose.
z
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
Once a tennis player learns how to put away every easy short ball in midcourt without making errors, generate his own pace to hit forcing shots that force opponent errors off their slow balls/serves, hit overheads decently and handle low balls well, then pushers will not be gatekeepers who keep higher ratings levels beyond your reach. Unfortunately, you need proper technique and footwork along with the ability to generate your own topspin and pace to be able to do all of that.
If you don’t have a full low/high swing that generates topspin, if you have ‘alligator arms’ when you hit because you stop too close to the ball without proper spacing, if you stand upright with no forward weight transfer and don’t bend your knees when you hit, if you don’t rotate your hips and coil your body for power, if you don’t get to the ball and take back your racquet early, if you have weak grips close to continental, if you don’t lag your wrist, if you don’t followthrough fully/high, if you don‘t brush up on low balls to generate topspin, then pushers will continue to cause you misery. These are the things that prevent you from generating your own pace off slow balls/serves, create many long errors on short balls that you try to hit hard (due to lack of spin to keep it in) and also force net errors on low balls. Pushers are showing you that you need to learn all the fundamentals (footwork, recovery, spacing, body coil, topspin swing, weight transfer etc.) first before you work on whether your swing should resemble Federer or Del Potro on the FH, Wawrinka or Djokovic on the BH. Also you can’t play winning tennis without a confident overhead and competent volleys. Plus if you develop a serve that can bother pushers into return errors and can hit forcing returns off their mediocre serves without making too many errors, you will start beating pushers even sooner and more easily.
In the meantime, get them to the net and try to pass/lob them, go to net more often instead of dying a slow death of unforced errors from the baseline, try to serve to different locations to see which ones result in point patterns you like (many times it is to the FH as they slice their BH returns short and cause you problems), appreciate the fact that they are showing up your limitations and showing you what you need to improve so that you don’t get frustrated. If you didnt learn the fundamentals under coaching guidance as a kid, then learning how to beat pushers is a rite of passage that all adult learners have to go through. The sooner you realize that pushers are exposing your lack of the most basic fundamentals and it is pretty hard to develop them without coaching guidance plus a lot of practice, the faster you can ‘vaccinate’ yourself against the ‘pusher virus’. Or you can stick your head in the ground and be an ‘anti-vaxxer’ against the ‘pusher virus’ doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different outcome which is one definition of insanity. You can also keep buying new racquets and hope that one of them is the miracle drug that will cure you from being made miserable by pushers.
If you don’t have a full low/high swing that generates topspin, if you have ‘alligator arms’ when you hit because you stop too close to the ball without proper spacing, if you stand upright with no forward weight transfer and don’t bend your knees when you hit, if you don’t rotate your hips and coil your body for power, if you don’t get to the ball and take back your racquet early, if you have weak grips close to continental, if you don’t lag your wrist, if you don’t followthrough fully/high, if you don‘t brush up on low balls to generate topspin, then pushers will continue to cause you misery. These are the things that prevent you from generating your own pace off slow balls/serves, create many long errors on short balls that you try to hit hard (due to lack of spin to keep it in) and also force net errors on low balls. Pushers are showing you that you need to learn all the fundamentals (footwork, recovery, spacing, body coil, topspin swing, weight transfer etc.) first before you work on whether your swing should resemble Federer or Del Potro on the FH, Wawrinka or Djokovic on the BH. Also you can’t play winning tennis without a confident overhead and competent volleys. Plus if you develop a serve that can bother pushers into return errors and can hit forcing returns off their mediocre serves without making too many errors, you will start beating pushers even sooner and more easily.
In the meantime, get them to the net and try to pass/lob them, go to net more often instead of dying a slow death of unforced errors from the baseline, try to serve to different locations to see which ones result in point patterns you like (many times it is to the FH as they slice their BH returns short and cause you problems), appreciate the fact that they are showing up your limitations and showing you what you need to improve so that you don’t get frustrated. If you didnt learn the fundamentals under coaching guidance as a kid, then learning how to beat pushers is a rite of passage that all adult learners have to go through. The sooner you realize that pushers are exposing your lack of the most basic fundamentals and it is pretty hard to develop them without coaching guidance plus a lot of practice, the faster you can ‘vaccinate’ yourself against the ‘pusher virus’. Or you can stick your head in the ground and be an ‘anti-vaxxer’ against the ‘pusher virus’ doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different outcome which is one definition of insanity. You can also keep buying new racquets and hope that one of them is the miracle drug that will cure you from being made miserable by pushers.
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LuckyR
Legend
This.
He is playing high consistancy tennis and you are playing low consistancy tennis. Of course he is going to win (for the exact reason you identified). In order to win you either have to make him run, which you make too many mistakes to accomplish right now. Or you have to be even more consistent than he is, which seems to go against your mindset.
vex
Legend
If you’re losing to pushers you need to drill volleys/overheads and focus on high percentage FHs to both corners. If you make them run thier accuracy goes way down and then it’s just a question of how good your volleys/overhead is. 1-2 shots to the corner they’re not in, move in drive volley/overhead what they send you to the opposite corner. Congrats, you’ll never lose to a low level “pusher” again. It sounds like you’re trying to beat the pusher from the baseline which is the wrong play. If the pusher is a solid athlete, hitting last them can be very tough from the baseline when 1) you’re pressing lower margin shots and 2) they’re just getting to the ball and blocking a safe shot back. Improve your accuracy, angles, shot tolerance but mostly develop your interior court shots. It’s much easier to force a weak ball with an accurate groundstroke and put away the weak junk they block back with an OH/volley than it is to hit multiple great groundstrokes to get passed the pusher’s defenses.
vex
Legend
This needs to just be pinned at the top of this forum.
Exactly, OP is not a good enough tennis player to beat his opponent. If OP had the rights shots and skills, “pusher” wouldn’t be able to push. A better tennis player would pound the corners, construct the point and hit a winner or finish the point at the net. No amount of pushing will beat a better tennis player.
The problem these people who are “better” players than the pushers who beat them is they can’t generate and/or put away short balls.
I've had trouble with pushers in the past, but have benefited from implementing advice from multiple articles I've read on the topic. One of the main ones that's stayed with me over the years was an article by Nick Saviano in a tennis magazine. I outlined it in another thread on the topic, but my content isn't coming up for some reason. I can still remember most of the details, even though it was the best part of two decades ago;
1. Demand better service - Most pushers have weak serves and often their 2nd ball is a real duck, so take the offensive immediately by attacking their serve.
2. Take the offensive - A pusher would rather see you rallying passively from the baseline. So play aggressively, attack of the ground and follow it to the net when you can.
3. Right way wrong foot - there's no such thing as a pusher with lead feet. They like to showcase their speed when you hit into the open court. So wrong foot then occasionally with putaway groundies and volleys and the next time you hit into the open court it will be more open.
4. It's all about angles - Open the court up with angles. I think this relates to the fact that because they're so quick, you need more space to hit a winner/force an error.
5. Draw them in - If someone always plays from the baseline, logic dictates that they fear the alternative. Volleys and smashes are rarely their strength or they wouldn't be pushers. So bring them in with drop shots. (Obviously you might use this sparingly as you've mentioned he's solid at the net)
5. Stick to the course - Don't let the odd pass or lob winner force you into being passive. Stick to the game plan. Also never let them know you're frustrated, this gives them encouragement.
That summarizes the main article that I've implemented to help me beat pushers (and my success rate has improved a lot).
One pusher I vanquished by using a tip I read in another article. He was a different kettle of fish in that he had an exceptional 2hbh drive passing shot;
The article in question suggested you take your groundies as early as possible and make the pusher run as much as you can. It pointed out that taking your groundies as early as possible is useful, even if you're not trying to get to the net.
It's not necessarily incompatible with the wrong footing suggestion in the Saviano article as that can be you're change up.
Some pushers are good at using angles to their advantage and that's where you use Brad Gilbert's idea "don't let a runner run". So you neutralize deep up the centre of the court. Again this is compatible with making them move as much as possible to hit the ball, when you're on the offensive.
S&V-not_dead_yet
Talk Tennis Guru
If you hit wide, that opens up angles for them to hit wide. So they will be moving more but so will you.
And typical pushers have the patience and fitness to outlast many opponents.
Also, there's the Wardlaw consideration: if you hit wide to my FH, my safest response is to hit it back CC. Now if you want to hit it wide to my BH, you have to redirect DTL. So your strategy involves hitting a lot more shots DTL than CC. All other things being equal, that's a disadvantage.
Why would they question their anticipation? Maybe if you were good at hitting behind them. But a pusher will not be engaging in a heavy GS war; he will try to get the ball back and make you provide all of the pace.
The problem is that the typical rec player does not have mastery of many shots so constantly trying to vary will likely lead to more errors, just what the pusher wants.
Variety might be the spice of life but it also requires a certain amount of mastery to use effectively.
Kavala
New User
Learn to generate forhand pace from deadball. consistently: lessons (not drills) ==> proper racket takeback, body turn to **** the spring of your body, push w legs and inleash body, let arm and hand hinges swing as an unleashed spring. triat in this, to repeatedly hit hard to them. this is not what they are hoping for.
Dragy
Legend
That’s not that significant against pusher ball - consider it a feed, dance around with all the time you have, hit to a spot/direction you select
