How to Play Against a Pusher and Stop Losing to Them

Every club has one. They do not hit hard, they do not have a weapon, they get everything back, and they collect wins against players with far better technique.

Losing to them is infuriating and entirely avoidable. It requires accepting that the match will be won on patterns and discipline, not on ball striking.

Why they win

A pusher does not beat you. They let you beat yourself, and the mechanism is well understood.

• They return every ball, so you must hit one more.
• Their ball is slow, low and often short, which means you generate all your own pace, which is harder than it sounds.
• Their lack of pace tempts you into low-percentage attacking shots.
• Their consistency causes frustration, and frustration produces exactly the unforced errors they need.

What does not work

• Hitting harder. More pace from you means more pace to redirect, and your error rate climbs while theirs does not.
• Going for winners early. A slow short ball is not the same as an easy ball. It has no pace to use.
• Out-pushing them. You will lose this. It is their event.
• Complaining about the style. It is a legitimate way to play tennis and the scoreboard does not care.

The plan that works

1. Take the ball early and move forward. Their ball is short. Standing three metres behind the baseline lets it die and forces you to generate everything. Step inside the baseline and take it on the rise.
2. Use depth, not pace. A deep ball, even at moderate speed, pushes them back and stops the short slice. Aim for a metre inside the baseline consistently.
3. Move them side to side, then forward. Pushers are usually comfortable moving laterally along the baseline and much less comfortable coming forward. The drop shot and short angle are your best friends here.
4. Come to the net, deliberately. Most pushers pass badly and lob predictably. Approach behind a deep ball, close properly, and put away the floated reply. Practise the overhead, because you will need it.
5. Use their pattern. They usually favour one wing and one height. Find it in the first three games and exploit it for the next two hours.

The mental part

Decide before the match that rallies will be long and that this is fine. A pusher's greatest weapon is your expectation that points should end quickly.

Set a personal rule: no attacking shot until the ball lands inside the service line or you have moved them off the court. Follow it even when a ball looks tempting at ball four. Discipline for two sets is the entire strategy.

Count rally length occasionally. Realising that the long rally you found exhausting was seven shots recalibrates the frustration considerably.

Practise it

You cannot execute this plan without an overhead and an approach shot, and neither appears in normal club rallying. Spend a session with a partner feeding short, low, spinless balls that you must attack and finish at the net. It is a specific skill, it feels awkward at first, and it wins matches every weekend once it is there.