Everyone has lost to one. The opponent hits nothing hard, goes for nothing, returns everything, and somehow wins in straight sets while you hit four times as many impressive shots.
The instinct afterwards is to dismiss it as not real tennis. That is a comfortable story and it will keep losing you matches. A pusher is exploiting something genuine about how points are won, and beating one requires a plan rather than indignation.
Why pushing works
Around 80 per cent of points at club level end in errors rather than winners. A player who simply does not make errors is therefore winning most points by default, without ever hitting anything notable.
They compound it by giving you nothing to work with. High, slow, deep balls with no pace mean you must generate all your own power, from an awkward contact height, usually from behind the baseline. That is the hardest way to hit an aggressive shot, and it is exactly where errors come from.
The three responses that fail
| Response | Why it fails |
|---|---|
| Hit harder | More pace from a bad position means more errors; you are their strategy |
| Moonball back | They have hit thousands more of those balls than you have |
| Get frustrated and rush | Exactly the outcome they are playing for |
| Go for winners from the baseline | Low percentage against a retriever who reaches everything |
| Complain about their style | Costs attention and changes nothing |
The common thread is that all five involve doing more of what you already do, harder. Beating a pusher requires doing something different.
Take time away
This is the central idea. A pusher’s game depends on having time: time to reach the ball, time to set up, time to loop it back. Every tactic that works against them removes some of that time.
- Stand inside the baseline where you can, and take balls on the rise.
- Step in on their second serve rather than receiving from three feet back.
- Move forward on any short ball rather than waiting to see what happens.
- Volley the high floating ball out of the air instead of letting it bounce.
- Shorten the court by hitting angles rather than depth.
Taking the ball early is uncomfortable and you will miss some. That is the trade. A pusher beats you comfortably at their tempo, so playing at a tempo that costs you a few errors is still the better bet.
Bring them forward, then pass them
Most pushers are excellent at running backwards and sideways and poor at coming forward. They also tend to have weak volleys, because their whole game is built at the baseline.
A low short slice is the ideal tool. It drags them into the court, forces them to hit up from a position they never practise, and often produces a floating reply you can attack. The technique is in this slice backhand technique guide, and the drop shot is the more extreme version, covered in this tennis drop shot guide.
You will need a net game
This is the uncomfortable part, and it is why most players never solve the pusher problem. Beating a retriever reliably means finishing points at the net, and it means owning an overhead, because they will lob you.
- Approach on genuinely short balls, not on wishful ones.
- Expect the lob. It is their best answer and they know it.
- A reliable overhead is what makes lobbing you unprofitable.
- Two volleys to win a point is normal; do not force the first one.
The approach decision is covered in this approach shot and transition guide, the volleys in these tennis volley drills, and the overhead in this guide to beating a lobber. If you only build one of those, build the overhead: without it, the lob solves all of their problems.
Vary everything
Pushers thrive on rhythm. Hitting the same ball to the same place at the same pace lets them settle into a groove, and their groove is deeper than yours.
| Variation | Effect |
|---|---|
| Heavy topspin, then slice | Forces different contact heights on consecutive balls |
| Deep, then short angle | Moves them forward and back, not just side to side |
| Change direction of the rally | Denies the crosscourt rhythm they prefer |
| Occasional lob of your own | Reminds them they cannot camp behind the baseline |
| Different serve every point | Stops them grooving the return |
The mental half
Most matches against pushers are lost emotionally rather than tactically. The frustration of losing to someone hitting nothing is corrosive, and it produces exactly the impatience their game is designed to trigger.
Two reframes help. First, accept from the first game that the match will be long. If you expect a grind you will not be disappointed by one. Second, treat consistency as their skill rather than their trick: they are good at something you are not, and beating them means being better at something else.
The practical tools for staying composed through a long, irritating match are in tennis mental game strategies. Tennis Files has a good tactical breakdown that covers similar ground from a slightly different angle.
Practise it deliberately
You cannot beat a pusher with shots you do not own. The tactics above all require the same three things, and none of them are usually in a club player’s practice.
- Taking the ball on the rise. Practise standing inside the baseline in rallies.
- The low slice approach. Twenty a session until it is reliable.
- The overhead. Ten a session; it is the shot that unlocks everything else.
- Patience in long rallies. Rally to twenty consecutive balls without attacking.
That last drill is the one most players skip and most need. Beating a pusher is not about aggression; it is about being able to sustain a rally until the right ball arrives, and then recognising it. The wider framework is in singles strategy and point construction.
Frequently asked questions
What is a pusher in tennis?
A player who wins by not missing rather than by hitting winners. They return everything, often with high looping balls, take no risks, and rely on you making the errors. At club level they are extremely effective and widely resented.
Why do I keep losing to pushers?
Usually because you try to end points too early. A pusher’s whole strategy is to give you nothing to attack and wait for impatience. If you go for winners from neutral positions, you are playing exactly the match they want.
Should you moonball back at a pusher?
No. They have hit far more of those balls than you have and will out-last you. Beating a pusher means using shots they are uncomfortable with, not matching them at their own game.
What is the best tactic against a moonballer?
Take time away from them. Move forward, take balls earlier, use short low slices to drag them in, and finish at the net. High looping balls are far less effective against someone standing inside the baseline.
Is playing like a pusher bad tennis?
It is legitimate tennis and it wins matches. Consistency is a genuine skill. The limitation is that it stops working against players who can attack short balls and volley, which is why it is more effective at 3.0 than at 4.5.
Written by Claire Carter, a former WTA Tour professional and full-time teaching pro at Bay Club Redwood Shores, where she has coached juniors and adults for more than twelve years.
Image credits: Jack McCracken (Unsplash), RDNE Stock project (Pexels), Sebastian Angarita (Pexels), Vinh (Unsplash), cottonbro studio (Pexels). Photographs are illustrative.