Our idea for today’s topic comes from Fernando in Brazil.  Fernando’s question:

“I have all the strokes and a game that is based on consistency rather than power.  Usually I work on the point until there is a clear chance to attack.  I am very comfortable with my opponent having a little more power with less consistency, and less fitness than I have.  However, if my opponent has less power and returns every ball, then I am in trouble.  After listening to your podcasts, I know that I need to consistently attack the slow balls from my opponent. What are the drills that can help me develop this capability? I try to stay relaxed, but in competitions I get tight.  This impacts me much more for my forehand than my backhand, but also troubles my serve and my net game as well. “

“Pusher” is a generic term, and definitely has a negative connotation for most tennis players.  

A “pusher” is someone who does not put much pace on the ball, they don’t have much offense, and are not able to really hit the ball very aggressively. HOWEVER they are very, very good at simply putting the ball back into play.  It might not be a very “good” shot, but it goes in play. It is usually a weak sitting shot in the middle of the court, over and over again.  This type of player gives a recreational player a lot of problems, up until a certain level of play (usually up to a level 4.0), where a more experienced player (4.5 and above), has the weapons to put this type of player away.

Up until that level, it is very difficult because you need to be able to apply pressure consistently. That is what Fernando was talking about, and referring to in the podcasts.

There are three different areas that are necessary to defeat this type of player:

1. Technique

There are four different areas that need to be present to put this type of player away. I am mostly referring to ground strokes in this section, because that is what is most needed. While net game and other areas are nice, ground strokes are what is going to put most of the pressure on your ‘pusher’ opponent. You need aggressive, repeatable, grounds strokes to beat this player.

  1. Length of Swing– from the beginning of your swing, taking your racket back, on through the end of your follow through, needs to have good length.  If you have a short swing on either your forehand, or your backhand, being able to create an aggressive, pressuring shot, is going to be next to impossible. Without a good length of swing, you will be limited by the amount of pace and spin that you are able to impart on the ball.
  2. Fluidity of Swing- you need to be able to maintain a relaxed, loose body.  And I mean every part of the body–if the entire body is not working together smoothly, and relaxed, then being able to create racket head speed is very difficult. The ability to remain fluid through the entire swing is essential.
  3. Speed of Swing- the first two areas lead up to this area. Just because you have a long, relaxed swing, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s fast.  In fact, you should be able to swing through a forehand or a backhand shot smoothly and slowly at a relaxed pace.  Moving forward in learning how to be an aggressive player, and learning how to attack, speed of swing is necessary.  Without speed of swing, we cant have pace or spin on the ball, so it’s important to be able to combine all three of these elements.  Many times people are able to do the first two up to a certain speed, but when they try to accelerate the racket, they lose both.  They get tighter as they try to swing faster, and that totally destroys your ability to create racket head speed.
  4. Direction of Swing- in order to hit an aggressive ball off the ground, you may think that its all about hitting through the ball, which is what gives the ball speed. However, if you want to be able to hit the ball aggressively while maintaining consistency, then it is vital to be able to put topspin on the ball.  You need to be able to impart some topspin, so that the path of the ball is curved and has some arc to it, and the ball wants to come back down into the court.  If you hit a flat, straight, lateral shot forwards, you will be able to put a lot of pace on the ball, but it is difficult to maintain consistency. When I say direction of swing, it is the ability to make contact while the racket is traveling upwards. Yes, of course forward, but making contact while it is moving upwards is vital.  If you do not make contact as it is moving upwards, there will not be topspin on the ball.  Without topspin, you are limited to how aggressive you can be, while still keeping the ball in play consistently.

This is a very brief overview of Technique, and there are entire podcasts devoted to each element of technique if you want more information on one specifically, or more on all.  But I want to move on to the next area, that is just as important to defeating a pusher.

2. Stroke Confidence

You could have the best technique in the world, but without the confidence to actually use it, it doesn’t do you a whole lot of good.  So, once you understand the technique part of it, how do you build confidence to use it?

It’s all about repetition. 

I know that sounds boring, and obvious, but without repetition, you cannot have confidence.  You might be able to fake some confidence that you can do it. If you’ve only hit a big forehand three times in your life, you might be able to talk yourself into thinking ‘oh yeah, I’ve got that shot’ but without quite a bit of repetition, you wont be truly confident that you will be able to hit that shot every time.  With repetition, you will have the confidence to know that when it really matters, you will be able to hit that shot.

Going back to Fernando’s question about being relaxed, when you go through that repetition and know that you are able to hit that shot every time, it will be easier to relax and feel comfortable.

Being able to be relaxed is all about Confidence.

Everyone knows the feeling of game point, or set point, or match point and you get that easy sitter ball in the middle of the court.  This is a shot that you’ve made many, many times in the match, but you approach this shot knowing, in the back of your mind that it’s a ‘do-or-die’ moment, and you get tight. You tense up, physically.  Without confidence to be able to do it consistently, that tension will continue to come back in important situations.  Repetitions are necessary to build that confidence in the back of your mind, so you know that you are able to do it, and then are able to pull the trigger and hit the shot the way you know you can.

At first, you have to be totally okay with missing. Experiment! Find out what works, and what doesn’t. This is key for Fernando at this point.  He needs to get out there with a ball machine, or a friend feeding you easy sitter shots, or a coach feeding you shots, if thats available to you.  If you can, pay for a coaches time to feed you those shots, just say ‘hey I really want to work on this’. Most coaches or tennis pros are very good at giving you a specific type of shot over and over. You need that repetition.  Over time, as you experiment with the different technique elements I talked about, as you make mistakes, start to narrow down the techniques that work.  Eventually you want to be very picky.  You are looking for the ball to land in a certain area on the court.  You are looking for a certain amount of topspin, and looking for the shot to have a certain sort of shape.

As you work your way through these practice repetitions, eventually get picky about them.  At first, be totally okay with missing! In the beginning its all about the experience, and giving yourself the freedom of just hitting the ball. Being loose, and aggressive with a nice, long, confident swing.  Just do it over and over and over again.  Over time, narrow it down to that ideal shot that you are looking to build confidence in.

3. Match Confidence

Match confidence is a completely different “skill” –Many people don’t think that confidence is a skill.  It is.  It is something that is learned, that you can teach yourself.  People are not born with confidence.  It is something that you have to develop.   It is one thing to know you can do something, but it is completely different to know you can do it when it counts.  

You KNOW you have Match Confidence when you know you can hit that shot consistently at game, set, or match point. 

Just like with ‘regular’ confidence, its all about repetition. But in this case it is repetition in that scenario.  You have to keep putting yourself in that situation. “This is it.  Do or Die.” Mentality.  You have to keep thinking, do it right and win, or do it wrong and lose.  It seems like a harsh way to look at it, and many people feel very uncomfortable by it.  You need to rise above that feeling and get excited about it and really take on that mentality and rise to the challenge.

You force yourself to do your best performing in these situations.  However, just like in the confidence area, you have to be okay with missing, at first.

So what I recommend for you Fernando, is after you have worked on the technique, and after you have worked on your ‘regular’ confidence in practice situations, start working on your match confidence.  I would do that by calling up the weakest, most consistent player that you know and going out there and doing a match with that person, over and over.

At first, be okay with beating yourself.  And by beating yourself I mean, making a confident swing every time that he/she gives you the opportunity, and you might miss a whole lot at first.  But be very picky, and make sure you have a full length of swing, be fluid and loose, and make sure there is good speed and direction to the swing. You might miss the first couple times you try it, the first couple of times you play a match against this person.  Really commit to making that confident swing. Over time, as you get more experience and confidence, and as you start believing in yourself, you will start seeing more and more successes. Even if you get frustrated, be sure to keep going back to that player over time, and keep putting yourself in the scenario where you have to make that shot; its ‘do or die’ time.

Beat yourself at first, if necessary, but commit to the swing and do it.  Over time you will build that match confidence up. You’ll learn how to do it when it really counts, and know you can do it.

The mistake that most players make is that they miss the first shot, and they shrink and run the next time. They remember the failure of the first shot, and think ‘I can’t do that again’ and go right back into playing it safe.  And they play it safe and approach the net, and they get passed or they get it lobbed, because they didn’t challenge their opponent the way that they could have if they were confident enough to make the swing they know is possible.

To sum it up: 

Without all three areas, this ‘pusher’ type of player will ALWAYS give you problems.  If you are a 3.0 or a 3.5 player, especially, pay attention. Sooner or later, if you want to continue improving, this is necessary. You need to be able to start developing weapons that you can use consistently.  If you cant do that, this ‘pusher’ will always give you problems, because you wont have the offensive weapons necessary to put this type of player away.

Hopefully this was helpful for you Fernando, and be sure to get out there and put in those practice reps!  Thanks for reading!

If you’d like more information on this topic be sure to check out the rest of my audio podcast episodes about beating pushers right here: https://www.essentialtennis.com/category/podcast/beating-pushers/