Sport guide
Racquetball
Racquetball is a fast indoor sport played with short-handled rackets and a bouncy hollow rubber ball in a fully enclosed court, where every wall and the ceiling are in play. The ball must reach the front wall before touching the floor. It is most popular in the Americas and is governed internationally by the International Racquetball Federation.
Importance 3 out of 5Importance rating
At a glance
- Court
- 12.19 m × 6.096 m (40 ft × 20 ft)
- Played with
- A racket and a ball
- Formats
- Singles, Doubles, Cut-throat
- Governing body
- International Racquetball Federation
- Origin
- Created in the United States around 1950 by Joe Sobek, who called it paddle rackets
The court
Formats
- Singles
- Doubles
- Cut-throat Three players, each serving player against the other two.
How it is played
Racquetball is played by two or four players in an enclosed court where every wall and the ceiling can be used: each shot must reach the front wall before it touches the floor, and the ball may bounce only once before it is returned. Under IRF rules both sides can score, every game goes to 11 with a two-point lead, and a match is the best of five games.
Explore racquetball
- RulesServe, scoring, rally and losing the rally, each point from the official rules
- EquipmentRacquet and ball limits, in metric and imperial
- CourtsCourt size 12.19 m × 6.096 m (40 ft × 20 ft), drawn to scale
- Organisations1 organisation, from International Racquetball Federation to national federations, by region
Related sports
Sources
- IRF Official Rules of Racquetball, International Racquetball Federation, Official Rules 2026-2028 (March 2026)internationalracquetball.comOfficial rulebook or governing body (tier 1 of 5)
- USA Racquetball history, USA Racquetball, Web page; no edition statedusaracquetball.comNational body or tour (tier 2 of 5)