Sport guide
Squash
Squash is an indoor racket sport in which two players share a four-walled court and take turns to hit a small, hollow rubber ball against the front wall above a metal strip called the tin. The ball may come off the side and back walls, and rallies are won when the opponent cannot return it before it bounces twice. It is played in clubs, gyms and universities in over a hundred countries.
Importance 4 out of 5Importance rating
At a glance
- Court
- 9.75 m × 6.4 m (32 ft × 21 ft)
- Played with
- A racket and a ball
- Formats
- Singles, Doubles
- Governing body
- World Squash Federation
- Origin
- Developed at Harrow School, England, in the 19th century as an offshoot of rackets
The court
Formats
- Singles
- Doubles Played on a wider doubles court in international competition.
How it is played
Two players share an enclosed four-walled court and take turns hitting the ball so that it reaches the front wall above the tin before it bounces twice on the floor. Every rally scores a point, games go to 11 with a two-point lead needed from 10-all, and a match is usually the best of five games.
Explore squash
- RulesServe, scoring, rally and faults and losing the rally, each point from the official rules
- EquipmentRacket and ball limits, in metric and imperial
- CourtsCourt size 9.75 m × 6.4 m (32 ft × 21 ft), drawn to scale · 3 famous venues
- Players20 players on the men’s and women’s tours, with the titles they have won
- Organisations21 organisations, from World Squash Federation to national federations, by region
Related sports
Sources
- Specifications for Squash Courts, World Squash Federation, January 2017 (file dated 28 November 2017)worldsquash.sportOfficial rulebook or governing body (tier 1 of 5)
- World Squash: Squash history, World Squash Federationworldsquash.sportOfficial rulebook or governing body (tier 1 of 5)