The Rules of Racquetball

Introduction

Racquetball was invented in 1950 by Joseph G. Sobek, a professional tennis and squash player from Greenwich, CT. He developed the game at a local YMCA while he was looking to increase his own physical activity. As a result, he came up with paddle rackets – a fast-paced ball game that is easy to learn and play. Later on, this name was changed into racquetball, not to be confused with its British cousin – racketball, that was invented in 1976.

The first official rules of racquetball were created and published as a booklet in February 1952. From there, the sport spread rapidly around the US, partly due to the fact that it could be played in any of the 40,000 YMCA and Jewish Community Center (JCC) handball courts. In 1969, The International Racquetball Association (IRA) was founded, which later became known as the USA Racquetball (USAR). This also helped grow the competitive scene of racquetball, as tournaments became more popular. 

Nowadays, racquetball is enjoyed by nearly 5.6 million racket sports enthusiasts from 95 countries around the world. Its biggest events include the US Open Racquetball Championships and the Racquetball World Championships. 

The object of the game

The object of racquetball is simple, you must win each rally by returning or serving the ball to your opponent in a way that they are unable to keep it in play. A rally is over when a player or team is unable to return the ball to the front wall before it bounces twice, or when a hinder is called.

Scoring in racquetball

A racquetball match consists of the best of three games. To win a game, the player or team must win 15 points before their opponent. However, there is no need to win by a two-point difference. So, even if the score is tied 14-14, the player or team that scores the next point is the winner of that game.

If the game score is tied 1-1, a tie-break will be played. This means that the third and last game is played until the first player or team reaches 11 points.

Unlike in most racket sports like tennis, badminton, padel and table tennis, in racquetball, you only score when you or your team is serving.

Serving rules in racquetball

The rules of racquetball state that whoever wins a rally gets to serve next. During service, a player must let the ball bounce once in the service zone before making contact with the ball. Although most players prefer to serve underhand because of this, overhand serves are allowed. 

Players have two attempts at a successful serve. During service, the player must stand on or in front of the short line and strike the ball towards the front wall. The receiving player must stand behind the service line until the ball crosses the receiving line or touches the floor after a serve. A good serve means that the ball hits the front wall first and does not hit more than one other wall before landing behind the short line. On the other hand, bad serves can be divided into fault serves and out serves. A player gets to serve until they lose a rally, commit one out serve, or two consecutive fault serves. 

Out serve examples:

• Missed serve attempt: Missing the ball completely
• Fake serve: Attempting to fake out the opponent
• Illegal serves: double hits, hitting the ball with the handle or a body part
• Non-front wall serve: The ball hits the floor, side wall, or ceiling before the front wall
• Out-of-court serve: The ball bounces out of the court after hitting the front wall

Fault serve examples:

• 3-wall serve: The ball hits the wall more than two times
• Ceiling serve: The ball hits the ceiling after touching the front wall
• Long serve: The ball hits the back wall before touching the floor
• Screen serve: The ball passes the server so close that the opponent cannot see it 
• Short serve: The ball hits the front wall but doesn’t land over the short line

In doubles, a player serves until they lose a point. After that, the other player from the same team gets to serve next. Thus, both players from the same team must lose a point from their serve before the other team has a chance to serve. During service, the non-serving teammate must stand with their back against the wall on either service box, and they are allowed to move once the ball passes the short line. 

Gameplay

Racquetball is usually played in singles format (1 vs 1), although doubles (2 vs 2) and cutthroat (1 vs 1 vs 1) versions also exist. After a successful serve, a rally begins, and the ball may hit the side walls or even the ceiling as long as it hits the front wall first. The rally ends when the ball bounces twice, hits the floor or side walls before the front wall, or when a hinder is called.

Hinders can be divided into avoidable and dead-ball hinders. Avoidable hinders, such as failure to move, blocking, or pushing another player, are considered faults. Dead-ball hinders, such as backswing hinders, unintentional body contact, and safety holdups are situational and the point is usually let and played again. 

Doubles gameplay is nearly identical to singles, and the main differences are mostly in serving. It is worth noting that players do not have to alternate hitting the ball, and the same player is allowed to return the ball twice in a row. However, if a served ball hits your partner or they stand in the opposing team’s way, it is considered an avoidable hinder, and a fault. 

Cutthroat racquetball uses somewhat similar rules to normal racquetball, albeit with a few interesting twists. It is played with three players (1 vs 1 vs 1) and every player must hit the ball on their own turn. 

These rules are overseen by a referee, who is responsible for deciding the result of a rally, identifying hinders and service faults, as well as ensuring that the match is being played by the official rules of the International Racquetball Federation (IRF). Some official matches also have two line judges for additional help if an appeal is called.  

Game intervals

In racquetball, each player or team is allowed three 30s timeouts during the first two games. However, in a possible tie-break game, players are allowed only two 30s timeouts. There is also a two-minute rest period between the first two games and a five-minute break before a tie-break. 

If a player gets injured during a match, they have a total of 15 minutes to treat the injury. If a player is unable to resume play after 15 minutes, the match will be awarded to the opponent. Note that injury-time does not affect regular timeouts in any way. 

Players are also expected to maintain clothing and equipment in playable condition throughout the match and must use regular timeouts to do so. However, if the player or team has no timeouts left, the referee may allow a two-minute equipment timeout to make sure that gameplay remains safe and fair. If a game is postponed, it will proceed with the same score at a later date.