Squash rules explained: Know how to play the racket sport

Invented in England in the early 19th century, squash has rapidly gained popularity among both enthusiasts and professionals.

Though not an Olympic sport yet, squash has been a part of the Asian Games since 1986 and the Commonwealth Games since 1998. Big-ticket dedicated tournaments like the World Squash Championships have also been around since the mid-1970s.

Like tennis, squash is also a racket and ball sport but the dynamics of squash differ considerably from its cousin.

For laymen, here’s a basic overview of how to play squash and the rules of the game.

Squash court: Measurements

A squash court is typically a rectangular surface (9.75mx6.4m in dimension for singles and 13.72mx7.62m for doubles) enclosed by four walls. The wall at the back is called the back wall while the one on the front is called the front wall. The two walls on either side are side walls.

A short line is drawn parallel to the back wall dividing the playing surface into two parts. For singles, the short line is 4.26m away from the back wall while the distance is 4.57m for a doubles squash court.

A half-court line, parallel and equidistant to both the side walls is then drawn from the short line to the back wall. The half-court line and the short line essentially forms a T with the back wall as base.

Behind the short line and adjoining the two side walls, two service boxes (1.6mx1.6m) are drawn.

At the bottom of the front wall, a thin strip of 48cm is placed, which is called the tin. A tin is the squash equivalent to what a net is in tennis.

A service line and an out line are also drawn on the front wall at a height of 1.78m and 4.57m from the floor, respectively. The out line of the back wall, meanwhile, is at a height of 2.13m from the floor and hence the out lines along the side walls which connect the out lines of the front and back walls are slightly inclined.

Court dimensions and the distance of the markings can vary slightly from competition to competition but the basic layout of squash courts are the same.

Squash racket and balls

Squash rackets are somewhat similar to tennis rackets but differ slightly in shape. Rackets used for squash are 686mm long and 215mm wide. The maximum hitting area (surface with interwoven strings) permissible is 500sqcm. The maximum permitted weight is 255 gm but commonly players use rackets weighing from 90 and 150gm.

There are different types of racket balls, marked by coloured dots, with varying density, bounce and speed which affects play.

Various balls are used depending on the level of competition but in the highest tier international tournaments, double yellow dot balls with very low speed or hang time are normally used.

Squash match format and scoring system

A typical squash match is a best of five games, meaning the first to win three games wins the match.

Each game is a race to 11 points. If two players/teams are tied at 10-points each, the first to build up a two-point lead wins the game.

How to play squash

Similar to other racket sports like tennis and badminton, the core objective in squash is to make the opponent miss their shot to earn points.

A squash match starts with a coin toss or a racket spin (the racket is spun with two players/teams standing in opposite directions. The direction in which the racket falls after its spinning motion determines the winner). The winner can decide to serve or receive.

The play starts with a serve. The serving player can choose any one of the service boxes for their first serve. The opposing player takes their stance on the opposite side of the half-court line but behind the short line.

During a serve, a player must have one of his feet planted inside the service box, without touching the lines, until the ball is hit. The serve must hit the front wall between the service line and out line and land on the opposite side of the court between the back wall and the half-court line. The receiving player, however, can opt to volley the serve before it lands on the floor after it has hit the front wall.

Players only get one shot at a serve in squash and failure to land a legal serve results in a point to the opposition. Service only changes hands if the server loses a point. A player can continue to serve by alternating between service boxes after each serve as long as they keep winning.

After a serve is successfully returned, a rally ensues which requires the two players/teams to take turns hitting the ball against the front wall.

While returning a shot, though, a player cannot allow the ball to bounce on the floor twice before they hit it. If the ball hits the floor twice before a player can manage to take their shot, the opposition gets a point.

Players can also hit the ball against the side walls or the back wall (within the out lines) and multiple ricochets off walls are fine as long as the ball doesn’t hit the floor before striking the front wall.

If any of the shots hit the tin or the out line, it is considered out and the opposition gets a point. Players switch sides on the court after every point.

Players can also lose a rally if the ball hits them on their body or touches a part of their clothing before making contact with their racket.

During the course of a rally, controlling the T (intersection of the short line and half-court line and the two corners where the side walls meet the back wall) become paramount and players often jostle for favourable positions.

However, if a retreating player, who has just taken his shot, interferes with the receiving player’s shot, it can result in penalties and a loss of points. The decisions are taken by referees.

There are three types of infractions in squash – let, no let and stroke.

Let - If a rally breaks down due to interference but it wasn’t an intentional infraction by either player, a let is called. No points are won or lost for a let decision and the rally is replayed.

No let – If the retreating player, after playing the ball, makes a full effort to get out of the way of the incoming player but the latter is deemed to have made minimal effort to play his shot resulting in a rally breaking down, a no let is called. The retreating player wins a point for no let.

Stroke – Basically the opposite of no let. If the retreating player, after playing the ball, is deemed to have intentionally obstructed the incoming player from taking his shot, a stroke is called and the incoming player wins a point.

Types of squash shots

There are several types of squash shots through which players try to bamboozle their opponents and win points.

Some of the most popular squash shots are:

Drive or rail shot: The most common shot in squash where a player hits the ball as close along the side walls as possible to make it difficult for the opponent to get his full racket to the ball.

Drop: A drop shot in squash is a gently played shot aimed just above the tin of the front wall. It kills the momentum of the ball and lands very close to the front wall, requiring the retrieving player to cover a lot of ground to get to it before the ball bounces twice.

Lob or toss: When a player uses soft hands to hit the ball high against the front wall so that it arcs over the opponent’s head and lands deep inside the court, preferably as close to the back wall as possible.

Boast: A boast shot is when a player hits the ball against the side wall with the correct angle so that it reaches the front wall before bouncing. A boast shot forces the opponent to go close to the front wall to retrieve. It is mostly played as a defensive shot when a player is backed into a corner and needs time to recover and take back control of the T.

Volley: Any shot played before the ball hits the floor after bouncing against the front wall is called a volley.

Kill: A kill shot is played hard and low aimed just above the tin of the front wall so that it doesn’t bounce too high while coming back.