Squash (sport)


Squash, sometimes called squash rackets, is a racket sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate striking the ball with their rackets, directing it onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. The object of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. There are about 20 million people who play squash regularly worldwide in over 185 countries. The governing body of squash, World Squash, is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, and the sport will be included in the Olympic Games, starting in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The Professional Squash Association organizes the pro tour.

History

Squash has its origins in the older game of rackets, which was played in London's prisons in the 19th century. Later, around 1830, boys at Harrow School noticed that a punctured ball, which "squashed" on impact with the wall, offered more variety to the game. The game spread to other schools. The first courts built at Harrow were dangerous because they were near water pipes, buttresses, Reed, and ledges. Natural rubber was the preferred material for the ball. Students modified their rackets to have a smaller reach and improve their ability to play in these cramped conditions. In 1864, the school built four outside courts.
In the 20th century, the game increased in popularity with various schools, clubs and private individuals building squash courts, but with no set dimensions. The first squash court in North America was built at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1884. In 1904 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the earliest national association of squash in the world, the United States Squash Racquets Association, now known as U.S. Squash, was formed. In April 1907, the Tennis, Rackets & Fives Association of Queens, New York, which regulated those three sports, established a subcommittee to set standards for squash. In 1912, the association published rules for squash, combining aspects of these three sports.
In 1912, the RMS Titanic featured a squash court in first class, available for 8 pence. The 1st-Class Squash Court was situated on G-Deck. The Spectators Viewing Gallery was one level higher, on F-Deck. Passengers could use the court for one hour unless others were waiting.
In 1923, the Royal Automobile Club hosted a meeting to further discuss the rules and regulations. Five years later, the Squash Rackets Association, now known as England Squash, was formed to set standards for the game in Great Britain and internationally.
The rackets were made from one piece of English ash, with a suede leather grip and natural gut stringing.
The 1980s witnessed a period of restructuring and consolidation. The Cambridge rackets factory was forced to close in face of the move to graphite rackets, and production was moved to East Asia. Customization of squash rackets has grown over the years as well. There are custom variations on racket head shape, racket balance, and racket weight. The most common racket variation for international singles squash is a teardrop head shape, even balance, and racket weight of 130g. For hardball doubles, the most common variation is an open throat head shape, even balance, and racket weight of 140g.
There are several variations of squash played across the world, although the international version of the sport has become the dominant form. In the United States, a variant of squash known as hardball was traditionally played with a harder ball and differently sized courts. Hardball squash has lost much of its popularity in North America. Doubles squash is a variant played by four players. There is a tennis-like variation of squash known as squash tennis. Finally, racketball, similar to racquetball but played on a squash court, has been rebranded as Squash 57 by the World Squash Federation.

Equipment

Racket

Squash rackets have maximum dimensions of 686 mm long and 215 mm wide, with a maximum strung area of 500 square centimeters. The permitted maximum weight is, but most have a weight between 90 and 150 grams. The strings of the racket usually have a tension of 25–30 pounds.

Ball

Squash balls are between 39.5 and 40.5 mm in diameter and weigh 23 to 25 grams. They are made with two pieces of rubber plastic compound, glued together to form a hollow sphere and buffed to a matte finish. Different balls are provided for varying temperature and atmospheric conditions and standards of play: more experienced players use slow balls that have less bounce than those used by less experienced players. Squash balls must be hit dozens of times to warm them up at the beginning of a session; cold squash balls have very little bounce. Small colored dots on the ball indicate its dynamic level.
The "double-yellow dot" ball, introduced in 2000, is the competition standard, replacing the earlier "yellow-dot" ball. There is also an "orange dot" ball for use at high altitudes. The recognized colors are:
ColourSpeed BouncePlayer Level
OrangeExtremely SlowSuper lowOnly recommended for high altitude play
Double yellowExtra SlowVery lowExperienced
YellowSlowLowAdvanced
GreenMediumAverageIntermediate/Advanced
RedMediumHighMedium
BlueFastVery highBeginner/Junior

Some ball manufacturers such as Dunlop use a different method of grading balls based on experience. They still have the equivalent dot rating but are named to help choose a ball that is appropriate for one's skill level. The four different ball types are Intro, Progress, Competition and Pro.
Many squash venues mandate the use of shoes with non-marking tread and eye protection. Some associations require that all juniors and doubles players must wear eye protection. The National Institutes of Health recommends wearing goggles with polycarbonate lenses.

Court

The squash court is a playing surface surrounded by four walls. The court surface contains a front line separating the front and back of the court and a half court line, separating the left and right sides of the back portion of the court, creating three 'boxes': the front half, the back left quarter and the back right quarter. The back two boxes contain smaller service boxes.
The court's four walls are divided into a front wall, two side walls, and a back wall. An 'out line' runs along the top of the front wall, descending along the side walls to the back wall. The bottom line of the front wall marks the top of the 'tin', a half meter-high metal area. The middle line of the front wall is the service line. The dimensions of the court are:
DimensionsDistance+/−
Length9750 mm10 mm
Width6400 mm10 mm
Height5640 mm
Diagonals11,665 mm25 mm

North American hardball doubles courts are larger than international singles courts because of a hard ball that has a much faster pace. With double the number of players, the doubles court needs to be significantly larger than a singles court. Doubles courts measure wide by long and have a ceiling height of at least .

Manner of play

Service

The players spin a racket to decide who serves first. This player starts the first rally by electing to serve from either the left or right service box. For a legal serve, one of the server's feet must be in the service box, not touching any part of the service box lines, as the player strikes the ball. After being struck by the racket, the ball must strike the front wall above the service line and below the out line and land in the opposite back quarter court. The receiving player can choose to volley a serve after it has hit the front wall or may let it bounce. If the server wins the point, the two players switch sides for the following point. If the server loses the point, the opponent then serves, and can serve from either box.

Play

After the serve, the players take turns hitting the ball against the front wall, above the tin and below the out line. The ball may strike the side or back walls at any time, as long as it hits below the out line. It must not hit the floor after hitting the racket and before hitting the front wall. A ball landing on either the out line or the line along the top of the tin is considered to be out. After the ball hits the front wall, it is allowed to bounce once on the floor before a player must return it. Players may move anywhere around the court, but accidental or deliberate obstruction of the other player's movements is forbidden and could result in the point being redone or given to the player being obstructed. Players typically return to the centre of the court after making a shot, as it is the optimal position in the court to receive the opponent's shot. The centre of the court is typically referred to as "the T", named after the shape of the floor lines.

General strategy and tactics

A key idea in squash is known as "dominating the T". Skilled players will return a shot, and then move back toward the "T" before playing the next shot. From this position, the player can quickly access any part of the court to retrieve the opponent's next shot with a minimum of movement and possibly maximizing the movement required by the opponent to answer the returned shot. Very skilled players will, oftentimes, shift slightly away from the "T," based on the position of the other player, if they believe that their shot selection is limited.
A common tactic is to hit the ball straight up the side walls to the back corners; this is the basic squash shot, referred to as a "rail", straight drive, wall, or "length". After hitting this shot, the player will then move to the centre of the court near the "T" to be well placed to retrieve the opponent's return. Attacking with soft or "short" shots to the front corners causes the opponent to cover more of the court and may result in a winner. Boasts or angle shots are deliberately struck off one of the side walls before the ball reaches the front. They are used for deception and again to cause the opponent to cover more of the court. Rear wall shots float to the front either straight or diagonally drawing the opponent to the front. One goal of a player is to try to move the opponent into each of the four corners so that they have to cover a lot of distance and will get tired. Advantageous tactical shots are available in response to a weak return by the opponent if stretched, the majority of the court being free to the striker. Nicks are when the ball comes into contact with the intersection of the floor and any sidewall.
Rallies between experienced players may involve 30 or more shots and therefore a very high premium is placed on fitness, both aerobic and anaerobic. As players become more skilled and, in particular, better able to retrieve shots, points often become a war of attrition. At higher levels of the game, the fitter player has a major advantage.
The ability to change the direction of the ball at the last instant is also a tactic used to unbalance the opponent often called "holding." Expert players can anticipate the opponent's shot a few tenths of a second before the average player, giving them a chance to react sooner.
Depending on the style of play, it is common to refer to squash players as