Racquetball

Racquetball
Racquetball racquet and ball
Highest governing bodyInternational Racquetball Federation (IRF)
Characteristics
ContactNo
Team membersSingles or doubles
Mixed-sexYes, separate tours & mixed doubles
TypeRacquet sport
EquipmentRacquetball ball, racquetball racquet
VenueIndoor or outdoor racquetball court
Presence
Country or regionAmericas
OlympicNo
ParalympicNo
World Games1981, 1985, 1993, 2009, 2013, 2022
People playing racquetball

Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek[1] invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950,[2] adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velocity and control. Unlike most racquet sports, such as tennis and badminton, there is no net to hit the ball over, and, unlike squash, no tin (out of bounds area at the bottom of front wall) to hit the ball above. Also, the court's walls, floor, and ceiling are legal playing surfaces, with the exception of court-specific designated hinders being out-of-bounds.[3] Racquetball is played between various players on a team who try to bounce the ball with the racquet onto the ground so it hits the wall, so that an opposing team’s player cannot bounce it back to the wall.

The sport is very similar to 40×20 American handball, which is played in many countries. It is also very similar to the British sport Squash 57, which was called racketball before 2016 (see below for a comparison).

  1. ^ David, Walker (1999). Skills, Drills & Strategies for Racquetball. Scottsdale, Arizona: Holcomb Hathaway, Inc. pp. 112. ISBN 1-890871-17-6. Walker.
  2. ^ "The History of Racquetball". Team USA. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  3. ^ "USA Racquetball – Features, Events, Results – Team USA". Team USA. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2015.