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RacquetballRacquetball is a sport played with racquets and a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. It was invented by Joe Sobek in 1949 incorporating rules from squash and handball. Unlike most racquet sports (such as Tennis or Badminton), usage of the walls, floor, and ceiling of the court is considered legal in the context of the sport, rather than out-of-bounds. The game is normally played by two opposing players, though variations involving three and four players are also commonly played. Games involving two players are called singles or '1-Ups' (the upsurging of this colloquialism may be speculatively a result of video games, where an extra life or '1-Up' may be granted via special circumstances), three player games are typically called 'Ironman' (2 on 1 during entire game) or 'Cutthroat' (each player take turns serving to the other 2). A variation of a 3 player game is 'California' where it is basically singles style play, however the player that lost the point stays in the back of the court while the other two play the next point. Four player games are called doubles. History The new game experienced rapid growth & take-up through Sobek's continual promotion of the game, but was also aided by the estimated 40,000 existing handball courts across the country in YMCAs and JCCs which could also be used for racquetball. In 1969 with the help of Robert W. Kendler�the president and founder of the U.S. Handball Association (USHA)�the International Racquetball Association (IRA) was founded using a name coined by professional tennis player, Bob McInerny. That same year the IRA took over the National championship from the National Paddle Rackets Association. After a dispute with the board of directors of the IRA in 1973, Kendler went on to form two other racquetball organizations but the IRA has continued to be the dominant organizing force within the sport, recognized by the US Olympic Committee as the U.S. national governing body for the sport. It organized the first professional tournament in 1974 and is a founding member of the International Racquetball Federation. The IRA eventually became the American Amateur Racquetball Association (AARA) and then changed again in the later 1990s to the United States Racquetball Association (USRA). The USRA in 2003 then switched again to mirror other Olympic sports by changing its name to USA Racquetball (USAR). Kendler used his publication ACE to promote both handball and racquetball. Starting in the 1970s and aided by the fitness boom, the popularity of the sport surged with an estimated 3.1 million players in 1974. With the increased demand racquetball clubs and courts were founded and sporting goods manufactures began to produce equipment specific to the sport. This period of growth continued into the early 1980s but declined in the latter part of the decade as fitness clubs converted court space to serve a wider clientele with aerobics classes and newer fitness machines. Since that time the number of players has remained steady with an estimated 5.6 million players. Currently the International Racquetball Tournament (IRT), Legends Tour, and Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) handle the professional aspects of the game. The game is televised a few times per year, with the biggest televised event being the US Open championships, held in Memphis, TN. In 2005, another Grand Slam event was added to the roster: Pro Nationals. This event has to date been held in Chicago, Illinois and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Equipment A racquetball court; fully enclosed or outdoor with forward wall A racquetball; a bouncy rubber ball 2.25 inches (57 mm) in diameter Two racquetball racquets Racquetball goggles Rules Racquetball court during serveA standard racquetball court is rectangular and is 40 feet long, 20 feet wide and 20 feet high. The court is marked by several red lines to define service and reception areas. The short line is a solid red line running the width of the court and is parallel to the front and back walls and is twenty feet from the back wall. The service line is parallel to the short line and is five feet closer to the front wall. Within the area created by these two lines (service zone), there are two sets of lines perpendicular to the short and service lines. The first set of lines are 18 inches from and parallel with the side walls and along with the short line, service line and side wall define the doubles box where the non-serving partner in doubles must stand during the serve. 36 inches from the side wall is another set of lines which, along with the short line and the service line, define an area that the server must not enter if he wishes to hit a drive serve between himself and the nearest side wall. The receiving line is a dashed line five feet parallel behind the short line. To serve, the player must bounce the ball on the floor once and then hit it directly to the front wall�making the ball rebound beyond the short line and touch the floor either with or without touching one side wall; otherwise it is a fault. Once the ball bounces behind the short line, or passes the receiving line, the ball is considered 'in play' and can be returned by the opposing player(s). The server is allowed two attempts at serving, like tennis, before Side Out. If the ball strikes any surface before the front wall it is a Side Out. The server must stand within the service zone during the serve, the service receiver must stand behind the receiving line when the serve is being made and until the ball bounces on the floor or crosses the receiving line. After the serve is hit by the service receiver, there are no restrictions on where players must stand. The player who won the last point makes the next service. After a successful serve players alternate hitting the ball against the front wall. The player returning the hit may allow the ball to bounce once on the floor or hit the ball on the fly. However, once the player returning the shot has hit the ball, either before bouncing on the floor or after one bounce, it must strike the front wall before it hits the floor. Unlike the serve, a ball in play may touch as many walls, including the ceiling, as necessary as long as it reaches the front wall without bouncing on the floor. Points are scored only by the server, or in the case of a doubles match, the server's team, when the served ball is not returned by an opposing player, or for some of the following rules below. Professional players play best of 5 eleven-point games, requiring a two-point margin of victory. Amateur players play 2 fifteen-point games, with an eleven-point tiebreaker if necessary. It is not necessary to win by two points in amateur racquetball. During play, the following result in the loss of rally by a player
Shots of the Game Service A jam serve is an offensive serve which attempts to catch the opponent off balance by making use of difficult angles and unfrequented play space. The most common jam serve is the Z-serve, which strikes the front wall close to a side wall. The ball bounces quickly off the side wall, then strikes the floor and then the opposite side wall about 30-35 feet back. Depending upon the spin the server gives the Z-serve, the resulting carom may prove unpredictable and difficult to return. Side spin may cause the ball to bounce parallel to the back wall. A pinch serve is similar to a drive server, however, the ball strikes a side wall very low and close to the serving box. With the appropriate spin, the ball has little bounce, and is difficult to return. It is possible that a successful serve would strike the sidewall before the service line, and land on the floor after the service line. If the player faults on the first serve, they will usually hit a defensive serve. Defensive serves do not usually garner aces, but they are designed to generate a weak return by the opponent, thereby setting up the server to win the point. Most defensive serves are any variety of lob serves. A plain lob serve is a ball hit with a long, high arch into either back corner. The goal is to hit the ball so that it lands as close as possible to the back wall, giving the opponent very little room to hit a solid return. A junk lob takes a shallower arch, and lands close to the side wall somewhere between the dotted line and the back wall. This lob is intended to deceive the opponent into thinking he has an easy kill. However, since the ball is in the deep zone, it will more likely set up the server for an offensive shot. Offensive shots Pinches and splats are shots that strike the side wall before the front wall. This often makes the ball bounce twice quickly to end the rally. Pinches normally strike the side wall towards the front part of the court, often within a few inches from the front wall. The "splat" shot is an elongated pinch that strikes the side wall towards the back part of the court. It often makes a distinctive splatting sound. Pinches are classified as frontside or reverse. A right-handed player shooting a forehand shot to the right front corner is shooting a frontside pinch. A right-handed player shooting to the left front corner is a reverse pinch. A right-handed player shoots a backhand frontside pinch to the left corner and a reverse pinch to the right corner. Everything for a left-handed player would be the opposite. The dink is another very effective offensive shot designed to end the point. It is a shot very low to the front wall hit very softly so as to bounce twice before the opponent can get to it. It is most effective of course when opponent is positioned deep in the court. Defensive shots Racketball External links |