Squash (sport) (original) (raw)

Squash, or squash racquets, is a racket sport, akin to tennis.

Squash is an indoor racquet sport played in a four-walled court with a small rubber ball. Its name comes from the "squashable" soft ball. All shots must be played against the front wall, and all other walls may be used. A point is scored on service when the opponent is unable to return the ball to the front wall before it bounces twice.

The sport originated in the 19th century in England, as a derivative of the game of rackets. Squash has a universal appeal as there are courts in 148 countries in the world from Argentina to Zambia.

The relatively small court and not so bouncy ball makes the game harder to play than its American cousin Racquetball. Wherever the ball goes you have to go to it. Since every ball must be above the 19" high tin, you can not kill the ball. So rallies tend to be long. Less experienced players may use balls that bounce higher than those used by more experienced players.

Squash provides an excellent cardio-vascular workout. In one hour of squash you can burn 700-1000 calories which is signifcantly more than most other sports. The sport also provides a good upper and lower body workout by utilizing both the legs to run around the court and the arms/torso to swing the racquet.

There are several variations of squash played across the world. In the USA hardball singles and doubles is played with a harder ball and different size courts. While hardball singles is losing popularity, the doubles game is still active. There is a also a doubles version of squash played with the standard ball on a wider court.

Please visit World Squash Federation for more details on rules, rankings and court dimensions. Also you can visit Guide-to-Squash to watch some online videos of squash. Last, there is SquashClub.org which is an online community of squash players.

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