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Fives is a popular English sport that is basically derived from the similar origins of many racket sports. In this sport, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3 or 4-sided special court using a bare or gloved hand as a racket.

old fives handball court

This sport also has a huge similarity with the sport called hand-pelota. This sport has also been known as hand-tennis, historically played between the buttresses of various church buildings in England. There are also many similarities of this sport with the North American and Irish handball games.

This sport has many different types - the most popular variations are Eton Fives and Rugby Fives, plus there is the newer Squash Fives variation. There are also Wessex Fives, Warminster Fives, Winchester Fives, Clifton Fives and St. John Fives.

This sport is not the same as the sport of 'Long Fives', that is played on a real tennis court.

Similar Sports

• Eton Fives — a handball sport derived from the English sport Fives
• Rugby Fives — a variation of the traditional sport of fives handball, played in doubles format with a harder ball.
• Squash Fives — a new take on the English sport of fives handball, though played on a squash court with a modified ball.
• American Handball — players use their hands to hit a small rubber ball against a wall, like squash without rackets.
• Australian Handball — similar to Squash, though played without a racquet.
• Gaelic Handball — a wall-based sport, played in Ireland, similar to squash though the ball is hit with the hand.
• Frisian Handball — a traditional sport from the Netherlands in which players attempt to land a ball at the end of a long rectangular field.
• International Fronton — played by striking a ball onto a wall with bare hands, using rules adapted from many wall ball sports.
• Basque Pelota — a variety of court sports that involves hitting a ball against a wall using the hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket.
• Squash — a racket sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small hollow rubber ball.

Related Pages

• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports — a list of every sport from around the world.

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