Racquetball
Racquetball is a type of racket sport that is played using a hollow rubber ball. It can be played either outdoor or indoor. The sport dates back to the 1950s. Joe Sobek of Greenwich, CT YMCA is said to have invented this sport. Sobek is the one who made the set of rules, designed the first strung paddle and called the game paddle rackets.
racquetballUnlike many of the racket sports, such as tennis and badminton, there is no net to hit the ball over. Also, unlike squash, there is no section of wall to hit the ball over. The standard size of a racquetball court is rectangular, it is usually 40 feet long and 20 feet wide, and 20 feet high. There are red lines marked to define the service and serve reception areas.
Raquetball is a sport played indoor or outdoor with the use of a hollow rubber ball. A stringed raquet is added to Paddleball to increase the velocity and control.
Players should equip themselves with a racquetball racket and racquetball eye guards, which is mandatory in competitions. The rule is to bounce the ball on the floor, then hit it directly to the front wall. The ball can only touch the wall once; two or three times will be a fault.
This sport is sometimes called paddleball, as racquetball grew out of four wall paddleball and was originally called "paddle rackets".
Racquetball at the World Games
Racquetball made its debut at the 1981 Santa Clara World Games. Subsequently, it featured at the 1985 London World Games, 1993 The Hague World Games, the 2009 Kaohsiung World Games, the 2013 Cali World Games, the 2022 Birmingham World Games, and the 2025 Chengdu World Games.
Racquetball is a fast and furious sport. Playing in a court makes it an intense sporting experience for fans following the match, both inside and outside the court.
The side that wins three games out of the five games. Each game is played to 11 points. If the score reaches 10-all, the game continues until one player leads by two points.
Here are the athletes who won gold at the 2025 Chengdu Racquetball event:
| Event | Medal | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Singles | Gold | MOSCOSO ORTIZ Conrrado Kevin | Bolivia |
| Women's Singles | Gold | VARGAS PARADA Maria Jose | Argentina |
| Mixed Doubles | Gold | BREDENBECK Jacob ROS Naomi |
USA |
Similar Sports
- Rackets — a sport similar to squash
- Squash — a racket sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small hollow rubber ball.
- Hardball Squash — like the indoor court sport of squash, but with a much harder ball.
- Squash Tennis — derived from both squash and lawn tennis, played on a squash court with tennis rackets and balls.
- Paddleball (4 wall) — using the same rules as in raquetball, though a paddle is used to hit the ball.
- Wallyball — a variation of volleyball, that is played on a racquetball court enclosed with walls on all four sides.
Related Pages
- List of Racket Sports
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports — a list of every sport from around the world.
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