Racketball, usually spelled "racquetball," requires speed, quickness, hand-eye coordination, strategy and courage. You need to study your opponent, find his weaknesses and take advantage of your own strengths. You can become a very difficult opponent to compete against if you develop a wide variety of shots.
Serving
The most common and effective serve in racquetball is the drive serve. With this server, you stand in the middle of the service box, drive the ball hard and low off the front wall so that it lands in the court past the service line and rebounds deep into the corner. The drive serve is like a fastball in baseball -- while it is very effective, you need to throw a change up once in a while. Racquetball players can do the same by hitting the backhand serve, the lob serve and the Z-serve. All of these are designed to make you a less predictable player to your opponent.
Forehand Shot
The forehand is the primary shot used to keep a rally going in racquetball. Most racquetball players have the most control over their forehand shot, and can also hit the shot with the most power. The ideal forehand shot will strike the front wall about 6 inches off the ground so that the ball will hit the floor and basically roll out, therefore denying your opponent a chance to recover.
Pinch Shot
The pinch shot is accomplished when you move close to the front wall and then drive the ball off the side wall. The ball then rebounds to a spot low on the front wall and rolls out to end the point.
Ceiling Shot
The ceiling shot is used to change momentum in a point. If your opponent is dominating and you are just getting your racquet on the ball and barely getting it to the front wall, change the flow of the point by angling your racquet towards the ceiling and driving the ball. The closer you can come to the front wall when your ball hits the ceiling, the deeper the ball will rebound in the court. That means your opponent will have to retreat and go deep in the court. That can reverse the momentum in the point.
