Racquetball is a fast-paced, high-energy sport played on an enclosed court with walls on each side of you. The sport requires great stamina, agility and quick-thinking to make the shot that is most difficult for your opponent to defend.
Background
Joe Sobek was a critical figure in the founding of racquetball. Sobek worked in Bridgeport, Connecticut, at a rubber manufacturing plant when he devised the idea for the game in 1950. He was an avid squash and tennis player but had difficulty finding a partner to play against him. He wanted to play a racket sport that would give him adequate physical exercise. Sobek decided to create his own racket for the sport, whose designs he sent to Magnan Racket Manufacturing Company. This Massachusetts-based company created the sport's first racket in 1951. Sobek also created rules for the game and used a tennis ball without the fuzz. By the 1970s, the game's popularity had spread in no small part because of the intense physical exercise involved, according to Racquetballcentral.com.
Rules
Racquetball is typically played with two or four players at one time. Two players is called singles and four players is called doubles. In singles and doubles, only the serving player or team can score points by winning a rally. The receiving player or team can take the serve away by winning the rally. Rallies are won when the opponent can not return the ball before it hits the floor twice. Another way rallies are won is when the opponent cannot hit the wall with the ball without the ball hitting the ground first, according to the USA Racquetball website. The third way to score a point is when a hinder occurs. A couple ways a hinder can occur are when the ball strikes a player or when a player is physically interfered with.
Types of Shots
Two commonly used racquetball shots are the forehand and backhand. The forehand requires hitting the ball on your right side if you are right-handed and the left if you are left-handed. The backhand requires hitting the ball on the opposite side of the forehand. There are also a few different types of serves. A shallow-serve occurs when the ball comes off the wall very close to the body of the server and the opponent can not judge where the ball is going. There is also the lob serve and the drive serve. The lob serve is a high serve whereas the drive serve is hit with more velocity and closer to the ground, according to the How to Play Racquetball website.
Equipment
In addition to your racket and athletic shoes, you must wear certified eye protection. Shoes should not put marks on the floor and clothing should not be distracting or excessively loose. The ball has a 2 1/4-inch diameter and needs to weigh about 1.4 oz.
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