Racquetball words · Beginner

The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.

B · Beginner · 44 words · Step 1 of 2

Court and equipment terms

Court

A four-wall court 20 ft wide, 40 ft long and 20 ft high with a ceiling. The back wall is at least 12 ft high. All surfaces are in play except a gallery opening, anything above the out-of-court line on the back wall, and surfaces designated beforehand as out of play or as court hinders.

Front wall

The wall the ball must reach. A served ball must hit it first, and a returned ball must touch it before touching the floor. A served ball that hits a junction of the front wall with the floor, a side wall or the ceiling is a crotch serve.

Racquet

A strung racquet no more than 22 in (56 cm) long including all solid parts of the handle and the grip. A cord must be securely attached to the player's wrist at all times during play and warm-up. Strings must be gut, monofilament, nylon, graphite, plastic or a mix, and must not mark the ball.

Also called: racket

Ball

The standard ball is 2 1/4 in in diameter, weighs about 1.4 oz, has a hardness of 55 to 60 durometers and bounces 68 to 72 in from a 100 in drop at 70 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit. The ball must be IRF-endorsed and is chosen by agreement of the players; the referee chooses if they cannot agree.

Ceiling

The ceiling is in play for returns and rallies. A served ball that hits the front wall and then the ceiling before the floor is a ceiling serve, which is a fault.

See also: Front wall, Fault, Ceiling serve

Service line

The line whose front edge is 5 ft in front of the back edge of the short line. A server may step across it after starting the service motion, provided part of the foot touches the line until the ball crosses the short line.

See also: Server, Short line, Service motion

Eyewear

Eyewear made for racquet sports, or prescription non-breakable protective lenses, must be worn properly in IRF events during play and warm-up. A first offence is a referee technical and a second is disqualification.

See also: Racquet, Referee technical, Referee

Scoring terms

Point

Under the IRF rules a point is scored on every rally, by either the serving or the receiving side. If the server loses the rally, the receiver scores and the serve changes; if the receiver loses, the server scores and continues to serve.

Game

Played to 11 points and won by 2, with no limit on the score. All games in a match, including the tie-breaker, are played to 11.

Match

Won by the first player or team to win three games of five. The multi-bounce variation is the first to win two games.

Side-out

Losing the serve. In singles it happens when the server is retired. In doubles it happens when the second server is retired; when the first server loses it is a handout. The server becomes the receiver and the receiver the server.

Handout

In doubles, the loss of serve by the first server, after which the partner serves. The receivers earn a point. When the second server loses, it is a side-out.

Rally scoring

The system in IRF rules since 2022: a point on every rally. A player or team can win a game or match point as the receiver.

Serving terms

Serve

The server has two attempts to put the ball in play. The service motion starts in the service zone; the ball is dropped, bounces on the floor in the zone and is struck before it bounces again. It must hit the front wall first and, on the rebound, the floor beyond the back edge of the short line, with or without touching a side wall.

See also: Server, Short line, Front wall

Server

The player serving. The server keeps serving until an out serve, two consecutive fault serves, a failure to return the ball or an avoidable hinder, and a point is scored on each rally won.

Also called: receiver
See also: Rally

Service zone

The 5 ft by 20 ft area between the short line and the service line, bounded by the bottom edges of the side walls. The server must start the service motion inside it, with both feet, and the ball must bounce on the floor inside it.

Short line

The line whose back edge is midway between the front and back walls. A served ball must hit the floor beyond its back edge after the front wall; a ball landing on or in front of it is a short serve.

See also: Front wall

Fault

A fault serve is a defective serve that is not an out. The server gets two serves, and two consecutive faults are an out. Faults are foot faults, short, three-wall, ceiling and long serves, a bounce outside the service zone, an illegal drive serve, a screen serve, and serving before the receiver is ready.

Screen serve

A served ball that comes off the front wall and passes so close to the server (or the server's partner in doubles) that the receiver has no clear view of it. The referee calls it only if the receiver was in a good return position and the closeness impaired the attempt to return.

Service motion

Any continuous movement that results in the ball being served. It begins in the service zone and runs from the drop of the ball until the racquet strikes it.

Receiver's position

The receiver may not enter the safety zone until the ball bounces or crosses the receiving line, may not hit it on the fly before it passes the receiving line, and neither receiver nor racquet may break the plane of the short line unless the ball has come off the back wall. A violation gives the server a point.

Legal return

The ball is struck on the fly or after one bounce, and must reach the front wall before the floor, either directly or after the side walls, back wall below the out-of-court line, ceiling or any mix. Only the racquet head may be used, with one or two hands.

10-second rule

The server and receiver together have 10 seconds after the score is called to serve or be ready. A receiver who is not ready raises the racquet above the head or turns to face the back wall. Failure to serve in time is an out serve after one warning per match, and then a referee technical.

Faults and outs

Dead-ball serve

A defective serve with no penalty: a court hinder, such as an irregular bounce, or a ball that breaks on the serve. The serve is replayed without cancelling a previous fault serve.

Foot fault

A server who begins the service motion without both feet in the service zone, or who steps completely over the service line before the ball crosses the short line, commits a fault serve. In doubles the partner also commits one by leaving the service box or not standing with back to the side wall.

Short serve

A served ball that hits the front wall and then lands on or in front of the short line, with or without touching a side wall. It is a fault serve.

Failure to return

A rally is lost if the ball bounces twice before being hit, does not reach the front wall on the fly, goes out of play, hits another player without the velocity or direction to reach the front wall, hits the hitter's partner, the player switches hands or the wrist cord is not used. If the server loses, it is an out and a point to the receiver.

Movement and strategy terms

Rally

All the play after the successful return of serve. A rally is over when a player cannot hit the ball before its second bounce, cannot return it so that it touches the front wall before the floor, or a hinder is called. The ball stays in play until it touches the floor a second time, however many walls it touches.

Centre court position

The place near the middle of the court that gives the best access to every shot. The rules do not use the name, but they require the player who has just hit to move so the opponent can take a shot straight to the front wall and a crosscourt shot to the rear corner.

See also: Front wall

Avoidable hinder

Interference that need not be intentional and that costs the offender the rally and a point. It includes failure to move, stroke interference, blocking, moving into the ball, pushing, intentional distraction, view obstruction, a wet ball and losing equipment that interferes with play. Losing eyewear or the wrist cord is an automatic avoidable hinder.

See also: Rally

Hinder

A dead-ball hinder is unintentional interference that gives the opponent no fair chance to see or return the ball. The referee stops play, the rally is replayed without penalty and the server resumes with a first serve. The player hit by a return in flight, or interfered with, must ask at once.

See also: Rally

Shot types

Kill shot

A shot hit low and hard into the front wall so the ball cannot be returned. The rules do not use the name.

See also: Rally

Passing shot

A hard shot down a side wall or crosscourt that goes past the opponent. The rules do not use the name.

Ceiling shot

A shot that hits the ceiling and then the front wall, dropping steeply and deep into the court. Used defensively. The rules do not use the name.

Pinch shot

A shot aimed at the front corner so that it hits a side wall and then the front wall close to the corner, and dies quickly. The rules do not use the name.

See also: Front wall

Around-the-wall shot

A shot that hits a side wall, the front wall and then the other side wall, changing the angle. The rules do not use the name.

See also: Front wall

Drive

A hard, flat, low shot hit directly at the front wall. The rules use drive only for the drive serve.

See also: Front wall

Time and conduct

Time-out

Each player in singles or each side in doubles may call one time-out per game, serving or receiving, of no more than 60 seconds. A time-out called after the service motion begins is a delay of game.

Rest between games

A two-minute rest between games. The warm-up is up to 5 minutes for both players in singles and up to 4 minutes per team in doubles.

Referee technical

A one-point deduction for deliberate abuse, such as profanity, excessive arguing, threats, hard striking of the ball between rallies, slamming the racquet, delay of game or unsporting behaviour. It does not change the serve. A score of 0 goes to minus one, and three referee technicals disqualify the player or team from the match.

See also: Racquet, Delay of game, Referee

Doubles and variations

Doubles

Racquetball played by four players, two to a team. The singles rules apply with modifications on teams, serve order, partner position and returns.

Outcomes and officiating

Winner

A shot the opponent cannot return, ending the rally. The rules do not use the name.

See also: Rally

Unforced error

A mistake made under little pressure from the opponent. The rules do not use the name.

Referee

The official who makes all decisions on the rules during a match, announces final judgments when line judges are used, tosses the coin, checks the court and equipment, calls the score and assesses technical fouls. A decision is overruled only if both players in singles, or three of four in doubles, disagree.