All You Need to Know About Squash Sport

Squash is one of the rare sports that makes use of all four wall surfaces. Two players compete in the racket sport of squash game in a small area, usually at a fast pace. There are many similarities between squash and tennis, which can be thought of as a limited version of each sport. To begin with, the squash ball is a vibrant, inflated ball that is about the size of a tennis ball. Similar to tennis, squash demands quick anticipation and turning. Scroll down to read All You Need to Know About Squash Sport.

All You Need to Know About Squash Sport

 Squash Game Facts

Forbes magazine has ranked squash as the healthiest sport to play based on factors including physical strength, flexibility, cardiorespiratory endurance, calories burned, and injury risk.

Squash Game- A Brief History

In the 1830s, squash was created in Harrow, England. The students there noticed that a punctured racketball “squashed” as it struck the wall. This resulted in a game that required a great deal more work from the player and had a vast range of shots.

This led to the new sport becoming well-liked in the ensuing decades. The first four squash courts were built in the school arena in 1864, the year squash was formally recognized as a separate sport.

Other than in the Harrow school, the name “squash” was first formally documented in 1890 in an English book written by the Duke of Beaufort titled “The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes.”

The first of the famous Egyptian player F.D. Amr Bey’s five British Open Championships was won in 1933, and Pakistan dominated the sport for more than 50 years after that.

However, Geoff Hunt of Australia and Jonah Barrington of Ireland were the players who most likely had the biggest influence on the growth of the sport. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, they dominated squash, igniting the interest of athletes worldwide. Thus, they are recognized for having sparked a surge in the sport that, by 1994, had increased the number of courts to 46,000 worldwide and the number of players to almost 15 million.

More than 25 million people play squash nowadays, and there are more than 50,000 courts in 185 countries.

Dimensions of Squash Court

 A typical squash court has four walls surrounding it and is rectangular. the two side walls, the back wall, and the front wall. Its floor is level, and it is raised over the court area. An international court has a glass back wall so that people can view the play.

The WSF World Squash Singles Rules rulebook mentions the measurements for squash.

• The length of the court between the playing surfaces is 9750 mm
• The width of the court between the playing surfaces is 6400 mm
• The diagonal length is 11665 mm
• The height over the floor to the lower edge of the front wall line is 4570 mm
• The height over the floor to the lower edge of the back-wall line is 2130 mm
• The height over the floor to the lower edge of service-line on the front wall is 1780 mm
• The height over the floor to the upper edge of the tin is 480 mm
• The distance to the nearest edge of the short line from back-wall is 4260 mm
• The internal dimensions of the service are 1600 mm
• The width of all the lines is 50 mm
• The minimum clear height over the floor of the court is 5640 mm

Dimensions of a Squash Racket

•  The maximum length of a Squash racket is 686 mm.
• The maximum width, when measured at right angles to the shaft, is 215 mm
• The maximum length of strings is 390 mm
• The maximum strung area is 500 sq. cm
• The minimum width of any frame or any structural member (when measured in the plane of strings) is 7 mm
• The maximum depth of the frame or any other structural member (when measured at right angles to the plane of strings) is 26 mm
• The minimum radius of the outside curvature of the frame at any given point is 50 mm
• The minimum radius of the curvature of any given edge of the frame or other structural member is 2 mm
• A standard Squash Racket should have a maximum weight of 255 gm.

It is advised, but not required, that players wear protective eyewear during the singles. A protective pair of glasses is required for Junior Squash and Doubles matches.

Squash Rules

Safety: Gamers ought to prioritize their safety at all times and refrain from doing anything that can put their opponent at risk.

Fair play: Gamers ought to play honorably and with consideration for their opponent’s rights.

Squash Game

Two players compete in the singles squash match on a court, each using a racket to hit the ball.

The players alternately return the ball till the rally is over after each rally begins with a serve. The play essentially goes on indefinitely until a rally concludes.

The Play

The game will continue if the serve is good until both returns are good, a player does not ask for a let or file an appeal, an official calls, or the ball strikes a player, the non-striker’s racket, or their clothing.

A good return occurs when the ball has been struck correctly before bouncing twice on the floor and without hitting either player, or their clothing or racket, hits the front wall, either directly or after hitting any other wall(s), above the tin and below the outline, without having first bounced on the floor; and rebounds from the front wall without having touched the tin; and is not out.

Scoring system in Squash Game

A rally winner receives one point and gets to serve at the following rally.

Every match is played to eleven points. Nevertheless, the game goes on until one player gains a two-point lead if the score reaches 10-all.

A match may be played as a best of three, however, a best of five format is preferred.

The Intervals

Between each game and between the conclusion of the warm-up and the commencement of play, a maximum of ninety seconds may pass.

Players should be prepared for the play after any intermission, but if all parties agree, the play may restart earlier.

You have up to ninety seconds to replace any broken equipment. (This might be the spectacles, safety goggles, or a detached contact lens.) The adjustment should be finished by the player as soon as feasible.

Either player may strike the ball at any time throughout the intervals.

The Officials

Two officials should typically oversee a game: a marker and a referee. These two match officials maintain a log of the score, the player serving, and the appropriate box.

If there is just one Official, they act as the Marker and the Referee.

Any call—or lack thereof—made by the Official acting as Marker may be appealed by a player to the same Official acting as the Referee.

As close to the wall as possible, but slightly above the outline, is where the Officials are seated in the middle of the back wall. Officials should, whenever possible, utilize the family name while addressing players.

The Marker

• should announce the match, introduce each game, and announce the result of each game and the match;
• should call OUT, DOWN, FAULT, NOT UP, or STOP wherever needed;
• should make no call, if unsure about a serve or return;
• should call the score without delay at the end of a rally, with the server’s score first, preceded by “hand out” when there is a change of server;
• should repeat the Referee’s decision after a player requests a lot, and then call the score;
• should wait for the Referee’s decision after a player’s appeal against a Marker’s call or lack of a call, and then call the score
• should call “Game Ball” when a player needs 1 point to win a game, or “Match Ball” when a player needs 1 point to win the match;
• should call “10-all: a player should win by 2 points” when the score reaches 10-all for the first time in a match.

Squash Game Federation

The worldwide federation for the sport of squash is called the World Squash Federation (WSF). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognizes the federation as the International Federation (IF) for Squash. It also belongs to SportAccord and the Association of the IOC Recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF).

Located in Hastings, England, is WSF. Its member federations number 149. After their petition for inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic program was unsuccessful, the organization is now submitting a bid to include squash in the Summer Olympics of 2024. After being established in 1967 as the International Squash Rackets Federation (ISRF), it became the World Squash Federation (WSF) in 1992.

Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI)

The highest authority in Indian government affairs about squash is the Squash Rackets Federation of India or SRFI. It organizes the yearly National Squash Championship and works with several state-level squash organizations to promote the sport. SFRI chooses the Indian team’s roster and offers training facilities. Currently serving as the National team’s coaches are Cyrus Poncha and Major S. Maniam.

The ICL-TNSRA squash academy, one of the several squash facilities built by SRFI, had the opportunity to host the World Team Championship in 2007.

Also read, India’s Squash Superstar Dipika Pallikal Karthik Biography