I began the transition from racquetball to squash this afternoon. One of the downsides of the Hitachi Consulting acquisition was that our Navigator-paid health club membership was no more. Unfortunately for a few of us regulars, there just aren’t that many courts around. The place Nav paid for was one of the few choices, but hard to justify with Christy already having a membership closer to home. So, I added on to Christy’s membership at Lifetime where squash is the only option.
My first stop was to a few sites to learn the rules (World Squash) and the difference between squash and racquetball.
First, the racquet. A racquetball racquet looks like a stubby tennis racquet. A squash racquet looks more like a badmitton racquet and has a smaller head. I was worried it would take some getting used to but the transition was very natural so no worries there.
Next, the ball. In racquetball, the livelier the ball, the better. In squash, apparently, the really good balls are extremely dead (In fact, I have no idea how you know when your squash ball has gone bad). The first time I dropped the squash ball on the court I knew I was in for something different. It hit the court with a thud, maybe bounced a half inch off the court and just sat there. A racquetball would have bounced about fifteen times, bounced out the door, and down the hall. The ball does get a bit more lively as it heats up during warm up and game play. A squash ball is significantly smaller but that didn’t bother me.
Balls are rated by their bounce. Double yellow dots indicate that the ball will need lots of action to get it going. See this site for more on ball ratings. Of course I thought “pro” was marketing speak for “our best ball” so that’s what I got. I don’t know if that’s what most beginners do. We’ll see.
Finally, the court. The court is smaller than a racquetball court but because you aren’t getting much bounce you’ll swear you are running the same amount if not more.
A squash court has several markings not present in a racquetball court. In racquetball you can serve anywhere between the two lines on the floor. Left side, right side, center, it doesn’t matter. After hitting the front wall, a serve can land anywhere in the back half of the court. During play, the ball has to hit the front wall but can hit any other side wall including the ceiling.
A squash court, on the other hand, has two designated areas from which your serve alternates. A served ball must hit the front wall (in a specific area, see “service line”, below) then land in the opposite quarter, like tennis. After the serve the rules are like racquetball except for the out lines which I’ll discuss shortly.
The part that takes more getting used to is the “tin”, the service line, and the “out” line. The tin is, literally, a piece of metal that runs across the bottom of the front wall. It’s OB. This is good for two reasons: First, anything hit that low could never be returned. Second, it eliminates the problem in racquetball when you have to rely on the “squeak” to know if the ball hit the floor first or the wall first. When a ball hits the tin you know it. The problem for us racquetballers is that a really low shot is a really great shot, usually, so I was whacking the tin with some regularity.
The service line runs across the front wall about halfway up. The serve has to hit the front wall above the service line but below the out line.
The out line runs around the entire court at varying heights. Anything on or above that line is also OB. That rules out ceiling shots, high shots off the side wall, and long lobs that come off the front wall and hit high on the back wall. But, again, because of the dynamics of the ball, we didn’t see too many balls hitting that high unless they were really bad shots.
See the World Squash court diagrams to get the picture.
I’ll miss racquetball. When I was really in the zone I felt like I had time to slow down and analyze the shot before making it–picture “bullet time” photography a la The Matrix. My racquetball mantra was always “patience”. Maybe once I settle in to the Zen of Squash I’ll be able to recapture that.
Today after hitting around a bit with Christy to get used to things I was able to pick up a game with a guy who plays regularly. I was happy to find it was every bit as physically and mentally challenging as racquetball. (And I was happy to see that some of my racquetball skills were still put to good use–he didn’t skunk me).
One thing that killed me was corner shots. In racquetball if someone puts it in the corner you can usually dig it out because there’s enough bounce left for you to get under it. In squash maybe good players can dig out a corner shot but I found that if I let him get to the corner I was dead. Another was the back wall. Hitting off the backwall is a common racquetball shot. A successful back wall shot is more geometry than muscle. In squash you’ve really got to crank it to have a hope. I never saw my opponent try it. I tried several times out of habit and never came close.
So there’s another acquisition transition item taken care of. On to the next one.
I wish I would find a place to play squash on the Big Island. I used to play everyday of my life and at some point i even participated ina few competitions. It’s been almost 3 years and I miss playing… any ideas?
There is a squash court on the big island.
Sadly, I have lost the contact information…but, one does exist and with some digging you might find it.
terry wallace
All I have at my gym is a racquetball court — can I improvise and play squash in it?
@Shankar…The biggest problem I see with using a racquetball court for squash is that in racquetball there is no out-of-bounds–the entire court is in play. In squash, there is a line on all four walls above which your ball cannot hit in addition to a line on the front wall below which the ball cannot hit. In fact, the bottom part of the front wall has a piece of metal on it that makes a loud noise when struck by the ball.
There is a Squash-Racquetball court in Kailua-Kona in the old industrial area….sadly, I used to own it….money pit. Still a great club with some great people (at least 15 years ago) that play.
328-8106 In fact, it is for sale!
Big Island Squash and Racquetball
74-5606 Pawai Place
Kailua-Kona, HI
I used to play a ton of racquet ball and was quite good- to the point where it started becoming difficult to find good competition. I started playing squash when I went back to college a couple of years ago. when I couldn’t find experienced racquet ball players I picked up squash thinking I already had the right skill set. And although a lot of aspects of the R ball carry over, I’m finding squash to be more of a challenge both mentally and especially physically.
Generally speaking, the better the two players get in R Ball, the shorter the rallies; both players are waiting for someone to hit a loose shot so they can reply with a kill shot– ending the point. In squash it’s the opposite; as the player get better the rallies get longer and more physically demanding, as both the players have more ability to defend. It is often said by squash coaches that in squash there is no such thing as a “kill shot”; there is only “pressure”. The objective is to mount so much pressure on an opponent that they may miss or not make it to a ball, but shot for shot a squash player must assume all his or her shots, no matter how great, will be returned.
Winning a squash rally done more with a series of shots rather than one brilliant one- in boxing, a good combination rather than a one-punch knock out.
Another major difference is the use of the drop shot in squash. At upper levels of R ball the drop shot is rarely used as it is generally not an effective shot. In squash it is major component of the game. It is somewhat analogous to golf where the short game, pitching and putting is 40% of the game. A squash player’s short game can potentially separate him or her from the pack. In fact I have read articles that name the drop shot as “the most deadly shot in the game”.
And then there’s “deception”. At upper levels of squash players often, in an attempt to avoid predictability, practice strategic deception when hitting shots. It’s common for players to look one way only to, at the last second, change the shot to keep his or her opponent off balance. This is rarely done in R ball as the ball too lively for “holding” shots.
Although I like racquet ball and miss the finality of the kill shot, I do find squash to be a more challenging game, if anything because of the fitness requirements for competition at upper levels. It takes a while to fully make the transition to squash. I spent a long time playing “racquet squash”, that is, play squash the same way I played r ball. It wasn’t till I played (poorly) against some real squash players that I realized how much I was going to have to learn if I was going to be competitive with good players. And the learning continues… Body permitting, I will be playing squash for many more years.
One thing I found about making the move, is don’t try to go back to racquetball. It’s like playing with a superball. I’ve moved over to squash now for 3 years, and jokingly I tell everyone that I’m the best American player here (in Thailand). Everyone I play is European, all experts in my eyes, and pretty much beat me easily. Although I am getting better, it’s a different game, and I can say it’s more cardio for me than racquetball. Michael did an excellent analysis, everything he says is totally accurate.
I need a game in Oahu for my vacation, after searching .. I don’t see anything about courts there sadly.
Wow! Am I in for a challenge. I have read all your comment and have been very helpful. Thanks. I played R ball in the U.S. for many and retired from the Marines and stay on the upper level of fitness. I was considered an -A player of R ball. Now I live in Poland where no one even knows what R ball is… So when in Rome… I’m adapting to Squash – Good luck to all with Squash.
This is amaxinh.
Thanks alot.
I play racquetball and i live in Iran.
Excellent! Are there any differences in the rules or court dimensions? It seems that some countries have slightly different court standards.
There is no mental challenge to racquetball. There are, in essence, two shots. Oddly, racquetball players apoear less fit as they improve.
@Jim, I disagree with everything you’ve said, as written, but, oddly, I also kind of get what you are trying to say.