How to Play Hardball Squash

Hardball squash is a racket game that you play in an enclosed court. You can use all four walls in play, and you can have teams of either singles or doubles. Use firmer balls for more advanced players and less firm for beginners.

Instructions

1. Spin a squash racket to decide who serves first. The player who serves first must stand with at least one foot inside the service box until after he serves the ball.

2. Serve the ball on the wall you're facing between the marked service line and the 16-foot line. Bounce your serve off the wall and hit the floor on the opposite side of the squash court before your opponent can hit it.

3. Return the serve with one hit and place the ball between the marked tell-tale and 16-foot lines on the forward wall. Immediately get out of the way and allow your partner a fair chance to hit the ball.

4. Keep the squash ball in play by hitting it to the front wall before it hits the floor twice. The ball can hit any combination of walls before or after it strikes the front wall.

5. Score points when you win a service. Each server chooses which side to start service from, and the server changes sides each time he earns a point. The first player to get 15 points wins the hardball squash game.

Tips & Warnings

• All hardball squash players must wear appropriate clothing, including eye protection. If the ball hits any player or any part of his clothing, that player loses the point.

• Serves that don't hit the front wall in the designated area are faults. One fault results in a second serve; two faults loses the point.

• A referee controls a hardball squash game. He may call a Let, which results in a replay of a point.

• A tell-tale is a line along the front wall of the hardball squash court. It lies below the service line and is a separate piece attached to the wall. It's the same width as the service line and the 16-foot line.