Raquetball Rules for Serving

Racquetball has specific rules regarding serves.

Racquetball is played on an enclosed court using a hollow rubber ball. It is usually played as either a singles or a doubles game, although there is a three-player version known as Cut-Throat. Racquetball resembles the game of squash, but it has its own specific rules devised by the official American racquetball federation, called USA Racquetball (USAR). There are strict rules governing serves in racquetball.

Serving

The server must stand within the two lines of the service area. The first line traverses the court at a distance of 15 feet from the front wall. The second line traverses it 20 feet from the front wall.

Players must serve the ball into the back half of the court, indicated by the rear line of the service area. They must bounce the ball once and hit it before it bounces a second time.

The ball must hit the front wall and bounce within the opposite service area to be legal. The ball can bounce off one side wall prior to bouncing in the service area. It cannot bounce off the ceiling or back wall before reaching the service area.

Receiving

The receiver must allow the ball to bounce once in the back half of the court before returning it. He must strike the ball before it bounces a second time. The ball must strike the front wall at some point after the receiver hits it, even if it first bounces off of another wall or the ceiling.

Faults

A serve is faulted if it fails to bounce into the service area. It is also a fault if it bounces off more than one other wall after striking the front wall and before bouncing on the floor. A serve is a fault if it touches the ceiling. The ball must not strike any other surface before hitting the front wall. The server has two chances to hit a legal serve. If he fails to do so, the serve is transferred to the receiver.

Hinders

Certain things can stop play during a serve that are not considered faults. These are called hinders. The most common hinder is when the ball takes an irregular bounce off a light fixture, door knob or air conditioning feature. It is also considered a hinder if the ball accidentally hits an opponent. If a hinder occurs, the server retakes the serve with no alteration to the score.

Scoring

Only the player who is serving can score a point. If she serves and wins the point, her score increases. If she fails to win the point, the serve changes hands with no adjustment to the score.

Doubles Variation

The smaller box within the service zone is only used for doubles games. The teammate of the server must stand in this smaller box during the serve. The teammate of the receiver must stand in the corresponding box in the receiving zone.

If the serving team wins the point, the player serving continues to serve until the serve transfers to the opposing team. If the original serving team regains the serve, the other player on the team takes over the service.

References

• USA Racquetball: Official Rules
• Racquetball Depot: The Basic Rules of Racquetball
• University Of Maryland: Racquetball Rules