Rules for In-Door Racquetball

Learning how to play a new sport can be complicated. Aside from learning the nuances of playing well, you have to master the rules and regulations. In-Door Racquetball is no different. Because the game, like the ball, moves so quickly, you won't have much time to think about the rules while you're playing. Learning them beforehand will help clear your head-space so you can focus on a winning swing.

  1. What is Racquetball?

    • Racquetball is an in door sport that is played in a closed room with 4 walls, a ceiling and a floor, which all are used during game play. You need safety glasses, a racquetball ball, and a racket to play. Other equipment that you may use are wristbands, headbands or racquetball gloves to improve your grip and absorb sweat, but these are optional. Racquetball can be played with 2 to 4 players, and many people play alone for aerobic exercise.

    Basic Rules

    • The basic concept of racquetball is to hit the ball so that your opponent can't hit it back before it hits the court twice. The game begins with one player entering the serving box and the other standing the back of the court, on the same side. The server hits the ball into the front wall. The only place the ball can hit during the serve is the front wall. After it hits the front wall it can hit another part of the wall, but only once. For the serve to be good it has to hit the floor behind the line that divides the court. After the serve, the returnee has to hit the ball before it bounces twice, and then the server has to hit the ball before it bounces twice and so on until someone can't return the ball before it hits the floor, ceiling or wall twice. If the ball bounces a third time, it's a miss and the other player must now serve. If both opponents repeatedly hit the ball back and forth it is called a rally, which continues until someone fails to return the ball.

    Scoring

    • The only person who can score a point is the person who served the ball. The server gets a point if the returnee misses the ball or hits it on the third bounce. If the server misses the ball or hits it after it bounces more then twice then you have a "sideout" and nobody gets a point. The players switch positions and serve again. The first player to 15 points is the winner. Two games are played at a time and if there's a tie, a third game is played to 11 points for the tie breaker.