Racquet Ball Rules

Racquetball typically is played in an enclosed court by two or four people, although three people can play a game called cutthroat. Like tennis, the object of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that your opponent(s) cannot make a legal return.

  1. Court

    • A racquetball court is 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. A line known as the short line divides the court in half lengthwise. Another line, 5 feet from the short line toward the front wall, is the service line. The area between the two lines is the service area.

    Serve

    • The server stands inside the service box and must let the ball bounce once before hitting it. The ball must make contact with the front wall before hitting anywhere else. It then must hit the ground past the short line to be legal. It can hit one side wall before hitting the ground but may not strike the ceiling, back wall or a second wall before hitting the ground. The server is allowed two attempts to make a legal serve. If he fails, his opponent gets to serve.

    Play

    • After a legal serve, players rally, taking turns returning the ball so that, at some point, it hits the front wall before hitting the ground. A ball must be returned before it hits the ground more than once, though it does not have to hit the ground at all. On its return path, a ball can hit any number of walls and also may strike the ceiling, so long as it hits the front wall at some point before bouncing.

      A point is over when one player fails to make a legal return. The winner gets to serve.

    Scoring

    • Only the serving player can score.

      Games of racquetball are played to 15 points but must be won by two points. Thus a score of 15-13 is a win, but 15-14 is not. In the latter case, play continues until one player has a two-point lead.

    Doubles and Cutthroat Differences

    • In doubles, either player on a team may hit the ball on his team's turn. They do not have to take turns.

      In cutthroat, each player is on his own, but the two non-servers do not have to take turns returning the ball. However, the server must return every other hit, with either of the non-servers hitting the ball in between. For example, Player 1 serves. Either Player 2 or 3 may return the ball, which then must be returned by Player 1. Either Player 2 or 3 must then return it again