Racquetball Ladder Rules

A racquetball ladder is a way of tracking the strength of players within a particular league or club. The set up of the rating system keeps track of not only each player's —or team's— win/lose ratio, but also the points each player has scored and the points that have been scored against each one. The final ratio is a combination of the combination of the scored and allowed points.

  1. Ranking & Challenges

    • To start off a ladder, the players involved are each ranked according to their ability (beginner, intermediate and advanced). To establish more detailed rankings, for the first two challenges a player may challenge whoever he wishes (challenges must be answered within two days). However, once a ratio has been established and there is a more detailed ranking, players may only challenge those who are no more than two rungs higher on the ladder. If the player with the lower ranking wins, he automatically takes the other player's spot on the ladder, but if the lower ranking player loses there is no change. Reissuing challenges is based upon who wins and who loses the game. If the player with the higher ranking loses, he can immediately challenge the other player. When the reverse happens, the lower ranking player must wait at least one week before issuing another challenge. All players who join the club later are automatically placed at the bottom of the ladder.

    Game Rules

    • Games in racquetball are played to 15 points and the player, or team, that reaches that score first is the winner. Points are only scored by the serving player when a rally ends. The two ways to end a rally with a point for the server are if the opposite player makes an error or when the ball touches the ground twice before it's returned. If the server has an error, the serve is then transferred to the other player. In a racquetball ladder, the overall win isn't decided until the match is finished. Matches consist of either two or three games depending on which player is the first to win two games.

    Rules of Play

    • A toss, rather than ranking, determines which player has first service. This switches in the second game and if a third game is necessary whichever player has scored the most points is the one that starts the service. A player is able to serve from wherever he feels the most comfortable within the service zone so long as his foot doesn't cross over the service line (standing on the line is allowed). The service is considered started the moment the ball leaves the server's hand but that player is not allowed to leave the service zone until the ball has passed the short line. When serving, the ball must bounce at least once before it's hit and after bouncing off the wall, hit the ground back of the short line.