Basic Rules of Squash




"Two players, each with a racquet, take turns to hit a ball onto the front wall within the large area defined by the red line at the top of the court (‘out of court line’) and the red line marking the top of the tin at the bottom of the front wall.

A rally begins when the server, standing in one of the service boxes, hits the ball directly onto the front wall to rebound in the opposite half of the court behind the "short" line.

Every service ball must strike the front wall first between the out of court line and the centre ("service") line. The server must have one foot entirely within either the left or right service box when serving the ball into play. The service ball must land (after striking the front wall first) in the quarter court, opposite to the box from which it was served, on the full. Thereafter, all lines on the floor and the service line on the front wall are ignored.



During the subsequent rally the ball must hit the wall between the out of court line and the bottom line (‘tin’). The side walls and back wall are used any time after the service ball has struck the front wall whilst the rally continues.

The player receiving the ball can choose to hit the ball before it bounces but must hit the ball before it has bounced twice on the floor. If the ball hits the "out" line, the "tin" or the floor before reaching the front wall, the rally is lost.

A match consists of three or five games, each game being to nine points - the first player to reach nine points wins the game. A point can only be won by the server and changeover of service is effected when the server loses the service or subsequent rally."

From The Victorian Squash Federation.