A Quick Guide to Squash ⚫

Ale Tang

Sep 22

3 min read

It surely isn't a sport that's too new to your ears, but do you really know squash? Fret not, let us explain to you.

What is Squash?

A sport that will make its debut in LA 2028 Olympics, squash has its origins in the older game of rackets, which was played in London's prisons in the 19th century and spread to schools, clubs, and private individuals building squash courts in the 20th century. The WSF was founded in 1967 (then named ISRF), and recognised by the IOC in 1985 as the governing body for squash. This paved the way for squash to be recognised as a sport by the IOC in the following year, 1986.

Fun Facts!!! 🤯

There's a squash court (and service of a professional player) on the famous RMS Titanic, where first-class passengers could pay 50¢ (GBP 50 cents) for an access ticket
A sister of squash, racquetball/racketball uses a larger 57mm ball. To distinguish the two, WSF renamed racketball as 'Squash 57' in 2016
Among the five continents with an official squash federation, Asia is the second early one (1980). As of today (Sep 2026), the president of Asian Squash Federation is SAHKC Chairman Duncan Chiu.

Hong Kong hosts numerous internationally major squash competitions, such as Hong Kong Squash Open (featured) and WSF World Squash Team Championship. Credit: HK Squash Open

Squash is a Tier A sport in Hong Kong. The indoor nature also makes it a popular, easy-to-play sport among schools and local community. Credit: SAHKC — Squash is a Tier A sport in Hong Kong. The indoor, small court requirement makes it a popular, easy-to-play sport among schools and local community. Credit: SAHKC

How to Play

Ball & Racket

Yes, you've got choices in the 40mm-diametre black ball (traditionally, but the ball can be white if the court wall is darker):

Beginners – blue dot (fast) / red dots (slow)
Intermediate/Advanced – yellow dot (super slow)
Competition / Pro – double yellow dot (extra super slow), and green dot for high altitude
Racket specs
Court & Ball specs

Serve (the first shot)

To start a game, a spin of the racket decides who to serve
Server can choose which side of service box
Server must stand with one foot in the service box
Only the serve must hit above the middle line ("service line") of the front wall, before landing in the back half of opposite court

Rally

During rally, you ignore the service line completely
You can hit the ball out of the air ("volley"), or let it bounce once on the floor
Ball must hit the front wall—but to do so, there are many strategies. You can hit it directly to the front wall, or bounce it off the side/back walls first before it reaches the front wall, etc.

Scoring

Principal Scoring: Point-a-Rally (PAR) to 11, aka winning the match once you've got 11 points
If the score reaches 10-all, the game continues until one player leads by 2 points

For rules details and squash terms glossary, check World Squash / SAHKC.