Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velocity and control. Unlike most racquet sports, such as tennis and badminton, there is no net to hit the ball over, and, unlike squash, no tin to hit the ball above. Also, the court's walls, floor, and ceiling are legal playing surfaces, with the exception of court-specific designated hinders being out-of-bounds. Racquetball is played between various players on a team who try to bounce the ball with the racquet onto the ground so it hits the wall, so that an opposing team’s player cannot bounce it back to the wall.
Squash, sometimes called squash rackets, is a racket-and-ball sport played by two (singles) or four players (doubles) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. The objective of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. There are about 20 million people who play squash regularly world-wide in over 185 countries. The governing body of squash, the World Squash Federation (WSF), is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the sport is included in the Olympic Games, after a number of applications. Squash has been added for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The Professional Squash Association (PSA) organizes the pro tour.
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United States, royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France. Many French real tennis courts are at jeu de paume clubs.
Fives is an English handball sport derived from jeu de paume, similar to the games of handball, Basque pelota, and squash. The game is played in both singles and doubles teams, in an either three- or four-sided court.
Rugby fives is a handball game, similar to squash, played in an enclosed court. It has similarities with Winchester fives and Eton fives. It is played mainly in the United Kingdom.
American handball, known as handball in the United States and sometimes referred to as wallball, is a sport in which players use their hands to hit a small, rubber ball against a wall such that their opponent(s) cannot do the same without the ball touching the ground twice or hitting out-of-bounds. The three versions are four-wall, three-wall and one-wall. Each version can be played either by two players (singles), three players (cutthroat) or four players (doubles), but in official tournaments, singles and doubles are the only versions played.
Squash tennis is an American variant of squash, one played with a ball and racquets that are more similar to the equipment used for lawn tennis, and with somewhat different rules. The game offers the complexity of squash and the speed of racquetball.
Gaelic handball is a sport where players hit a ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return, and that may be played with two (singles) or four players (doubles). The sport, popular in Ireland, is similar to American handball, Welsh handball, fives, Basque pelota, Valencian frontó, and more remotely to racquetball or squash. It is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). GAA Handball, a subsidiary organisation of the GAA, governs and promotes the sport.
Rackets or racquets is an indoor racket sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. It is infrequently called "hard rackets" to distinguish it from the related sport of squash.
Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two players (singles) or four players (doubles) hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball with paddles over a 34-inch-high (0.86 m) net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played indoors and outdoors. It was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game in the United States, on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. In 2022, pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington.
Butts Up or Wall Ball is a North American elementary school children's playground game originating in the 1950s or earlier.. It is slightly similar to the game Screen Ball, and began in the 1940s or 1950s as a penalty phase of various city street games. Butts Up is played with a ball on a paved surface against a wall, with a variable number of participants—usually more than three and often likely to exceed ten. Butts Up tends to be played during recess, before or after school.. Popular in New England is another frequent variation of wall ball that usually differs a lot from the more widely known 'Butts Up'.
Warminster School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Warminster, Wiltshire, England, for pupils aged three to eighteen. Initially established in 1707, the school took its current form in 1973 with the amalgamation of Lord Weymouth's Grammar School and St Monica's. It now comprises the Preparatory School, for pupils aged three to eleven, and the Senior School for students aged eleven to eighteen.
One-wall handball, also known as 1-wall, wallball or international fronton, is an indirect style of a ball game where the player hits a small rubber ball with their hand against a wall. The goal of the game is to score more points than the opponent. The player then hits the ball, and the ball bounces off the wall and the floor within court lines, if the opponent fails to return the ball, the player scores a point. The sport was created to bring together varieties, such as American handball, Basque pelota, Patball, Gaelic handball, Pêl-Law and Valencian frontó.
Australian handball is a sport in which players hit a ball against one or more walls.
Wallball,, is a team sport played between a various number of players per team in which players hit a bouncy ball against a wall, using their hands. The game requires the ball to be hit to the floor before hitting the wall, but in other respects is similar to squash. One player on one team may bounce the ball against the wall so a player only on the opposing team cannot bounce it back to the wall. The last person to be holding the ball after everyone is out is the winner, and their team immediately wins the game. The game requires lots of motion, and especially benefits young athletes when playing mostly at schools.
A serve in tennis is a shot to start a point. A player will hit the ball with a racquet so it will fall into the diagonally opposite service box without being stopped by the net. Normally players begin a serve by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it. The ball can only touch the net on a return and will be considered good if it falls on the opposite side. If the ball contacts the net on the serve but then proceeds to the proper service box, it is called a let; this is not a legal serve in the major tours although it is also not a fault. Players normally serve overhead; however serving underhand is allowed. The serve is the only shot a player can take their time to set up instead of having to react to an opponent's shot; however, as of 2012, there is a 25-second limit to be allowed between points.
Patball is a non-contact competitive ball game played in many forms using one's hands or head to hit the ball against a wall – the objective being to get the succeeding player out. The game is popular in school playgrounds during break-time. Patball is played with a tennis ball, or other similar-sized specific patball, and the preferred hand, rather than any form of racquet or bat, similar to wallball. The hand is used to "pat" the ball at the wall or at the opponent with the objective of making the ball un-returnable, similar to squash. Variations of the game include the use of the foot -'footies' or 'Devils' touch'; a semi-contact rule popularised at Coopers Technology College.
The Downside ball game is an outdoor racquet sport played by Gregorians at Downside School, Stratton-On-The-Fosse, Somerset since 1820. It bears some similarities to Rugby fives; however, it is played with a solid wooden bat rather than one's hand.
Welsh handball is one of the ancient native sports of Wales. It is related to coeval sports such as Irish handball, fives, and Basque pelota and is a possible antecedent of American handball. The sport has been continually attested since the Middle Ages and its popularity saw it become an important expression of Welsh culture, offering ordinary people opportunities through prize money, bookkeeping and even player professionalism.
This glossary provides definitions and context for terminology related to, and jargon specific to, the sport of pickleball. Words or phrases in italics can be found on the list in their respective alphabetic sections.
