Racquetball is a racquet sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek is credited with inventing 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.
The European Racquetball Championships are organized every two years by the European Racquetball Federation (ERF), since 1981, to determine the strongest national racquetball teams and individual male and female players in Europe.
The XIV Racquetball European Championship was held in Brembate (Italy) from July 28 to August 4, 2007, with six men's national teams and four women's national teams in competition. On August 1 started the individual competition.
The World Racquetball Championships are the top-tier racquetball competitions organized by the International Racquetball Federation (IRF).
The International Racquetball Federation's11th Racquetball World Championships were held in San Juan from August 3 to August 10, 2002, with 32 men's national teams and 19 women's national teams; and several players in the Singles and Doubles competition.
The XV Racquetball European Championships were held in Nanterre, near Paris, (France) from August 3 to 9 2009, with seven men's national teams and three women's national teams in competition. On August 6 started the individual, doubles, senior and junior competitions.
Sherman Greenfeld is a former Canadian professional racquetball player from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Greenfeld won two World Championships and 10 Canadian Championships, and was one of the top racquetball players in Canada during the 1980s and 1990s. Greenfeld retired from national competitions in 1999 following the Pan American Games in Winnipeg.
Catalonia national racquetball team represents the Catalan Racquetball Federation in racquetball international competitions. Competes as a member of the European Racquetball Federation and International Racquetball Federation. Catalonia won the European Championships in 2009, in the overall, men and women competitions.
Ireland national racquetball team represents Irealnd and the Racquetball Association of Ireland in racquetball international competitions. Competes as a member of the European Racquetball Federation and International Racquetball Federation. Ireland has won the European Championships 7 times in men's competition, 11 times in women's competition and 9 times overall.
The Netherlands national racquetball team represents the Nederlandse Racquetball Associatie in racquetball international competitions. Is a member of the European Racquetball Federation and International Racquetball Federation. The Netherlands has won the European Championships 3 times in overall's competition, 2 times in men's and 1 in women's competition.
The Italy national racquetball team represents the Federazione Italiana Racquetball in racquetball international competitions. Is a member of the European Racquetball Federation and International Racquetball Federation.
Belgium national racquetball team represents the Belgian Racquetball Federation in racquetball international competitions. Is a member of the European Racquetball Federation since 1985 and International Racquetball Federation. Ireland has won the European Championships 9 times in women's competition, 7 times in overall's and 5 in men's competition.
France national racquetball team represents the Fédération Française de Racquetball in racquetball international competitions. It is a member of the European Racquetball Federation and International Racquetball Federation.
Disability racquetball classification is the medical based classification system developed to allow fair competition between racquetball players with different disability types and against able-bodied competitors. Internationally and in Canada, this classification system only allows only wheelchair users to be eligible to compete. In contrast, the United States classification system covers wheelchair users and people with vision impairments, with different classes inside these disability types.
The Indian racquetball national team has competed at World events from the early 2000s. However the first Indian team under the governance of a federation based in India was formed in 2010. Please see current Team's profile who will represent in 2018 World Racquetball Championship in San Jose, Costa Rica. The team consists of Alok Mehta, Thirumurugan Thiyagarajan (Thiru), Yash Doshi and Sumeet Kamat. In 2016, Team India traveled to play world championships at Cali, Colombia. The four delegate team consists of; Alok Mehta, Rajiv Varadarajan, Sriram Ravindran and Thirumurugan Thiyagarajan (Thiru). At the 2014 World Championships in Burlington, Canada, India was represented by Rajiv Varadarajan, Sumeet Kamat, Pratap Ballalasamudra and captain Alok Mehta.The 2012 team consisting of Venkat Vejju, Nirup Shetty, Ashish Mehta and captain Sathwik Rai represented India at the 2012 World Championships in Santo Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The 2012 team was coached part-time by Dave Schwent. The team and sport is governed by the Racquetball Association of India (RAI) currently based in Hyderabad, India.
The International Racquetball Federation's 17th Racquetball World Championships were held in Burlington, Ontario, Canada from June 14 to 21, 2014. This was the second time Worlds were in Canada. Previously, they were in Montreal in 1992.
The XVI Racquetball European Championships were held in Bad Tölz, near Munich, (Germany) from August 1 to 7 2011, with five countries represented. The venue was the Racquetball Club Bad Tölz e.V., with 3 regulation racquetball courts. 50 players competed in the singles, doubles, junior and senior competitions. The opening ceremony was on August 1 with the vice president of the European Racquetball Federation, Mike Mesecke, and the president of the German Racquetball Federation, Jörg Ludwig.
Joan Kennedy is an Irish racquetball player. She represented the Republic of Ireland a number of times in international Ladies Racquetball competitions. She was European Racquetball Federation Ladies Singles Champion in 2003, and that year also captained the Ladies team which won the team competition, played in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands. Kennedy has won numerous national and local titles in Ireland, including National Ladies Singles in 1999 and 2002, representing Dolla Racquetball Club and Templederry Racquetball Club. She has won Canon Hayes Sports and Cidona/Tipperary Sports Awards and is now retired.
The International Racquetball Federation's 19th Racquetball World Championships were held in San José, Costa Rica from August 10–18, 2018. Originally, the event was to be held in Haining, China, but on March 17, 2018 the IRT announced via its Facebook page that the venue will be changed due to complications. Cali, Colombia was the first alternative choice, but there were complications there as well, so on June 16, 2018, the IRF announced via Facebook that San Jose, Costa Rica will host Worlds.
The XIX Racquetball European Championships were held in The Hague, (Netherlands) from September 13 to 16 2017, with four men's national teams and three women's national teams in competition. No senior or junior competitions were held in The Hague due to the lack of court time. This marks the first time since 1995 that the European Racquetball Championships were not held in one venue.
