Racquetball is an ideal combination of exercise and enjoyment. It provides great workout by helping increase stamina, lower body fat level, improve muscle tone and burn about 700 calories from the body. Racquetball has become one of the most strenuous cardiovascular workouts available at present. A former squash and tennis teacher, Joe Sobek, invented racquetball in 1950, and today is extremely popular throughout North America. It is a sport that can be enjoyed in all weather. At the same time it is a good exercise, as it requires very good hand eye coordination and a knowledge of angles and spin techniques. Racquetball has also become popular amongst women because it is easy to learn. Racquetball is a fast game, played with racquets and a hollow rubber ball in an indoor or outdoor court. Racquetball needs two teams of one or two players each, who then hit the ball against one of the four walls or ceiling of an enclosed court with short racquets made of wood, steel, or fiberglass, strung with nylon and featuring a wrist strap. The standard racquetball court is an enclosed rectangular area, about 40 feet long, 20 feet wide and 20 feet high. The racquetball court is marked with a short red line that is parallel to the front wall and 20 ft from its parallel back wall. The receiving dashed line lies 5 ft parallel behind the short line. The serve line, also parallel to the short line is 5 ft closer to the front wall. The two sets of screen lines form a double box and serve box respectively. It is about 18 and 36 inches from and parallel with the short and serve lines and sidewalls. Racquetball rules require that all the players must start the game by standing within the serve box or zone. The shots must hit the front wall before hitting the ground to keep the ball in play. The ball should hit the floor before touching the back wall during the serve. The receiving team must stand inside the receiving zone during each serve. The server must bounce the ball first inside the service zone and strike it with the racquet before the ball bounces a second time. Players of any age can start playing racquetball after learning all the basic racquetball rules. Beginners can play singles racquetball but doubles are not for the novice or inexperienced player, as it requires a lot of practice. However, in general racquetball is a fun and enjoyable game for any beginners young and old. |
