The court
- — Size: 9.75m long × 6.4m wide.
- — Front wall: marked with three lines from top to bottom — the out line (4.57m up), the service line (1.78m up), and the tin (0.48m up).
- — The tin: a horizontal strip at the bottom of the front wall. A ball hitting at or below the tin is out. The tin makes the same metallic "tin!" sound that gives it its name.
- — Side and back walls: also have an out line. A ball that hits the wall above the out line is out.
- — The T: the intersection of the half-court line and the short line. Whoever controls the T controls the rally.
Serving
To serve, you stand with at least one foot in the service box (right or left), strike the ball above the service line on the front wall, and the ball must land in the diagonally-opposite quarter of the back court (between the half-court line, the back wall, the side wall, and the short line).
You get one serve attempt. There is no second serve in squash. A bad serve loses the point in PAR scoring (or the serve in the old hand-in/hand-out scoring).
In PAR scoring, the server alternates sides only after winning a point. If you lose a rally on serve, the receiver becomes the server and chooses which box to serve from for their first serve.
The rally
After the serve, players alternate hitting the ball against the front wall. The ball can hit any combination of side and back walls before reaching the front wall, and after hitting the front wall it can bounce off any walls on the way back. A ball can bounce on the floor at most once between shots — let it bounce twice and you lose the rally.
A shot is good if it hits the front wall above the tin and below the out line, without first bouncing on the floor. A shot that hits the tin, hits above the out line, or hits a wall above the out line is out — losing the rally.
scoreboard
live.
Let vs stroke vs no-let (the only rule that matters)
Squash is the only racket sport where players share the same physical space, which means obstruction is inevitable and the rules around it decide more matches than actual hitting does. There are three possible outcomes when a player asks for a let:
- — Let: the rally is replayed, no point awarded. Awarded when the obstructed player would have been able to make a good return but couldn't reach the ball, and the obstruction was unintentional and minimal.
- — Stroke: the obstructed player wins the point. Awarded when the obstruction prevented a winning shot, when the opponent didn't make every effort to clear, or when the player was struck by a ball that was going to hit the front wall.
- — No let: the obstructed player loses the point. Awarded when the player wouldn't have made a good return anyway, or when they did not actually make an effort to play the ball.
The let-vs-stroke decision is what referees agonise over. The mental shortcut: if your opponent stopped you from playing a shot you were definitely going to win the rally with, that's a stroke. If you couldn't have made the shot anyway, that's no let. Everything in between is a let.
Scoring (PAR 11)
- — PAR 11: points-a-rally to 11. Every rally is a point regardless of who served. Win by 2.
- — Match: best of 5 games. First to 3 wins.
- — HiHo (historical): the old hand-in/hand-out 9-point format where only the server could score. Replaced by PAR 11 on the PSA pro tour in 2008. Almost extinct now.
PAR 11 was a tactical revolution. Under HiHo, you could grind a long match by holding serve repeatedly. Under PAR 11, every rally is do-or-die, which produced a faster, more aggressive style at the top of the game.
Frequently asked
How do you win a point in squash?
You win a rally — and therefore a point in PAR 11 — when your opponent fails to return the ball to the front wall above the tin and below the out line, or when they let the ball bounce twice before hitting it, or when they hit the ball into the tin or out of bounds.
What is the tin?
The tin is the lowest of the three horizontal lines on the front wall — at 48cm in pro squash. A ball that hits at or below the tin loses the rally. It's called the tin because the strip is traditionally made of metal, so it makes a distinctive "tin!" sound when hit.
What's the difference between a let and a stroke?
A let is a replay — no point awarded. A stroke is the obstructed player winning the point outright. Strokes are awarded when the obstruction was egregious enough to deny a winning shot, when the opponent made no effort to clear, or when the obstructed player was hit by a ball heading for the front wall.
Is squash still scored to 9?
No — at any competitive level. The PSA pro tour moved to PAR 11 in 2008 and the rest of the squash world followed. The old hand-in/hand-out 9-point scoring (HiHo) is essentially extinct outside of historical exhibitions.
How many serves do you get in squash?
One. Unlike tennis, there is no second serve in squash. A bad serve loses the rally (and therefore the point in PAR 11).
Why is the T so important?
The T is the geometric centre of the court — the point with the shortest average distance to every place an opponent's shot might land. The player who controls the T can reach any corner with one or two steps. The whole tactical game in squash is about getting back to the T after every shot and forcing your opponent away from it.