Racquetball

01

Match format

Scoring: rally scoring — every rally awards a point to the winner, whether you served or not.
Games: first to 15, win by 1 (event may use win-by-2 — confirm locally).
Match: typically best 2 of 3 games; if tied 1–1, play a tiebreaker game to 11, win by 1.
Warm-up: five minutes total (often split) before the first serve — follow event timing.

02

One serve: you get a single serve attempt per rally — a fault gives the point to your opponent.
Service zone: start with both feet in the zone; bounce the ball once on the floor in the zone, then strike it.
Front wall first: the serve must hit the front wall first, then reach the floor past the short line before bouncing again.
Height: on the rebound from the front wall, the ball must not touch the ceiling or back wall before hitting the floor.

03

Short serve: the ball does not cross the short line before its first floor bounce after the front wall.
Long / illegal rebound: hits the back wall or ceiling on the fly off the front wall, or leaves the court.
Foot fault: stepping on or over the service-zone lines before contact, or leaving the zone too early.
Other: serving before the receiver is ready, illegal serve motion, or hitting your partner (doubles) — all faults.

04

Receiving: do not break the short-line plane until the ball crosses the short line or bounces in front of it.
One bounce: the return may hit the floor at most once before you strike it; after contact, any number of walls is legal.
Carry / double-hit: not one continuous swing — point to your opponent.
Winning the rally: opponent fails to return before the second bounce, hits the ball out, or commits a fault.

05

Hinder: you are blocked from a fair chance at the ball — replay the rally (let), same server and score.
Avoidable hinder: you could have avoided the contact or swing — your opponent wins the rally.
Penalty hinder: a flagrant avoidable hinder or illegal movement that costs a sure winner — your opponent wins the rally (and may gain additional penalty per rule).
Safety: stop immediately if you might strike your opponent; call hinder before or as contact happens.

06

Lines: the ball is good if it touches any part of a line (except on serves, where specific service-box rules apply).
Ball: use a USAR-approved ball for the division; change only when both players agree or the referee orders it.
Eyewear: protective eyewear is required in USAR-sanctioned play — always wear it in club leagues that adopt the rule.
Broken ball: if the ball cracks mid-rally, replay the point after replacement.

07

Serving rotation: when your team wins the serve, partners alternate — first server continues until the opponents score, then the partner serves until opponents score again, then serve passes to the other team.
Screen: if the serving team blocks the receiver’s view of the ball off the front wall, call a screen — replay the rally.
Drive serves: hard, low serves to a partner have extra restrictions in doubles — know the three-wall and Z-serve limits for your division.
Switching: partners alternate service order; receivers stay in assigned left/right boxes for the game unless you change on a side-out.

08

Timeouts: each player or team gets one 1-minute timeout per game in standard USAR play (unused timeouts do not carry over).
Between games: two minutes between games one and two; if a tiebreaker is needed, follow event instructions.
Pace: retrieve the ball promptly and avoid deliberate stalling — referees may assess conduct penalties.
Technical fouls: unsportsmanlike conduct, coaching violations, or equipment abuse can cost points or the match per tournament code.