What is Squash57?
Great Fun & Great For Fitness
Squash57 (also known as racketball) is one of the UK’s fastest growing sports. It is the perfect game to play together for men, women and players of all different levels.
It’s played on any normal sized squash court (same as international size), and because it’s indoors it’s an all year-round sport. The rules and principles are very similar to squash. So long as you’ve got a squash club nearby you are good to go.
For a beginner, Squash57 (Racketball) is easier to start than squash and you don’t need previous experience to get a good workout! First of all the ball is larger and bouncier, and the racket is shorter with a larger head, increasing your odds of getting a clean hit. Players take turns to hit the ball against the wall, returning each other’s shots. The rally ends if one person is either unable to return the ball or the ball bounces twice.
It’s a fun and accessible workout that looks after your mind, body and social life!
Watch How to Play
Watch our introduction video to get familiar with the game of Squash57 (racketball)! How does it work? What does a court look like? What are all the lines about? How do you score and win points? Let’s take you through from start to finish.
Who can Play?
Well to be honest… anybody! It’s pretty easy to pick up.
The ball is bouncy (you don’t really need to warm it up like you do in squash to have a rally), the rackets aren’t very big and aren’t heavy. So even if your hand eye coordination is not brilliant you can still hit the ball from the start. From there you are just going to get better and better with practice.
The other really good thing is that if the person you play is a lot better than you, you can STILL have really good rallies (unlike squash where it’s difficult if one person is better than the other - the rallies are then normally pretty short!).
It’s also great for an older person looking to take up a game for physical recreation as racketball is a lot kinder on your joints than squash and so you won’t be sore the next morning!
The Benefits
Improves aerobic fitness, with more oxygen circulated around the body to better muscular endurance.
Burns off calories with energy being supplied to the muscles and not forming fat.
Boosting flexibility and sprint speed, due to the fast-paced nature of the game.
Improves hand-eye co-ordination with concentration required for serving.
Develops the strength and power of muscles, notably leg and arm muscles.
Furthers concentration and mental strength, with matches often lasting for some time.
Boosts a player's cardiovascular fitness (the heart and lungs organs), allowing more oxygen to be pumped around the body and help energise muscles.
Why is Squash57 (racketball) so accessible to everyone?
Check out what Patrick Osborn, the Chair of the World Squash Federation Squash57 Commission has to say about Squash57 (Racketball) and why he thinks it’s the ideal sport.
First time on court!
Watch an abbreviated lesson showing how quickly you can get started with Squash57 (Racketball) once you’ve mastered the basic technique and rules!
What’s good about it?
Left: John Cordeaux, 2018 British National Racketball o55s Champion.
John Cordeaux responded - ‘Well I’ll give you an example, I only started playing Squash57 (racketball) about 6 years ago after my fourth injury in the season whilst playing squash! The squash traditionalists said I was going ‘to the darkside…!’ To be honest I just wanted to get back on to the court. So I gave it a go and after about four sessions during which I started getting used to the higher bounce of the ball and the different racket swing, I suddenly found that I was really liking this new experience on court!
I wasn’t waking up stiff in the morning and hobbling out of bed like I used to after a hard squash workout, I was actually feeling pretty good and injury free! The games I was having with other players were fun, enjoyable, competitive and a good cardio workout. In fact the rallies were longer than in squash (but not the same pace) and I also had to think really strategically where to place the ball to win the rally! So mentally and physically stimulating! I’m still enjoying the experience of going on court and working out ways to play the game. I still love squash but squash57 (racketball) has and will lengthen the time I’m going to keep playing on court due to less wear and tear on my body! So if you are an injured or older squash player think about it… you might like it!
So what are you waiting for?
If you think that Squash57 (Racketball) could be the way forward for you to have a regular fun cardio experience which gets you onto the court, then get in touch with your nearest squash club to see what you’ve been missing! You can also get all the basic drills and skills for beginners by checking out all the Squash57 (racketball) videos on the site.
Remember, Squash57 (Racketball) courts are the same as squash courts! For UK players, check out the England Squash ‘finder’ to search your closest club and coach. Just click on the link and put in your postcode.
Difference Between Squash & Squash57
Find Your Local Court & Coach
