Rohit's nukkad

Monday, April 02, 2007

Racquetball or Squash

I am a big fan of Racquetball, a game played in enclosed courts indoors or outdoors with the a simple objective to hit the front wall and place the ball in such a way that your opponent has difficulty in returning the shot. It is very similar to squash, with similarities can be drawn from the enclosed space to the use of racquets and ball as equipmentsto play. But at the same time there are a lot of differences between the two games.
1. Court : the court size vary and the layout also varies for the two sports, like in squash one needs to hit above a certain line on the front wall while serving, no such lines exist in racquetball. Moreover in racquetball the aim is to hit the ball as low as possible.
2. Equipment: The squash racquet are similar to tennis raquets though little smaller in size and lighter in weight. The racquetball racquets are without the neck and they are more egglike in shape. The strings are much tighter in squash to give the player better control while in racquetball it is more loosened up so that more power can be used. The ball used in racquet ball is hard, hollow and bigger in size as compared to squash ball. It has more bounce and speed, while a squash ball tends to be slower and tends to die down if placed in corners.
3. Game techniques : Squash is slower and more methodical. Long rallies are common in squash with each point taking any where from 50-100 strokes. Hence squash requires good stamina. While racquetball is all about power and speed with each point taking anything between 10-20 strokes.
These are just few of the differences among the two sports. However both games are good overall workout with fitness being the key in winning or losing a game.