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Racquets (sport)
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Rackets (American English) or Racquets (British English) is an indoor racquet sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. The sport is infrequently called "hard rackets," possibly to distinguish it from the related sport of squash (formerly called "squash rackets").
ets is played in a 30 by 60 foot (9.14 × 18.28 m) enclosed court, with a ceiling at least 30 feet (9.14 m) high.
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Encyclopedia
Rackets (American English) or Racquets (British English) is an indoor racquet sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. The sport is infrequently called "hard rackets," possibly to distinguish it from the related sport of squash (formerly called "squash rackets").
Manner of play
Rackets is played in a 30 by 60 foot (9.14 × 18.28 m) enclosed court, with a ceiling at least 30 feet (9.14 m) high. Singles and doubles are played on the same court. The walls and floor of the court are made of smooth stone or concrete and are generally dark in color to contrast with the white ball. The players use 30½ inch (775 mm) wooden rackets to hit a 38mm (1.5 inch) hard white ball weighing 28 grams. A good stroke must touch the front wall above an 26 1/2-inch-high wooden (often cloth-covered) board before touching the floor. The ball may touch the side walls before reaching the front wall. The player returning a good stroke may play the ball on the volley, or after one bounce on the floor. The play is extremely fast, and potentially quite dangerous. Lets are common, as the striker must not play the ball if doing so risks hitting another player with it. Matches preferably are observed by a "marker," who has the duty to call "Play" after each good stroke to denote that the ball is "up." Games are to 15 points, unless the game is tied at 13-all or 14-all, in which case the game can be "set" to 16 or 18 (in the case of 13-all) or 17 (in the case of 14-all) at the option of the player first reaching 13 or 14; only the server can score — the receiver gains the right to serve by winning a rally. Return of service can be extremely difficult, and, in North America, only one serve is allowed. Matches are typically best of 5 games.
Because the game of squash rackets (now known as 'squash') began in the 19th century as an off-shoot of rackets, the sports were similar in manner of play and rules. However, the rules and scoring in squash have evolved in the last hundred years or so. Rackets has changed little; the main difference today is that players are now allowed brief rest periods between games. In the past, leaving the court could mean forfeiting the match, so players kept spare rackets, shirts, and shoes in the gutter below the telltale on the front wall.
The governing bodies are the Tennis and Rackets Association (UK) and the North American Racquets Association.
History
Rackets began as an 18th century pastime in London's King's Bench and Fleet debtors prisons. The prisoners modified the game of fives by using tennis rackets to speed up the action. They played against the prison wall, sometimes at a corner to add a sidewall to the game. Rackets then became popular outside the prison, played in alleys behind pubs. It spread to schools, first using school walls, and later with proper four-wall courts being specially constructed for the game. Some historians assert that the game was codified through its popularity at the Harrow School in London, where it was played as early as the second half of the 18th century.
Some private clubs also built courts. Along with real tennis and badminton, rackets was used as an inspiration for the game of lawn tennis, invented in 1873. A vacant rackets court built into the University of Chicago's Stagg Field served as the location of the first artificial nuclear chain reaction on December 2, 1942. The Stagg Field court is often mistakenly identified as having been a "squash rackets" court.
Rackets was part of the 1908 Summer Olympics program.
Court locations
As happens with sports, interests shift. Today it is perhaps the most obscure and least approachable of racket sports. Court upkeep, handmade balls, and breakable wooden rackets make it an expensive game. It also requires lessons and practice to play safely and enjoyably. On the other hand, many who take up the sport do so enthusiastically.
See Carlow Sports and Social Club
United Kingdom
There are about twenty courts in some of the major public schools and private clubs in the United Kingdom.
Schools
Clubs
- BRNCC Dartmouth
- Hayling Island
- Manchester Tennis & Racket Club
- Queens Club, London
- RMA Sandhurst
There are also private clubs that the public may join, and a nomadic club, The Jesters.
North America
There are eight active courts in North America, all at private clubs:
- Chicago has 2 courts. Opened in 1924, with a Court Tennis and two double squash courts
- Opened in 1902, designed by the noted architect Albert Kahn. Constructed by Joseph Bickley. Originally open to the air with natural lighting until it was glazed over with lights added in 1912
- Opened in 1918 on Park Avenue, the building designed by Mckim, Mead and White. The building originally housed two courts, although one was converted to a double squash court in 1956
- Opened in 1902
- Opened in 1907 with two courts, one of which now has been converted to a double squash court
- Opened in 1902, with two courts, one of which has now been converted to a double squash court
- Opened in 1889, the court was constructed four feet longer and two feet wider to facilitate doubles play. It was resized to regulation 60 x 40 feet in 1909
There may be unused courts elsewhere in the former British Empire that are still in good condition. Rackets is overwhelmingly a male sport.
|+Disused Courts / Converted Courts
!Country
!Name
!City
!Information
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|rowspan=5|USA
|The University Club
|Detroit
|The last court built in North America, constructed by Joseph Bickley. This court is unused, in a now vacant building
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|The Tavern Club
|Cleveland
|36th and Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, USA - Now houses a doubles squash court
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|The Pittsburgh Athletic Association
|Pittsburgh
|5th Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The court now houses three squash rackets courts installed laterally, making use of the original walls of the hard rackets court. The marker's gallery is still present.
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|St Louis Racquets Club
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|Lakewood
|New Jersey
|Unused
|-
|rowspan=12|UK
|Devonshire Park
|Eastbourne - Sussex
|Built in 1875, this court is now used as a prop store for the Eastbourne Theatre. A section of the front wall has been bricked up and used as a ladies loo for the pub next door. This court could be converted back for play.
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|Belmont House
|Wraxall
|This is in Bristol. Built in the 1860s by Williams Gibbs, whom made his fortune out of guano bird droppings imported from the Pacific!. A popular Victorian garden fertilizer. It passed through the family and was last owned by the second Lord Wraxall. This court has now been lost. Sections of it have been taken to be part of the main house and the remaining is to be converted into a theatre
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|Copped Hall
|Loughton
|This is in Essex. The main house is under restoration, the rackets court has now been converted into a tea rooms, the gallery still remains.
|-
|Park Place Estate
|Henley-on Thames
|Built in 1900, it is at the moment in disrepair, but plans were afoot to restore it to its former glory, but its future is now unsure
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|Fyvie Castle
|Scotland
|Fyvie Castle was built in 1903. Restored and used as a playhouse / exhibition space
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|Stoneyhurst College,
|Clitheroe, Lancashire
|Converted to squash courts in 1933
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|Newcastle
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|Part of the University Building, was being used for play as late as the 1980's. Its future is now unsure. Now used for ping pong
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|Kinloch Castle
|Rum, Scotland
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|Rossall School
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|Converted to squash courts
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|Royal Naval College
|Greenwich
|These two courts were built in 1874 & converted to squash courts in 1882, and now converted into an exhibition space
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|Stonehouse
|Millbay
|Converted to squash courts in 1930's
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|Worcester
|Samsome Walk
|Converted to apartments
|-
|-
|rowspan=5|Ireland
|Leinster Lane
|Dublin
|Now used as a book archive for the National Library.
|-
|Trinity College
|Dublin
|Now used as a bookstore and possibly to be absorbed in new building development.
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|Dawson Street
|Dublin
|Now used as a car park, including vehicle lift.
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|Carlton House
|Maynooth
|Believed absorbed in current commercial development.
|-
|Curragh Army Camp
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|Converted to squash courts.
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|rowspan=1|Gibraltar
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|Now converted into a Squash Club
|-
|rowspan=0|Australia
|Melbourne Club
|Melbourne
|Converted into squash courts 1913
|-
Tournaments
The world championship for singles (and doubles) is decided in a challenge format. If the governing bodies accept the challenger's qualifications, he plays the reigning champion in a best of 14 games format (best of 7 games on each side of the Atlantic). If each player wins seven games, the total point score is used as a tie breaker. The current singles champion is James Stout. The current doubles champions are Neil Smith and Mark Hubbard, who won the first doubles challenge following the retirement of Alister Robinson and Guy Barker.
The tournament system for Rackets is being revolutionised by a new World Ranking System, developed by Richard Spender and ex-New York professional, James Beaumont. The scheme is on a year experiment with the Tennis & Rackets Association and can be found at The development of the rankings model and the online system has been sponsored by Robinson McColl Architects+Designers, founded by former doubles World Champion, Alister Robinson.
There are various tournaments that are hosted in North America and the UK.
These are:
In North America
- The Canadian Amateur Championships
- The US Amateur Championships
- The US Open
- The Western Open
- The Tuxedo Gold Rackets
In the UK
- The British Amateur
- The British Open
- The Invitational Singles
- The Manchester Gold Rackets
World Championship
Organized on a challenge basis, the first champion in 1820 was Robert Mackay (Great Britain).
Recent winners
- 2008- James Stout (Bermuda)
- 2005–8 Harry Foster (Great Britain)
- 2001–5 James Male (Great Britain)
- 1999–2001 Neil Smith (USA)
- 1988–99 James Male (Great Britain)
- 1986–8 John Prenn (Great Britain)
- 1984–6 William Boone (Great Britain)
- 1981–4 John Prenn (Great Britain)
- 1975–81 William Surtees (USA)
- 1973–4 Howard Angus (Great Britain)
- 1972–3 William Surtees (USA)
- 1954–72 Geoffrey Atkins (Great Britain)
- 1947–54 James Dear (Great Britain)
- 1937–47 Donald Milford (Great Britain)
- 1929–35 Charles Williams (Great Britain)
- 1913–29 Jock Soutar (USA)
- 1911–13 Charles Williams (Great Britain)
- 1903–11 J. Jamsetji (India)
- 1887–1902 Peter Latham (Great Britain)
External links
Video
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