COURT SPECIFICATIONS AND EQUIPMENT
Court Basically the Squash
Tennis court is identical in specifications to Squash
Racquets; namely 18 1/2 feet wide, 32 feet long, and
16 feet high at the front wall: The ceiling
should be at least 18 feet 6 inches high in order
to allow for lights. Running along the front
wall, 17 inches in height, is the “telltale”
made of sheet metal. Hitting the “telltale”
is tantamount to hitting a Lawn Tennis ball into the
net. The front wall also has the front service
line, which is 6 1/2 feet above the floor. On
the floor, 10 feet from the backwall, is the floor
service line extending parallel to the backwall and
across the entire width of the court. A line
drawn from the floor service line to the backwall
divides the back court into two equal halves.
Ideally (but not an absolute necessity) the service
line should also extend all the way up to the front
wall in order to divide the forecourt in two for service
placement. In other words, the service must land
in the opponent’s half of the court in front
of the floor service line and divided by the extension
of the center line to the front wall. The service
court in Squash Tennis, therefore, is actually 22
feet long, and bounded by the center line, floor service
line, side wall and front wall (rather than back wall).
The backwall “out” line
is 4 feet 6 inches above the floor, or 2 feet below
the present Squash Racquets’ backwall out line.
Otherwise the rules in scoring are identical to Squash
Racquets, even though the style of play is, as you have noted, quite different.
Equipment The green felt
covered ball is approximately 2 3/8 inches in diameter,
slightly smaller than a standard Lawn Tennis ball but
containing higher pressure. It is, therefore,
lighter and faster. These Squash Tennis balls
are manufactured for the Association by A. G. Spalding
& Bros. They can be bought from any Squash Professional
or directly from the National Squash Tennis Association
for $1.25 each. Recent manufacturing improvements
have extended the length of time you can play with
a ball without it wearing out or breaking.
The racquet has the identical size
head to a regulation Lawn Tennis frame, but the length,
including the handle, should not exceed 26 inches,
which is 1 inch shorter and, therefore, somewhat lighter
and more wieldable than a standard Tennis racquet.
Regular gut or nylon is used for the string.
A strong Squash Tennis racquet sells at a competitive
price to a Squash Racquet bat.