The Game of Rapidball

Rapidball is a racket sport that is played on a regular squash court, but with different rackets and balls.

The racket has a larger head than a squash racket, and the ball is both larger and jumps higher than a squash ball. It's easy to get started with Rapidball. The racket head sits close at hand and the ball is easy to follow. The ball also tends to bounce off the walls so the game is easily kept going. The ball and rackets seem recognizable to people with e.g. tennis background.

The rallies in Rapidball are typically long. You get lots of sweat on the forehead. But the load on the knees, hips and other joints is small, i.a. because you can usually hit the ball at hip height. Thus, Rapidball is also attractive to practitioners of other forms of racket sports, in case your body cannot endure the same efforts as before and you really hate the idea of having to give up the pleasures of a nimble racket game.

Rapidball Intro

Rapidball in Action

This video is from the Danish National Rapidball Championships in 2017, a match between Christian Frølund (blue) and Jens Chr. Hansen (white)

Rapidball Background

Rapidball was created around the turn of the century by Peter V. Haighton. He had been playing squash for over 35 years and felt the wear and tear on his body that comes with playing several times a week year after year.

He did not want to stop playing but sought a racket sport that was less demanding on the body than squash, and the result was Rapidball.

Rapidball is played primarily in Mallorca where the game was developed, but is also practiced in the rest of Spain and around the world.

More background

You can read more about the background of Rapidball in the book "Racket Wars: Guide Book To All The World's Racket Sports" by Leon Jackson Jr. It is available i.a. on Amazon.com as an e-book.

What you Need to Play Rapidball

The Racket

The Rapidball racket has a larger head and a much shorter handle than a squash racket. It is the same racket that is used for US racquetball and UK Racketball ("Squash 57").

The Ball

For Rapidball, you can use the same ball as in the American racket sport raquetball. It is available in several colors, which are quite similar to play with. These balls bounce back at app. 70% when dropped to the floor.

As an alternative, not so "wild" ball, the official ball from American Four Wall Paddleball can be recommended. It is slightly larger (like a tennis ball), but has a more limited bounce, making it more predictable and easier to play. When dropped to the floor, this ball's bounce is approx. 50%.

The Rules of Rapidball

The rules of Rapidball are very similar to those that apply to squash, but are simpler.

Serve

The server has one serve attempt and must alternately serve from the right and left side with at least one leg inside the serve box. However, unlike squash, the ball must not be thrown up into the air before it is hit with the racket. Instead, it instead be bounced on the floor. When it comes back up from the floor, it must be hit directly onto the front wall above the service line. The ball must then re-bounce from the front wall and hit the floor inside the opponent's receiving field before possibly touching the side or back wall. If the ball hits one of the red lines, it is considered a foul. The same applies if it hits the side or back wall before it hits the floor.

Return of Serve

The receiver can choose to volley the serve or to return the ball before or after it has hit the back wall or side wall. For the return of serve and all subsequent strokes, the ball may hit the back wall and the side walls before it hits the front wall. It is only allowed to touch the floor once before it is returned.

How to Win a Point

Different scoring systems are in use, but most commonly, point-a-rally is used, that is, the winner of a rally gets a point, regardless of who serves, except if a "let" is played, i.e. the service is redone. A rally is won if the opponent fails to hit the ball back onto the front wall, either directly or after touching other walls, before the ball has touched the floor twice.

Score

A match is usually played best of 5 games to 8 points each. At 7 all (7-7), the receiver of the service decides whether to play to  8 or to 10.

Other set scores may occur, e.g. as in squash best of 5 games to 11 point-a-rally, or best of 3 games to 15.

The Court

1. Front wall 
2. Side wall
3. Upper outline
4. Service line
5. Service box
6. Center line
7. The "Tin" - the ball is “down”
8. Short line or half line

Disturbance and Interference

Players must do everything they can to always play the ball with safety in mind. The player who has just played the ball must move out of the way to give the opponent space to see the ball and play it. Intentional blocking of the opponent's direct path to the ball, a point is awarded to the opponent.

If a player hits the ball before it hits the back wall, hitting the opponent or his racket with the ball, a point is always awarded to the opponent who is hit, unless the opponent deliberately places himself in the line of fire with the intention of being hit by the ball. to win the point.

If a player hits the opponent or his/her racket with the ball after the ball has first hit the back wall, it is always a "let" (the ball is replayed without changing the score). If a player hits the ball so that it hits himself/herself or goes between his/her own legs before the opponent  hits the ball, the point is always awarded to the opponent.

In all other cases of disturbance/interference, a ball is "let" ball is played. Even if the players get in the way of each other, it is usually possible to continue playing because, for example, a player can wait until the ball comes back from the back wall.

If the ball on its way back from the front wall hits the floor and bounces off the court before the opponent has time to return it, the player who has hit the ball wins two points. This also applies to balls that bounce up on, or over, the outside line on the side walls. This two point score is possible to achieve if you play with the fast ball from US racquetball.