9.75 × 6.40 m · Singles · shared court

Squash

Four walls, one ball, nowhere to hide — speed chess at full sprint.

Beginner trap: Only one serve — a faulty serve loses the rally outright.

01 Court

9.75 × 6.40 m for singles, shared by both players.
Front wall: the out line sits 4.57 m above the floor; the service line is at 1.78 m.
The tin — the strip along the bottom of the front wall — is 0.48 m high (0.33 m at elite WSF events). Anything hitting the tin is down.
Floor markings: the short line 4.26 m from the back wall, two 1.60 × 1.60 m service boxes, and a half-court line.

The serve is hit in the air — drop or throw the ball and strike it before it touches anything. A dropped ball you don't strike isn't a serve.
One foot must be on the floor inside the service box, not touching any boundary, at the moment of striking.
Hit the ball directly to the front wall between the service line (1.78 m) and the out line, so it bounces first in the opposite quarter-court without touching any line.
The server chooses a box at the start of each game and alternates boxes while keeping the serve.
There is no second serve — a faulty serve loses the rally.

A return is good only if it's struck before the second bounce and reaches the front wall above the tin and below the out line — directly or via the side and back walls.
After playing, you must give your opponent a fair view of the ball, room to reach it and freedom to swing.
If you're impeded, stop and ask for a let — the referee replays the rally or awards you the point (a stroke), depending on the situation.

Point-a-rally scoring: the winner of every rally scores a point and serves next.
Games go to 11 points. At 10-all, play continues until one player leads by 2.
Matches are normally best of 5 games (best of 3 is common too).

A serve touching the service line, short line, half-court line or any out line is a fault — and with no second serve, it loses the rally.
The ball touching the tin is down; touching any out line is out.
Dangerous play and failing to make every effort to clear for your opponent are penalised.

World Squash Federation (WSF) — Singles Rules 2025Checked Oct 2026