Considered to be a great form of high-intensity exercise, squash is a racket sport played by two or four players. Each player uses standard rackets and plays in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball. Four players are involved in a doubles game. This racket sport was also previously known as “Squash Rackets”, indicating the use of the soft ball that is sometimes quite literally squashed.
Games such as “Rackets and Fives” used to be played by boarders at British public schools and this led to the development of the modern game of squash. In fact, it was at London’s Harrow School where it all began in the early 19th century. The boys studying here noticed that when a punctured racket ball hits a wall, it is possible to hit a greater variety of shots. From then onwards, the game spread to other private schools in Britain as well as to universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. The enhanced interest in the sport led to the formation of a squash sub-committee within the Tennis and Rackets Association in 1908 before the British Squash Rackets Association was formed in 1928.
The game of squash is played with different variations in various countries all over the world. For example, singles and doubles games are played in the US using a harder ball and squash courts of different sizes. Squash is also played with a standard ball in a doubles game, which is played in a comparatively wider court. There is also a version called squash tennis that resembles the game of tennis to a greater extent. Rallies are longer and scoring points is harder in squash compared to racquetball. This is due to the smaller size of the court and the low-bouncing ball played to all four corners of the squash court.
Squash is known to provide a healthy cardiovascular workout. It is also considered very beneficial for the legs and upper body earning the sobriquet of the “Number One Healthiest Sport” from Forbes in 2003.
The traditional British Open and the World Open are the main international championships for this game. Australian Heather McKay remained undefeated for 18 years and was considered by many to be the greatest female squash player of all time. Among the men, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan are arguably the most well-known world champions. Other noteworthy squash players include Geoff Hunt, Jonah Barrington, Peter Nicol, Nicol David, Amr Shabana and Hashim Khan.
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