Introduction to Squash - Video Tutorial

A complete introduction to squash

This is a 4 minutes video introduction to squash, in this video are explained the basic concepts of Squash's:

• Rules
• Service
• Shots
• Court movement
• Tactics

Introduction to squash

Squash is a fast paced game in which two or four players with rackets and non-marking shoes come into court to play.

Whenever the ball hits the front wall it's the opponent's turn to hit the ball.

To achieve the goal of making the ball reach the front wall you can use all the walls.

The ball can bounce on the floor once, but if you can/want you can use the volley.

How to score points in squash

For you to score a point your opponent has to:

• Let the ball bounce twice on the floor when it is his turn to hit it
• Throw the ball against the floor
• Throw the ball Down (under the lower line called the Tin)
• Throw the ball Out (over the highest line)
• Get hit by the ball

Extra: Let and Stroke

There are certain situations in which the two players find themselves to be stuck.

It can happen that a player prevents the other to reach the ball.

For this reason two important judgements that can only be decided by the referee have been created.

The let and the Stroke.

A let is played when one opponent's prevent the other player to reach a ball that he would otherwise retrieve without complications.

Instead if the player would make a shot that goes directly into the front wall and by doing so the ball would hit his opponent, then if the player stops the referee would call a stroke and assign a point to the player.

The serve, how to make the rally start.

The serve is a crucial shot in squash because you have total control over it.

Check out this video tutorial for tactical insights

The three rules for making a serve are:

1. You must have a foot inside the serve box while making the serve.
2. The ball must go directly into the front wall over the middle line.
3. If it is not hit by volley, the ball must bounce on the opposite quarter of court.
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The basic shots of squash, a introduction

This are the four basic shots of squash.

1. The Drive
2. The Cross Court
3. The Boast
4. The Drop Shot

Mastering this four shots grants you the ability of controlling the game.

Moving on court 

Court movement is an important prerequisite to squash mastery.

In order to develop this skill you must understand the concepts behind it:

1. Court movement is done in a way that always let you make a drive and eventually choose not to.
2. Whenever you have done a shot you must come back to the T.
3. Stay in the centre relative to the side walls.

To efficiently move on court you will have to do a lot of ghosting, an exercise in which you move around the court by following a specific step by step pattern.

Squash Tactics

When playing squash you must understand that the best shot you can make is a perfect drive that goes near the side wall with the ball that dies in the corner.

Take this instruction as a general squash tactics blueprint:

1. Stay in the centre, throw the ball in the corners
2. Throw the ball where your opponent is NOT
3. Alternate Long and Short shots
4. Spice it up but not too much

A rally in squash is usually made of many drives that are used to force the opponent in the corner, and when the response of the opponent comes to the centre you typically make a drop shot to score.

Thanks for your attention, ask me any question!