Racquetball

‘Racquetball’ as the name itself explains, is a racquet sport that is played with a strung racquet and a hollow rubber ball. The game was invented by Joseph Sobek in the year 1950 by attaching a stringed racquet to the paddleball to increase the speed and control. The game is very close to that of squash and American handball and was very famous in the United States in the early years of its invention. With time the sport gained popularity and today about 7.5 million Americans and more than 15 million people play racquetball all around the globe. The racquetball championships are governed by International Racquetball Federation (IRF) and are organized biennially in the month of August where the Americans hold most of the World Championship titles.

To win rallies and score points the player must serve or return the ball so as the opponent cannot keep the ball in play.

General History

It was grown right off the bat in the twentieth century by joining other prevalent games—tennis, handball, squash, and a Spanish game called jai alai. The foundations of racquetball may have begun in detainment facilities during the 1800s when prisoners were given balls which they would throw against the walls. Amid this time, the game was alluded to as "rackets." In America, the game initially showed up in the1920s.

 

It was Joseph G. Sobek, an expert handball, squash, and tennis player from Greenwich, Connecticut, who has frequently been credited with the creation of the game. During the 1940s, Sobek was working in an elastic manufacturing plant and structured the elastic ball that is utilised for the game today. He, alongside an accomplice, additionally chose to join the standards of handball and squash and begin the principles for the racquetball, referred to at the time as "paddle rackets." Rackets, oars, and balls—all showed up in various shapes and structures throughout the years, as the look for the perfect model of each proceeded.

 

Sobek established the Paddle Racquet Association in 1952 and distributed a lot of tenets to all the YMCAs in the United States to help spread the fame of the game. By 1969, the game had turned out to be so prominent worldwide that a man named Robert Kendler established the International Racquetball Association, consequently changing the name of the game to "racquetball." During that year, the first racquetball official title was held in St. Louis, Missouri. It was likewise amid this time outdoor supplies stores started fabricating official racquetball gear for the game.

 

Prevalence of the game developed as more competitors came to see its high power, giving them an incredible exercise and perspiration while playing. Sports clubs and nation clubs all through the United States got on the energy of the game and began building racquetball courts in their clubs.

 

During the 1980s, the prominence of this game began to fall. Numerous clubs tore down their racquetball courts. In any case, there were as yet numerous dedicated racquetball players who gave themselves to the game and kept the soul of the game alive. Indeed, even with the decay of its fame, today, there are still well more than 20 million individuals worldwide that play this game. Since 1981, a world championship of racquetball is held every year, and in 1995, the International Olympic Committee endorsed it as a Pan American Games sport.