Squash Rules: How Scoring Works

From the outside, squash looks like chaos: two players in one box, a ball flying off every wall and a referee calling words that mean nothing to a beginner. The scoring, though, is about the simplest thing in the sport. This article is based on the 2025 rules of World Squash (WSF).

How points and games are counted

Squash uses point-a-rally scoring. Someone wins every rally and gets a point for it. Who served does not matter.

• A game goes to 11 points.
• You must win by two. At 10-10 you keep playing until one of you leads by two. There is no cap.
• A match is normally best of five games, so first to three. It can also be played as best of three.

No tiebreak, no advantage. Just 11 points and a margin of two.

Serving

Whoever wins a rally serves the next one. At the start of the match you spin a racket, and the winner of the spin serves first.

• At the start of each game and after each change of server, the server picks which service box to start from. While they hold the serve, they alternate boxes.
• On the serve, one foot must be inside the service box, and no part of that foot may touch the box lines.
• The ball must hit the front wall between the service line and the out line, then land first in the opposite quarter court without touching a line.
• There is no second serve. A fault is an immediate point for the receiver.

You do not change ends in squash.

Let, no let and stroke

You hear these words whenever players get in each other's way.

• Let: the rally is replayed and nobody scores.
• Stroke: the rally is awarded to one player, who gets the point.
• No let: the request is turned down, the rally stands and the player who asked usually loses the point.

You ask for a let or a stroke when your opponent blocks you. A request for a let includes a request for a stroke. The referee can also award a let or a stroke without being asked, for safety for instance.

Disputed situations

1. Your opponent is in your way. After playing a shot, a player must give you a view of the ball, access to it, room for a reasonable swing and the freedom to hit it to any part of the front wall. If you could have played a good shot and your opponent did everything to get out of the way, it is a let. If they did not make the effort, it is a stroke to you.
2. You ask for a let too late. You must ask without unnecessary delay. If you keep playing despite the obstruction and only appeal afterwards, it is a no let.
3. The ball hits your opponent. If it was going directly to the front wall and you had not turned before hitting it, you get a stroke. If the ball comes off the front wall and hits your opponent before you can reach it, the player who was due to play it wins the rally, unless their own position caused it.
4. Your opponent was not ready. If the receiver is not ready and makes no attempt to play the ball, it is a let. If the serve was a fault, though, the server loses the rally.
5. Serving from the wrong box. If nobody notices, the result stands.

Other rules

The warm-up lasts four minutes and you swap sides after two. There is a two-minute break between games. The full text is in the World Squash rules.

Every rally for a point also applies in badminton. Tennis is a different world altogether.