Contents
Scoring: 11 points, two clear, no cap
Every rally scores a point for whoever wins it, server or not, and the winner of a rally serves the next one (Rule 2.1). A game is played to 11 points; at 10-all it goes on until one player leads by two points, with no cap (Rule 2.2). A match is normally the best of 5 games and may be the best of 3 (Rule 2.3). The rules no longer hold any other scoring: point-a-rally to 15 and hand-out scoring (to 9, only the server scored) still sat in an appendix until the 2024 edition, and were deleted on 1 September 2025. Tactical advice written for hand-out scoring is therefore out of date.
The official calls: « Hand out » when the serve changes hands, « Game Ball », « Match Ball », « 10-all: a player must win by 2 points », « Yes, let », « No let », « Stroke to » followed by the player's name.
The same format is announced for the Los Angeles 2028 Games, where squash will make its first Olympic appearance (men's singles and women's singles, 15 to 24 July 2028): the organising committee's squash page describes games to 11 points and matches played as the best of five games.
The serve: one ball only
The first server of the match is decided by the spin of a racket (Rule 5.1); in each later game the winner of the previous game serves, having won its last rally. At the start of each game and after each change of server, the server chooses the service box; while winning rallies, the server alternates boxes; after a let, the serve comes from the same box (Rules 5.2 and 5.3).
At least one foot fully inside the service box (not touching its lines) at the moment of striking; the ball must hit the front wall above the service line and, if not volleyed, land in the opposite back quarter. There is no second serve: a serve that does not meet these conditions is a fault, and the receiver wins the rally (Rule 5.8). The safe return, the one taught first, is the straight length down the wall.
A request for a let: no let, let or stroke
Two players, one space: Rule 8 gives the striker a fair view of the ball, access to it, room for a reasonable swing and freedom to hit to any part of the front wall (since the 2025 edition the rule no longer says « direct » access). When interference occurs and the striker asks for a let, the referee has three answers (Rules 8.6.1 to 8.6.7):
| Situation | Decision | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| No interference, and no reasonable fear of injury | No let | The player who asked loses the rally |
| Interference, but the player could not have made a good return | No let | Same |
| The player played on past the interference, then asked | No let | Same |
| Minimal interference: the player could still see and reach the ball | No let | Same |
| Interference the opponent made every effort to avoid, and the player could have made a good return | Let | The rally is replayed: no point, same server, same box |
| The player could have made a good return, and the opponent was not making every effort to avoid the interference | Stroke | The point to the obstructed player |
| The player would have made a winning return | Stroke | Same |
Three specific cases of the same rule. The swing: a swing that is affected gives a let (a stroke on a winning return); a swing that is prevented gives a stroke, even if the opponent made every effort to clear (Rule 8.9). The excessive swing: no let if the striker's own excessive swing caused the interference (Rule 8.10). Turning: a stroke if the swing was prevented, a let if the opponent had no time to clear, no let if the striker turned to create the chance; the referee must always consider danger (Rule 8.13). The referee may also give a let or a stroke without a request, especially for safety (Rule 8.4).
The distinction to hammer home at club level: stroke = a point, let = a replay, no let = the point to the other player. Confusing them corrupts the score, and hides why clearing after your shot is a match skill, not politeness.
Conduct penalties and the clock
Rule 14 names four penalties: Conduct Warning, Conduct Stroke, Conduct Game and Conduct Match. The referee chooses according to the severity of the offence (Rule 14.7): there is no mandatory step-up, but for a similar offence a later penalty may not be less severe than the previous one (Rule 14.8). A Conduct Stroke given by stopping play is the result of that rally; given after a rally, it is added to the score with no change of service box. A Conduct Game awards the opponent the game in progress, or the next one if no game is in progress (with no extra interval); the offender keeps the points and games already won (Rules 14.10.2 to 14.10.5).
| Moment | Time allowed | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 4 minutes at most, change of sides at 2 minutes | 4.1 |
| From the end of the warm-up to the start of play | 1 minute at most | 7.1 |
| Between games | 2 minutes at most (90 seconds until the 2024 edition) | 7.1 |
| Change of damaged equipment, eyewear included | 2 minutes at most | 7.3 |
| Illness without injury (cramp, nausea, breathlessness) | No recovery time: play on, or concede the game in progress and use the interval between games | 13.1.1 |
| Self-inflicted injury | Up to 3 minutes; if not ready, the player concedes the game and uses the interval | 13.2.4.1 |
| Injury contributed to by both players, by accident | Up to 15 minutes | 13.2.4.2 |
| Injury inflicted by the opponent, by accident | Up to 15 minutes; if the injured player cannot resume, the match is awarded to the injured player | 13.2.4.3.1 |
| Injury inflicted by a deliberate or dangerous action of the opponent | The match to the injured player if any recovery time is needed | 13.2.4.3.2 |
| Bleeding from a pre-existing wound, uncovered or badly covered (new in 2025) | No recovery time: the player concedes the game in progress and uses the interval | 13.3.1.1 |
| Self-inflicted bleeding | Up to 5 minutes | 13.3.1.2 |
Frequently asked questions
Who referees at club level?
Is the tin always the same height?
What did the 2025 edition change?
Sources
World Squash, World Squash Singles Rules 2025, V1.2, in force since 1 September 2025: Rule 2 (scoring), Rule 4 (warm-up), Rule 5 (serve), Rule 7 (intervals), Rule 8 (interference), Rule 13 (illness, injury, bleeding), Rule 14 (conduct), Appendix 2 (calls); World Squash, list of the changes in the 2025 edition. · Tin: World Squash, Specifications for Squash Courts; PSA Squash Tour Rule Book (August 2026); World Squash, Championship Regulations V11.4 (doubles). · Los Angeles 2028: International Olympic Committee, press release of 16 October 2023; LA28, squash page and competition schedule by event (version of 29 July 2026). Content verified in October 2026.