THE COURT AND HOW TO PLAY

The court is a cross between a squash court and a lawn tennis court, with typical dimensions of 90 ft overall length and 30ft breadth. The playing area has four walls, three of which are joined to a sloping roof called the penthouse. The court is divided by the net into two halves, the service end, where the service always takes place, and the receiving, or hazard end. Spectators usually view the game from the dedans or the side galleries.

The player who is serving puts the ball into play but hitting it onto the penthouse roof. It has to bounce at least once on the hazard side of the service penthouse before landing within the red area of the receiving court. 

The ball remains live and in play until one or the other of the players makes an error (e.g. hits the ball into the net or out of the court) or plays a winning shot, namely hitting the ball into either the dedans, the winning gallery or the grille or onto the winning area of the floor at the hazard end on the second bounce. 

If the ball bounces twice anywhere else on the court before the receiving player can hit it, the point is not conceded but a chase is set or laid according to the line on the floor nearest to the second bounce. A chase can also be laid by hitting the ball into the side galleries at either end. Players can only change ends when there are two chases, or one chase in the case of game point, and the new receiver then has to better the chase, or chases, in order to win the point (e.g. if the chase is 5 yards then he or she must maintain the ball in play to a point better than the 5 yard in order to win the point. If the second bounce of the ball falls short of the 5 yard line then the server does not have to play it and wins the point.

Scoring is similar to lawn tennis, except that the score of the player winning the previous point is always called first. Also deuce is not played if the game is being played on handicap – it is 40-all game point.  However, unlike lawn tennis, play is continuous apart from changing ends between chases!

All this may sound very complicated, but you will be guided by the Professionals   when you first start playing and it will all come together and make sense as you get into it.