Squash games are played to 11 points, you score a point on every rally, and if it gets to 10-all you keep going until one player is 2 points clear. A match is normally the best of 5 games (sometimes best of 3), and whoever wins a rally serves the next one.
This page follows World Squash's Rules of Singles Squash 2025, which took effect on 1 September 2025 and are the current singles rules as of November 2026. I've kept to the parts a club or casual player needs: scoring, the serve, what makes a good return, and the let and stroke decisions that cause most of the muttering on court.
The rulebook opens with two principles before any numbered rule. Safety: players must always put safety first and never take any action that could endanger the opponent. Fair play: respect the officials and the opponent, and play with honesty. Nearly every interference decision comes back to those two ideas.
How a squash match is scored
| Rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| Points | The winner of every rally scores 1 point, whoever served |
| Serve | The rally winner serves to start the next rally |
| Game | First to 11, but at 10-all play on until someone leads by 2 |
| Match | Normally best of 5 games (win 3), or best of 3 (win 2) |
If a Marker is calling the game, you'll hear the server's score first, preceded by 'hand out' when the serve changes hands. They call 'Game Ball' when a player needs one point to win a game, 'Match Ball' when one point wins the match, and '10-all: a player must win by 2 points' the first time the score reaches 10-all in each game. So '10-8, Match Ball' means the server leads 10-8 and needs one more.
When it's just two of you, borrow the habit of calling the server's score first. It stops the classic 'wait, was that 6-4 or 4-6?' moment.
Before the first rally: spin, warm-up and breaks
- The player who wins the spin of a racket serves first.
- Both players warm up the ball on court together for a maximum of 4 minutes, changing sides after 2 minutes. Hogging the ball counts as an unfair warm-up.
- You get a maximum of 1 minute between the end of the warm-up and the first serve.
- There are 2 minutes between games. Play can restart sooner if both players agree, and either player may hit the ball during any interval.
- Changing damaged equipment, including glasses, protective eyewear or a dislodged contact lens, is allowed a maximum of 2 minutes.
The serve as a five-point checklist
At the start of each game, and every time the serve changes hands, the server chooses which service box to serve from. While you keep winning rallies, you alternate boxes. If a rally ends in a let, you serve again from the same box.
A serve is good only if all five of these are true:
- You drop or throw the ball from your hand or racket and strike it correctly, on a first or further attempt, before it touches anything else.
- As you strike it, one foot is in contact with the floor inside the service box, with no part of that foot touching any line of the box.
- The ball goes directly to the front wall and hits it between the service-line and the out-line, without hitting the front and side walls at the same time.
- Unless the receiver volleys it, the ball first bounces in the opposite quarter-court without touching any line.
- The ball isn't served out.
Miss any one and it's a fault, and the receiver wins the rally. There's no second serve in the singles rules. The rule notes spell out the one people forget: a serve that hits the service-line, the short-line, the half-court line or any line bounding the top of the court is a fault. Touching the line is the same as missing it.
Three smaller serve rules are worth knowing. Drop the ball and make no attempt to hit it, and that isn't a serve, so you can start again. If the receiver isn't ready and doesn't try to return the serve, it's a let, but if that serve was a fault anyway, the server loses the rally. And if you serve from the wrong box and nobody notices, the result of the rally stands.
What counts as a good return
Once the serve is in, you take turns hitting the ball. A return is good if you strike it correctly before it has bounced twice, and it reaches the front wall, directly or off other walls, above the tin and below the out-line without bouncing first. It also has to come off the front wall without touching the tin, and it mustn't go out.
Two terms do most of the work. The out-line is the line marking the top of the playable walls; hit on or above it and your return's out. The tin is the strip across the full width of the bottom of the front wall, up to and including the lowest line; hit it and your return is 'down'. A return that bounces twice before you strike it, or that you don't strike correctly, is 'not up'.
Lets and strokes, decided in plain steps
After a reasonable follow-through, you must make every effort to clear so your opponent has a fair view of the ball, access to it, space for a reasonable swing, and the freedom to hit it to any part of the front wall. If they don't get all four, that's interference.
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A striker who thinks they've been blocked can stop and ask for a let, preferably by saying 'Let, please', and without undue delay. Asking for a let also counts as asking for a stroke. A let means nobody wins the rally and it's replayed. A stroke means the striker wins it.
The Referee works through it roughly like this:
- No interference and no reasonable fear of injury: no let.
- There was interference, but you couldn't have made a good return anyway: no let.
- You played on past the interference and asked afterwards: no let.
- The interference was minimal and didn't stop you seeing and reaching the ball: no let.
- You'd have made a good return and your opponent was making every effort to avoid the interference: let.
- You'd have made a good return and your opponent wasn't making every effort: stroke to you.
- You'd have made a winning return: stroke to you.
One trap: if the striker hits the ball and the opponent then asks for a let, but the ball goes down or out, the opponent wins the rally anyway.
Who decides when there's an argument
Matches should normally have a Referee, or a Referee and a Marker. The Marker calls 'fault', 'down', 'out', 'not up' or 'stop', and makes no call if unsure. The Referee rules on every let request and appeal, and the Referee's decision is final. In a friendly game you're both, which is exactly why the safety and fair play principles at the top of the rulebook matter.
My verdict on learning squash
I'd learn the scoring and the five-point serve first, and I'd treat 'touching the line is a fault' as the one rule to say out loud before the first point. I'd skip the finer interference cases until you're playing with someone who knows them; for friendly games, stop and ask for a let whenever there's any risk of hitting your opponent, because the rules put safety first. If you're weighing up racket sports, my padel guide for beginners and pickleball starter guide cover two gentler options.
Frequently asked questions
How many points is a game of squash?
A game is played to 11 points. If the score reaches 10-all, play continues until one player leads by 2 points.
How many games are in a squash match?
A match is normally the best of 5 games, so you need to win 3. Some matches are the best of 3, so you need to win 2.
What is a let in squash?
A let is a rally that neither player wins, usually because of interference. It's replayed, and the server serves again from the same box.
Can you volley the serve in squash?
Yes. The serve must bounce in the opposite quarter-court unless the receiver volleys it, so volleying the serve is allowed.
