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Rackets or racquets is an indoor
racket sport Racket sports are games in which players use a racket or paddle to hit a ball or other object. Rackets consist of a handled frame with an open hoop that supports a network of tightly stretched strings. Paddles have a solid face rather than a net ...
played in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
. The sport is infrequently called "hard rackets", to distinguish it from the related sport of squash (also called "squash rackets").


History

Historians generally assert that rackets began as an 18th-century pastime in London's King's Bench and Fleet
debtors' prison A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histori ...
s. The prisoners modified the game of
fives Fives is an English sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3- or 4-sided special court, using a gloved or bare hand as though it were a racquet, similar to ...
by using tennis rackets to speed up the action. They played against the prison wall, sometimes at a corner to add a sidewall to the game. Rackets then became popular outside the prison, played in alleys behind pubs. It spread to schools, first using school walls, and later with proper four-wall courts being specially constructed for the game. The lithograph at right from the late 1700s shows school boys 'hitting up' outside the
Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...
'Old School' buildings.
Eglinton Castle Eglinton Castle was a large Gothic castellated mansion in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. History The castle The ancient seat of the Earls of Eglinton, it is located just south of the town of Kilwinning. The original Eglinton Castle w ...
in Scotland, now largely demolished, had a "Racket Hall" which is first shown on the 1860 OS map, but estate records show that it was built shortly after 1839, the first recorded match being in 1846. The floor is of large granite slabs, now hidden by the wooden floor. It is the very first covered racket court and is now the oldest surviving court in the world, as well as being the oldest indoor sports building in Scotland. It has been restored as a racket hall, but used as an exhibition area. Some private clubs also built courts. Along with
real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...
and
badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...
, rackets was used as an inspiration for the game of
lawn tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cove ...
, which Walter Clopton Wingfield claimed he invented in 1873, but this was not so, as others had been playing lawn tennis since as early as 1859, including J.B. Perera and Harry Gem. Wingfield did obtain a patent on his proposed peculiarly-shaped "hourglass" lawn tennis court in 1874, but it lasted in use no more than a year before it was shelved by the Marylebone Cricket Club's 1875 official rules mandating the rectangular court in use both before and after Wingfield's hourglass court. A vacant rackets court built into the University of Chicago's
Stagg Field Amos Alonzo Stagg Field is the name of two successive football fields for the University of Chicago. Beyond sports, the first Stagg Field (1893–1957) is remembered for its role in a landmark scientific achievement of Enrico Fermi and the Metall ...
served as the location of the first artificial
nuclear chain reaction In nuclear physics, a nuclear chain reaction occurs when one single nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more subsequent nuclear reactions, thus leading to the possibility of a self-propagating series of these reactions. The specific nu ...
on December 2, 1942. The Stagg Field court is often mistakenly identified as having been a "squash rackets" court. Rackets was part of the
1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were o ...
program and was played at the
Prince's Club The Prince's Club was a socially exclusive gentlemen's multisports club in London, England. The original 'Prince's Club' was founded in 1853 in Chelsea by George and James Prince and its main sports were rackets and real tennis. Cricket, croque ...
in London; the winner was Evan Noel. After the second world war rackets saw a drop in popularity resulting in the closure of some courts and others suffering from a lack of maintenance. Dick Bridgeman, an advocate for the sport (and later a British Doubles Champion) established what was then the Dick Bridgeman Tennis and Rackets Foundation. The foundation sought donations to support young professionals thereby ensuring the future of the game. Now known as simply The Tennis and Racquets Foundation, it continues to raise money for young professionals raising the profile of rackets worldwide. ''The Book of Racquets'' was published by J. R. Atkins in 1872. It was reprinted to commemorate the 1981 World Rackets Challenge Match between W. J. C. Surtees and J. A. N. Prenn as a limited edition of 250 copies.


Manner of play

Rackets is played in a enclosed court, with a ceiling at least high. Singles and doubles are played on the same court. The walls and floor of the court are made of smooth stone or concrete and are generally dark in colour to contrast with the white ball. A player uses a wooden racket, known as a bat, to hit a 1½-inch (38 mm) hard white ball weighing . As of September 2018, two companies produce rackets racquets, Grays of Cambridge (UK) an
Gold Leaf Athletics
(US). A good stroke must touch the front wall above a high wooden (often cloth-covered) board (also known as the 'telltale') before touching the floor. The ball may touch the side walls before reaching the front wall. The player returning a good stroke may play the ball on the volley, or after one bounce on the floor. The play is fast, and potentially dangerous. Lets (replayed points) are common, as the striker should not play the ball if doing so risks hitting another player with it. Matches preferably are observed by a "marker", who has the duty to call "Play" after each good stroke to denote that the ball is "up". Games are to 15 points, unless the game is tied at 13–all or 14–all, in which case the game can be "set" to 16 or 18 (in the case of 13–all) or to 15 or 17 (in the case of 14–all) at the option of the player first reaching 13 or 14. Only the server (hand-in) can score—the receiver (hand-out) who wins a rally becomes the server. Return of service can be extremely difficult, and, in North America, only one serve is allowed. Matches are typically best of five games. The main shots played are the volley, forehand and the backhand all similar to the way one plays these in squash; because the game of
squash rackets Squash is a racket-and-ball sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. Th ...
(now known as "squash") began in the 19th century as an offshoot of rackets, the sports were similar in manner of play and rules. However, the rules and scoring in squash have evolved in the last hundred years or so. Rackets has changed little; the main difference today is that players are now allowed brief rest periods between games. In the past, leaving the court could mean forfeiting the match, so players kept spare rackets, shirts, and shoes in the gutter below the telltale on the front wall. The governing bodies are the
Tennis and Rackets Association The Tennis and Rackets Association is the governing body for the sports of real tennis and (hard) rackets in the United Kingdom. Its first meeting was held in 1907. Tennis courts See: real tennis organizations Rackets courts Clubs * Britannia ...
(UK) and the
North American Racquets Association The North American Racquets Association is the governing body for the sport of racquets in the United States and Canada. Member clubs * Tennis and Racquet Club (Boston) * Racquet Club of Chicago * Detroit Racquet Club * Montreal Racket Club * R ...
.


Court locations


United Kingdom

As of this date, there are about twenty courts in some of the major public schools and private clubs in the United Kingdom.


Schools


=Two court venues

= *
Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...
*
Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...
*
Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...
*
Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...
*
Marlborough College ( 1 Corinthians 3:6: God gives the increase) , established = , type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = Nicholas Holtam , head_label = Master , head = Louis ...
*
Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...
*
Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...
*
Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...


=One court venues

= *
Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...
*
Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...
* Haileybury *
Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, an ...
*
St Paul's School (London) (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , ...
*
Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: * Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New ...


Clubs

As of this date, the known club courts are as follows. Here, the number of courts appear in parentheses. * BRNC Dartmouth (1) * Hayling Island (1) * Manchester Tennis & Racket Club (1) * Queens Club, London (2) * RMA Sandhurst (1)
Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...
was recently refurbished, to be suitable to host world championships. There are also private clubs that the public may join, and a nomadic club, The Jesters.


North America

As of this date, there are eight active courts in North America, all at private clubs:


Two court venues

*
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. The
Racquet Club of Chicago The Racquet Club of Chicago is a private social club and athletic club within the Gold Coast Historic District. The classical revival building was designed by architect Andrew Rebori, constructed in 1923. It is a contributing structure within th ...
has two courts. Opened in 1924, with a Court Tennis and two double squash courts. The courts are in exceptional condition, and have hosted the prestigious Western Open and other tournaments multiple times. The lobby of the courts contains plaques with the names of yearly winners going back to 1924. This club is open to both Men and Women and features many other gym facilities. It is known as one of the most exclusive clubs in the Chicago area. There are multiple dining and social areas, including a
billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...
room for social events.


One court venues

*
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
. The Detroit Racquet Club, also referred to as the DRC, opened in 1902 as the 'Detroit Racquet and Curling Club'. The building was designed by the noted architect Albert Kahn, and was built by the construction company owned by Joseph Bickley; its two original
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...
lanes were sold off during the Great Depression. The DRC is a proper Gentlemen's club, and hosts three additional North American squash courts. The Rackets court was originally open to the air with natural lighting until it was glazed over with lights added in 1912. The home colors are dark
navy blue Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color ...
and white. : The club is reportedly the origin to the cocktail the
stinger A stinger (or sting) is a sharp organ found in various animals (typically insects and other arthropods) capable of injecting venom, usually by piercing the epidermis of another animal. An insect sting is complicated by its introduction of ve ...
which has been a mainstay at the club since opening. *
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
. The first court was built in 1825. The Montreal Rackets Club (founded in 1889) is the oldest in existence according to
Alastair Bruce, 5th Baron Aberdare Alastair John Lyndhurst Bruce, 5th Baron Aberdare, (born 2 May 1947), is a British nobleman, and since 2009 a crossbench hereditary Lord Temporal. Early life and education Lord Aberdare is the son of Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, and Maud He ...
, whose father won the championship there in 1930. The court was constructed four feet longer and two feet wider to facilitate doubles play. It was resized to regulation 60 by 30 feet in 1909. *
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, NY. The New York
Racquet and Tennis Club The Racquet and Tennis Club, familiarly known as the R&T, is a private social and athletic club at 370 Park Avenue, between East 52nd and 53rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. History The Racquet Court Club opened in 1876 at 55 We ...
opened in 1918 on Park Avenue, the building designed by
McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
. The building originally housed two courts: one was converted to a double squash court in 1956. It is one of the remaining large clubs with a male only policy. The first court in the city was built in 1850 by a wine merchant from Montreal, Mr E.H. Lamontagne. The Racket and squash professional is Mr. James Stout, who retired the unbeaten World Champion. *
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. Opened in 1907 with three courts, one of which now has been converted to a double squash court, and another to a single squash court, at The Racquet Club of Philadelphia. * Tuxedo Park, NY. Opened in 1902. The Tuxedo Park courts are part of a large private
gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. ...
which hosts many tournaments bringing in players from all around the world. *
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, MA. The Boston Tennis and Racquet Club opened in 1902 in Boston's
Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...
in a building designed by Parker and Thomas in the
classical revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
style and built by Frank L. Whitcomb.


Tournaments

The Rackets World Championships for singles (and doubles) is decided in a challenge format. If the governing bodies accept the challenger's qualifications, he plays the reigning champion in a best of 14 games format (best of seven games on each side of the Atlantic). If each player wins seven games, the total point score is used as a tie breaker. The current singles champion is Tom Billings who defeated Alex Duncliffe-Vines in 2019. There will be another Challenge in November 2022 between Billings and the current World number 1 Ben Cawston. The current Doubles world champions are Tom Billings and Richard Owen who defeated
James Stout James Stout (May 6, 1914 - July 12, 1976) was an American Hall of Fame thoroughbred horse racing jockey who won four Triple Crown races. Known as "Jimmy," he began working at a racetrack as a stable boy then in 1930 became a professional jockey ...
and Jonathan Larken in 2021, 5-1 at Queen’s and New York. In 2016 James Stout & Jonathan Larken, beat World Title holders, Alex Titchener-Barrett and Christian Portz in a two-legged challenge in November 2016. The first leg was played in London's
Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship r ...
, and was won by the challengers 4 games to 1. The second occurred in The New York Racquet's and Tennis Club, and was also won by the challengers 2 games to 1, reaching a two match aggregate of six games. There are various tournaments that are hosted in North America and the UK. These are: ; In North America * The Canadian Amateur Championships * The US Amateur Championships * The US Open * The Western Open * The Tuxedo Gold Rackets * The North American Invitational Singles ; In the UK * The British Amateur Singles * The British Amateur Doubles * The British Open Singles * The British Open Doubles (Separate tournament from Singles, played at a different time of year) * The Invitational Singles * The Manchester Gold Racket * The National Schools Championship - Contested by players still at school in two tournaments, across 3 age groups, Singles and Doubles, both held at Queen's Club. * The National Schools Girls Championship - Contested by players still at school in two tournaments, across 2 age groups, Singles and Doubles, both held at Queen's Club.


World champions

Organised on a challenge basis, the first champion in 1820 was Robert Mackay of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. All championships were closed court, except for an open court series, in 1860. *1820-1824 Robert Mackay *1825-1834 Thomas Pittman *1834-1838 John Pittman *1838-1840 John Lamb *1846-1860 John Charles Mitchell *1860–1862 Francis Erwood *1862-1863 William Hart-Dyke *1863-1866 Henry John Gray *1866-1875 William Gray *1876-1878 Henry B Fairs *1878-1887 Joseph Gray *1887–1902 Peter Latham *1903–1911 Jamsetji Merwanji *1911–1913 Charles Williams *1913–1929 Jock Soutar *1929–1935 Charles Williams *1937–1947 David S Milford *1947–1954 James Dear *1954–1972 Geoffrey Atkins *1972–1973 William Surtees *1973–1975 Howard Angus MBE *1975–1981 William Surtees *1981–1984 John Prenn *1984–1986 William Boone *1986–1988 John Prenn *1988–1999 James Male *1999–2001 Neil Smith *2001–2005 James Male (retired) *2005–2008 Harry Foster *2008–2019
James Stout James Stout (May 6, 1914 - July 12, 1976) was an American Hall of Fame thoroughbred horse racing jockey who won four Triple Crown races. Known as "Jimmy," he began working at a racetrack as a stable boy then in 1930 became a professional jockey ...
(retired) *2019–Present Tom Billings


References


Further reading

* Squires, Dick. ''The Other Racket Sports''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1978. . *
Lord Aberdare Baron Aberdare, of Duffryn in the County of Glamorgan, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 23 August 1873 for the Liberal politician Henry Bruce. He served as Home Secretary from 1868 to 1873. His grandson, the thi ...
. ''The JT Faber Book of Tennis and Rackets''. London: Quiller Press, 2001. .


External links


Tennis and Rackets Association
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rackets (Sport) Racket sports Individual sports Indoor sports Ball games Former Summer Olympic sports Sports originating in England