Squash Tips - The Ball

The squash ball you play with is the most crucial decision that you can make before playing squash.

All balls are made of a rubbery compound that is glued together to form a hollow spherical shape. Although the seams of the balls are glued together with a high quality sealant. they still have a habit of splitting from time to time. That's why it's best to invest and bring more than one ball to a squash game. All balls are regulated to be 39.5 mm and 40.5 mm in diameter, and to weigh between 23 and 25 grams. There are 5 types of squash ball (excluding training balls etc.) that are recognized by the British Squash Rackets Association. Here they are:

• Blue Dot (Very high bounce)
• Red Dot (High Bounce)
• White or sometimes Green Dot (average-ish bounce)
  
• Single Yellow Dot (Low bounce)
• Double Yellow Dot (Very low bounce)

Although you may be thinking you should probably use a white or green dot, personally i think its best you either use a single or double yellow dot. It is very unusual to see a player using a white/green dot or below unless training. As you can see from above the yellow dots give less bounce and tend to "die" more in the corners, whereas the blue and red dots bounce higher making it easy to hit them out of there.

The ball can travel up to 170mph when hit correctly and from experience, can cause pain to you if you get hit. Although this can happen there have been no serious injuries like blinding from a squash ball. The worst thing you can do is be afraid of the ball.

All balls need warming up before play can begin. This is usually done by hitting the ball to each other and does not take very long at all to reach a reasonable heat. Another way, and a top tip is to leave the ball on a radiator or in hot water before the game (i do it while i change) and it should be ready for match play as soon as you enter the court.

Of course a warm up is still recommended to generate heat in the muscles and prevent muscular injuries, after all squash is a very physical game.