Difference between Squash and Tennis

Key Difference: Both, Squash and Tennis have developed from a previously famous game called racquets. In squash, the player uses a racquet to hit a hollow rubber ball against a wall. The squash court has four walls. Tennis is usually played against another person. Two players can play against each other in a singles game, or in teams of two called doubles.

Sports are quite famous and some people are fanatical about them. They have their favorite sport, sport teams, players, even favorite moves or plays. Whereas for others who are less sport fanatical, it is possible that they might not even know the difference between two sports. After all, there are many sports out there that appear to be very similar at first glance. Squash and Tennis are two such sports.

Both, Squash and Tennis have developed from a previously famous game called racquets. Rackets or racquets was an indoor racquet sport that developed in the 18th-century. Believe it or not it was developed as a pastime in debtors’ prisons, where the prisons would play this against the prison walls as a source of entertainment. Racquets itself was developed from the game of fives, which was a form of handball. As the name suggests, the game Racquets added racquets to the game. The primary function of the game was to hit a ball against the wall with the use of a racquet. It was also sometimes played in a corner so that two walls at a right angle were used to bounce the ball.

It can be said that racquets was the direct predecessor of squash. Similar to racquets, squash is also played again a wall. The player uses a racquet to hit a hollow rubber ball against a wall. The squash court has four walls. Squash can be played by two people, called singles or by four players as doubles. The players alternately take turns to hit the ball against the wall. There are lines marked on the court that depict where the ball with be out.

Tennis is similar to squash, as it also developed from racquets. However, it also adds the components from the Basque ball game pelota. Unlike squash, which is played against a wall, tennis is usually played against another person. Two players can play against each other in a singles game, or in teams of two called doubles.

The aim of the game is for the players to hit the ball over a net into the opponent's court. This is done via the help of a racquet. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a good return. Hence claiming a point for the person who makes the other one not able to play a good return.

The name squash comes from the fact that the ball used in the sport is squashy and small enough to fit in the palm of the hand; whereas, a tennis ball is as big as the hand and harder. It is also covered in felt. A squash ball also has a higher bounce rate as compared to a tennis ball. A squash racquet is also slightly narrower and lighter than a tennis racquet. Additionally, squash courts are much smaller in size than tennis courts and have walls on all four sides. Furthermore, a squash match usually lasts 1.5 hours, which is shorter than a tennis match, which can last more than 3 hours on many occasions.

Comparison between Squash and Tennis:

 

Squash

Tennis

Description

Squash is a racquet sport played by two (singles) or four players (doubles) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball.

Tennis is a racquet sport that can be played individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a racquet that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court.

Highest governing body

World Squash Federation (WSF)

International Tennis Federation

First played

1830 in Harrow, England

Between 1859 and 1865 in Birmingham, England

Contact

No

No

Team members

Singles or doubles

Single or doubles

Mixed gender

Yes, separate competitions

Yes, separate tours & mixed doubles

Type

Racquet sport

Racquet sport

Equipment

Squash ball, squash racquet

Tennis ball, tennis racquet

Venue

Indoor or outdoor (with glass court)

Indoor or outdoor tennis court

Olympic

No, but is recognized as a possible future Olympic sport

Member of the ARISF

Part of Summer Olympic programme from 1896 to 1924

Demonstration sport in the 1968 and 1984 Summer Olympics

Part of Summer Olympic programme since 1988

Paralympic

No

Part of Summer Paralympic programme since 1992

Image Courtesy: tubefilter.com, great-aycliffe.gov.uk

Most Searched in Computers and Internets Most Searched in Games and Recreation
Most Searched in Beauty and Style Most Searched in Pregnancy and Parenting
Hot Chocolate vs Hot Cocoa
Directive vs Regulation
Epistemology vs Ontology

Comments

Basically a normal people can't understand the difference in between squash and tennis. Normally the most common thing in between these two is the rackets; in both rackets are using to hit the ball; but also the most common difference in between them is that squash is an indoor game and tennis is an outdoor game.

Add new comment

Plain text

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.