Rackets (sport)

History

Historians generally assert that rackets began as an 18th-century pastime in London's King's Bench and Fleet debtors prisons. The prisoners modified the game of fives 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 'Old School' buildings.

Eglinton Castle has 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 and badminton, rackets was used as an inspiration for the game of lawn tennis, invented in 1873 by Walter Clopton Wingfield. A vacant rackets court built into the University of Chicago's Stagg Field served as the location of the first artificial nuclear chain reaction 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 program and was played at the Prince's Club in London.

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 30 by 60 feet (9.1 by 18.3 m) enclosed court, with a ceiling at least 30 feet (9.1 m) 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 30.5-inch (77 cm) wooden racket, known as a bat, to hit a 38 mm (1.5 inch) hard white ball weighing 28 grams. A good stroke must touch the front wall above a 26.5 inches (67 cm) high wooden (often cloth-covered) board 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 (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 (UK) and the North American Racquets Association.

United Kingdom

There are about twenty courts in some of the major public schools and private clubs in the United Kingdom.

Schools

Charterhouse School – 2 courts

Cheltenham College

Clifton College – recently refurbished for the world championships

Eton College – 2 courts

Haileybury

Harrow School – 2 courts

Malvern College – 2 courts

Marlborough College – 2 courts

Radley College

Rugby School – 2 courts

St Paul's School (London)

Tonbridge School – 2 courts

Wellington College

Winchester College – 2 courts

Clubs

BRNCC Dartmouth

Hayling Island

Manchester Tennis & Racket Club (2)

Queens Club, London (2)

RMA Sandhurst

There are also private clubs that the public may join, and a nomadic club, The Jesters.

North America

There are eight active courts in North America, all at private clubs:

Chicago (2 courts)

The Racquet Club of Chicago 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 room for social events. The current Head Professional is Mr. John Cashman and the Head Tennis Professional is Steve Virgona. The Head Rackets Professional position is currently open. (A rackets court underneath the now-demolished west stands of the original Stagg Field at the University of Chicago was the site of the world's first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1)

Detroit (1 court)

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. The club was built by the construction company owned by Joseph Bickley It is a proper Gentlemen's club Originally the club had two curling lanes but these were sold during the Great Depression. The Club also hosts three 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 and white.

The club is reportedly the origin to the cocktail the stinger which has been a mainstay at the club since opening,

Montreal (1 court)

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, 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. Yearly, North American clubs host a male guest from British boarding schools known as a "fellow" who usually is between the age of 18 and 19. The fellow program lasts three to four months. The fellowship program allows young men from Britain to experience the United States clubs (there is an active court in Montreal). Normally these men travel to all the North American clubs to play in tournaments. Their duties include being an unpaid teacher of the sport to wrapping and trimming Rackets balls. The current Racket professional is Mr. James Rock.

New York (1 court)

The New York Racquet and Tennis Club opened in 1918 on Park Avenue, the building designed by Mckim, Mead and White. 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 current Racket and squash professional is Mr. James Stout who is the current world champion.

Tuxedo Park, NY (1 court)

Opened in 1902. The Tuxedo Park courts are part of a large private gated community which hosts many tournaments bringing in players from all around the world.

Philadelphia (1 court)

Opened in 1907 with two courts, one of which now has been converted to a double squash court, at The Racquet Club of Philadelphia.

Boston Tennis and Racquet Club (1 court)

Opened in 1902, with one rackets, one court tennis, and six North American squash courts, it was the original site of the Boston Athletic Association which now orchestrates the Boston Marathon; after late 1990's structural renovation, three international squash courts have displaced three of their narrower counterparts.

Ireland

Carlow

Carlow Sports & Social Club racket hall is located in the formor British Army Officers mess, on College Street in Carlow Town, adjacant to Carlow University - This club is active playing a local variant of the sport in which a modern tennis racket & tennis ball are used. Typically the game is played as doubles games lasting an hour, the winning team being that with the highest number of points scored after an hour of play.

Tournaments

The world championship 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 James Stout. The current doubles champions are amateurs James Stout & Jonathan Larken, who 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, 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.

The tournament system for Rackets is being revolutionised by a new World Ranking System, developed by Richard Spender and ex-New York professional, James Beaumont. The scheme is on a year experiment with the Tennis & Rackets Association. The development of the rankings model and the online system has been sponsored by Robinson McColl Architects+Designers, founded by former doubles World Champion, Alister Robinson.

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

In the UK

The British Amateur

The British Open

The Invitational Singles

The Manchester Gold Rackets

World Championship

Organized on a challenge basis, the first champion in 1820 was Robert Mackay (Great Britain).

Winners

2008– James Stout (Bermuda)

2005–8 Harry Foster (Great Britain)

2001–5 James Male (Great Britain)

1999–2001 Neil Smith (Great Britain)

1988–99 James Male (Great Britain)

1986–8 John Prenn (Great Britain)

1984–6 William Boone (Great Britain)

1981–4 John Prenn (Great Britain)

1975–81 William Surtees (Great Britain)

1973–4 Howard Angus (Great Britain)

1972–3 William Surtees (Great Britain)

1954–72 Geoffrey Atkins (Great Britain)

1947–54 James Dear (Great Britain)

1937–47 David Milford (Great Britain)

1929–35 Charles Williams (Great Britain)

1913–29 Jock Soutar (USA)

1911–13 Charles Williams (Great Britain)

1903–11 Jamsetji Merwanji (India)

1887–1902 Peter Latham (Great Britain)

1862 William Hart-Dyke (Great Britain)

1860–1862 Francis Erwood (First closed court champion)(Great Britain)

1860 John Charles Mitchell (Open court champion) (Great Britain)