Racquetball Improved Upon Other Racquet Sports

I like racquetball because it is high pace and high skill. Anticipation plays a big roll. The fastest ball recorded is 209 miles per hour and you can actually roll the ball out under any condition. Plus there is lots of diving. And it is a game you can improve at in your later years because by killing the ball and honing this skill, you can end the rally and win against a lot of players, unlike other similar sports that rely more on conditioning (squash), depend to a large extent on strength (handball) or body-type (tennis). Because 80% of the power comes from your wrist snap, most elderly players retain much of their power. You can say racquetball is more a universal sport for the ages. And that's why I think after the baby boomer boom for racquetball in the 1970's and 80's and their subsequent bust, it has steadily been increasing as reflected by the International Racquetball Pro Tour (IRT) with prize money increasing each year and stronger than ever.

Racquetball ("paddle rackets") was invented in 1949 in response to the problems of other racquet and indoor ball sports. Handball hurt the hand and there was no leverage, but it had the kill shot. Squash had no put away shot, it is not a power game, the ball was too small and there was too much leverage in the racquet. Paddleball was in between tennis and ping-pong, but racquet sports with nets don't have the same thrilling action and element of a put away roll-out, there is not the physical benefits of bending at the knees, they don't have the exciting reaction of the ball and dynamic with four walls and ceiling; and my favorite, you don't have to go chasing the ball around after the rally. Hence, the perfect sport that takes the best from all these previous sports.