Rackets (sport)

Historians generally assert that rackets began as an 18th-century pastime in London's King's Bench and Fleet debtors' prisons.

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.

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.

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 30.5-inch (77 cm) wooden racket, known as a bat, to hit a 1½-inch (38 mm) hard white ball weighing 1 ounce (28 g).

As of September 2018, two companies produce rackets racquets, Grays of Cambridge (UK) and Gold Leaf Athletics (US).

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".

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 current Doubles world champions are Tom Billings and Richard Owen who defeated James Stout 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.