What Are the Lines in A Racquetball Court? [Where is Out-Of-Bounds?] 

Photo of author
Written By Dan Kaplan

Page Editor and Racquetball player

There are multiple red lines on a racquetball court. Some of the lines run horizontally across the court from Side wall to side wall and others run vertically in a direction from the back wall toward the front wall of the court. Most of the lines are solid but one is dashed or forms a broken, dashed line. Each of the lines has a very important and specific function. Some are to even the playing field and perform to help keep one player from deceiving the other(s). Some of the lines are specific to fair game play and others are for player safety.  


 

What is the size of a Racquetball Court? 

 The court measures 20 feet wide from side wall to side wall and 40 feet long from the front wall to the back wall. The court is also 20 feet tall to the ceiling.  

 

 

 

What are the Horizontal Red Lines in a Racquetball Court? 

The horizontal lines painted on a racquetball court floor run from side wall to side wall.  

The Service Line

The first red line seen when moving from the front wall to the rear wall is called the “Service Line”. The service line is 15 feet from the front wall.

The purpose of this line is to keep play fair. The service line functions as the furthest place forward a player can go when serving the ball. It is also the furthest point forward the server can bounce the ball during a serve.

What is interesting about this line is that the server can step on the line and part their foot can even touch forward of this line as long as their entire foot does not cross it.

If the entire foot of the server crosses this line while serving, it is a foot fault and the server has to re-serve (2nd serve) or side out if it was already the server’s second serve.  

 

The Short Line

The second red line seen when moving from the front wall to the rear wall is called the “Short Line”. The short line splits the court in half at 20 feet from the front and back wall.

The purpose of this line is to keep play fair. The service line functions as an indicator depicting the edge of where a ball can first contact the floor during a serve.

The ball must fully clear this line during a serve. If the ball bounces on the line or before the line, it is considered a short serve and the server has to re-serve (2nd serve) or side out if it was already the server’s second serve.

This is one of the most contested calls on the court. The ball moves very fast, especially during a drive serve and it is sometimes difficult to know 100% if the ball cleared this line or barely bounced on it.  

 

 The Receiving Line

The third red line seen when moving from the front wall to the rear wall is called the “Receiving Line” or the “Encroachment Line”. The service line is a broken or dashed line extending from one side wall to the other.

The receiving line is 25 feet from the front wall and 15 feet from the back wall. The purpose of this line is for player safety.

The receiving line functions to create a safety zone between the server and the returner. The returner cannot cross this line and enter the safety zone with the racquet or any part of their body until the ball bounces within the zone. Also, the returner cannot hit a ball in flight until it crosses outside the safety zone and beyond the receiving line.

The penalty for entering the safety area before the ball bounces or for any part of the returner’s body or racquet going past the receiving line is a loss of rally and subsequently, a point. Play stops immediately for safety reasons.  

 

What are the Lateral Red Lines in a Racquetball Court?

There are 4 lines that run front to back but they do not run the entire length of the court.

These 2 lines on the left side of the court are mirror images of 2 lines on the right side of the court and are contained within the service area. They exist only in the 5 feet between the service line and the short line.  

 

18 inch and 3 foot lines on left

 

The Partner Service Box

The first set of lines is 18 inches from the side walls. These are called partner service boxes.

These are used in the course of a doubles game. The partner of the person serving must stay in this box with their back against the wall.

If the served ball hits them directly off the front wall, and the person in the partner service box has not moved from the service box, the server gets a second attempt. If the partner is hit while moving from within the partner service box, the point is lost and it goes to the second server or side out.  

 

The 3-Foot Lines

The second innermost vertical lines on the racquetball court are called the 3-foot lines. These lines as they indicate are 3 feet in from the side walls on both sides of the court and also contained in the service area. These lines come into play only during a serve. The servers’ racquet or person cannot cross this 3-foot line and continue to drive serve straight down the same side of the court. If so, it is very possible the ball would pass very close to the server’s body and create a visual hinder situation for the returner. 

 

18 inch and 3 foot lines on right

 

Here is a list and brief description of the lines on a racquetball court:

 

The ‘Short Line’ divides the court in half at 20’ 

The ‘Service Line’ is 5’ in front of the Short Lin 

The ‘Receiving Line’ is the broken line that runs parallel to and is 5’ behind the Short Line. It is also known as the ‘Encroachment Line’ 

The area between the Receiving (Encroachment) Line and the Short Line is called the ‘Safety Zone’ 

The 2 boxes on the sides of the court used during doubles play are the ‘Service Boxes’. They extend 18” inward from the walls 

The 2 lines inside the service boxes are called the ‘3-foot lines’. They are 3 feet from the left and right walls and indicate how far away from the side wall the server has to be during a drive serve

**By the way, there are no out-of-bounds in a racquetball court. There are rules to adhere to that fall within the perimeters of the game but all walls and surfaces are in play. This includes the ceiling of the court.

 

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