One other thing to mention is that the colour of the lines on a squash court is not important. For example, you can find courts with red, blue and yellow lines and they all mean the same thing: if the ball hits it, it is out.
The line around the top of the walls is called the “Out Line”. This constitutes the edge of the court. If the ball hits this line or ANYWHERE above it, the the ball is out and the point goes to the non-striker, i.e. the person who didn’t hit the ball.
The next line to explain is the Service line, also called the Cut line by older players. This is for the serve ONLY. The ball must go above that when served. After the serve, including the service return, it can be ignore as far as the rules are concerned.
The next line to look at is called the Tin and this is the line on the front wall near the floor. In fact, the whole area below the line is also called the tin and is supposed too make a very different noise to the front wall if the ball hits it. This concludes the lines on the walls and it’s time to look at the lines on a squash court floor.
The first thing to tell you is that all the lines on the floor are for the serve ONLY. Once the rally starts, they are not used in the rules at all!
The line that goes from the side walls across the near middle of the court is called the Short line. The serve MUST bounce past this line. Remember, it CAN NOT land ON the line, otherwise it is out.
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The next line is the one from the Short line to the back wall and this is called the Half Court line. When a serve is made, if the ball is not hit before it bounces (that’s up to the receiver) the ball must bounce inside the area created with the Short line and the Half Court line.
The final lines to talk about are called the Service Boxes. These are the 2 little boxes created by the Short line, the side wall and two other lines. They appear on both sides of the squash court.
Unlike all the other lines on a squash court, these have nothing to do with the ball! They are for the feet of the server. The server MUST have one foot within the service box when they hit the ball on the serve. The foot MUST NOT be touching the line at the time they hit the ball. If it is, this is called a Foot Fault and is quite common in squash, but most people ignore it.
If a ball hits the lines on a squash court, it is OUT. The lines on the floor and the middle on on the wall (Service line) are ONLY used for serves – not the return of serve though.
Final Thoughts
If a ball hits the lines on a squash court, it is OUT. The lines on the floor and the middle on on the wall (Service line) are ONLY used for serves – not the return of serve though.