03 August 2022 / 3-Min Read / Translate
Racketball players wearing gloves.
Safety is important when it comes to squash. You have two players with weapons, yes, rackets can be weapons, in close proximity to each other. I’ve been hit a few times and you might have too. Let me be clear, squash is NOT a dangerous sport, but you have to be careful.
I have seen, but I can’t find images – sorry, of squash rackets with string attached to the handle. You would put your hand through the string in case the racket slipped out of your hand. This might have happened in the past, but nowadays with lighter rackets and much better grip material, it doesn’t.
However, in racquetball/racketball, now called Squash 57 in the UK (57 is the size in millimetres of the ball used), having the string on the racket is still common. Not every racket has it, but many do. Honestly, I don’t know why. I have played UK racketball and never had the racket slip out of my hand, nor seen it. perhaps the weight of the racket and ball make the sport more prone to the racket slipping. Who knows?
This is a racketball racket.
A lot of players in racketball do wear gloves and a quick search will display plenty of brands and models. In all my years of coaching and playing squash, I’ve seen a handful of players use gloves for squash. One common reason given for using them in racketball is that they will stop blisters from forming. This might be true, but if you hold the racket tightly ONLY during contact with the ball, use the right size grip and use good quality grip material, I honestly don’t see a need for a glove in squash.
Another reason given in racketball is that it will help you hold the racket better, but as I said, if you have the right size grip, use good quality grips and don’t squeeze all the time, there is no need to use a glove when playing squash.
By all means try a specialist glove if you want to, but the fact that advanced and professional squash players don’t use them should tell you gloves are not needed for squash.