Rackets (or RACQUETS; M. E. raket; Span. raqueta, 'racket,' 'battle-dore'; Arab. râhat, 'palm of the hand'). No reference is made to the game of rackets before the early part of the 19th century, and the game as then played differed materially from that of the present day. From Dickens's account in Pickwick we should gather that the racket-court in which the insolvent debtors disported themselves in the Fleet boasted of more than one wall, but the usual game was played against a single wall, the ball having to rebound into a court marked out with paint. The erection of the courts at Prince's Club in 1853 showed that the four-wall game was coming into favour, and since covered courts have been adopted by the universities and public schools the old game has become practically obsolete. When the site of Prince's Club was invaded by the builder in 1886 the headquarters of rackets were transferred to the Queen's Club, Kensington, where championship matches have been instituted, and where the university and public school contests now take place.
The modern court is about 60 feet long by 30 feet broad and 40 feet high. It is enclosed by four walls, and covered by a roof with a double row of skylights. The walls and floor are coated with cement, usually coloured black, and marked out by white lines as shown in the plan. A line 8 feet from the ground painted across the front wall is called the 'service line.' Below this at 2 feet is the 'play line,' which is made of wood, so as to enable the players to judge by the sound whether a ball is 'up' or not. The racket has a small head with tightly strung gut and a long handle. The average weight is 9 oz. The ball is very hard, and about inch in diameter. The server strikes the ball alternately from the two serving boxes a and b in such a manner that it flies direct from his racket to
Plan of Racket Court.
some part of the front wall above the service line, and rebounds into that quarter of the court opposite to him—viz. from a into A, from b into B. If the ball hits the wall below the play line, or goes 'out of court,' the server's 'hand is out,' and his opponent has the privilege of serving. If it strikes the wall between the play line and the service line, or falls on some part of the floor other than that indicated, it is a 'fault,' and the servee may refuse to take it. Two faults put the hand out. The servee must return the service above the play line. The game consists of fifteen aces, and the server scores an ace when the striker out fails to return his service or any ball in the subsequent 'bully.' See Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Rackets, and Fives, in the 'Badminton' series, by J. M. Heathcote and others (1890).