Racquetball · Scoring guide
How to keep score in racquetball
Under standard side-out scoring, only the serving side can score in racquetball: win a rally on your serve and you get a point, lose it and the serve passes to your opponent with no point scored (a side-out). A USA Racquetball match is the best of 3 games, with games 1 and 2 to 15 and a tiebreaker to 11, all won by a single point; international (IRF) events use rally scoring, where every rally scores.
Racquetball scoring rules at a glance
| Rule | What the USA Racquetball rules say |
|---|---|
| Scoring system | Side-out scoring, also called traditional scoring |
| Who can score | Only the serving side, by serving an ace or winning the rally |
| Receiving side wins a rally | No point: the serve changes hands |
| Games 1 and 2 | First to 15 points |
| Tiebreaker | A third game to 11, played only at one game all |
| Winning margin | 1 point: 15-14 and 11-10 are final scores |
| Match | Best of 3 games: the first side to win 2 games |
| Score call | Server's score first, then receiver's score |
| Serves | 2 tries to put a legal serve in play |
| Formats | Singles (2 players) or doubles (4 players) |
How does side-out scoring work?
Every rally starts with a serve, and only the serving side can score. The server wins a point by serving an ace, a serve the receiver cannot return, or by winning the rally. If the receiver wins the rally, nobody scores and the receiver becomes the server. That change of serve is called a side-out.
So winning a rally on the return is worth something, just not a point: it gives you the chance to score on the next one. Between evenly matched players the serve can change hands several times before anyone scores.
How do you call the score?
The server's score is always called first, then the receiver's. If you lead 7-4 and lose the serve, the next call is 4-7, because your opponent is now serving. Nothing changed except the order.
| Rally | Won by | Score | Games won (scores) | Serving next | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Us | 1–0 | 0–0 | Us | Us win on serve: a point. Called 1-0 |
| 2 | Us | 2–0 | 0–0 | Us | Called 2-0 |
| 3 | Them | 2–0 | 0–0 | Them | Them win on the return: side-out, no point. Called 0-2 |
| 4 | Them | 2–1 | 0–0 | Them | Them are serving now, so Them score. Called 1-2 |
| 5 | Them | 2–2 | 0–0 | Them | Called 2-2 |
| 6 | Us | 2–2 | 0–0 | Us | Side-out, no point. Called 2-2 |
| 7 | Us | 3–2 | 0–0 | Us | Called 3-2 |
| 8 | Us | 4–2 | 0–0 | Us | Called 4-2 |
| 9 | Them | 4–2 | 0–0 | Them | Side-out, no point. Called 2-4 |
| 10 | Them | 4–3 | 0–0 | Them | Called 3-4. 10 rallies, 7 points |
Scored point by point by the same scoring rules the app uses.
Each row is one rally, whether or not it scored. Ten rallies produced only 7 points, because rallies 3, 6 and 9 were side-outs. The Score column always lists Us first, but the call puts the server's score first: after rally 3 Us still lead 2-0, yet the call is 0-2 because Them are now serving.
Do you have to win by 2 in racquetball?
Not under USA Racquetball rules. The first side to reach 15 in games 1 and 2, or 11 in the tiebreaker, wins the game, even by one point. There is no deuce and no extension: at 14-14, the next point scored wins the game.
The win by 2 you may have heard about comes from rally scoring: International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships play every game to 11, won by 2. See rally vs side-out scoring for how that changes a game.
How does the racquetball tiebreaker work?
If each side wins one game, a third game called the tiebreaker decides the match. It is played to 11 instead of 15, with the same side-out scoring and the same one-point margin, so 11-10 wins the match.
The first serve of the tiebreaker is not simply given to the winner of game 2. The side with the most total points in games 1 and 2 chooses to serve or receive. If the totals are level, a coin toss decides.
| Rally | Won by | Score | Games won (scores) | Serving next | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Us | 9–8 | 1–1 (15–12, 9–15) | Us | Point on serve. Called 9-8 |
| 2 | Them | 9–8 | 1–1 (15–12, 9–15) | Them | Side-out, no point. Called 8-9 |
| 3 | Them | 9–9 | 1–1 (15–12, 9–15) | Them | Called 9-9 |
| 4 | Them | 9–10 | 1–1 (15–12, 9–15) | Them | Called 10-9. Match point to Them |
| 5 | Us | 9–10 | 1–1 (15–12, 9–15) | Us | Us save match point but score nothing: side-out. Called 9-10 |
| 6 | Us | 10–10 | 1–1 (15–12, 9–15) | Us | Called 10-10 |
| 7 | Them | 10–10 | 1–1 (15–12, 9–15) | Them | Side-out, no point. Called 10-10 |
| 8 | Them | Them win the match | 1–2 (15–12, 9–15, 10–11) | – | Them win 11-10: the tiebreaker has no 2-point margin |
Scored point by point by the same scoring rules the app uses.
Them scored 27 points over games 1 and 2 and Us scored 24, so under the rules Them chose to serve first in the tiebreaker. At 10-9, Us saved match point by winning the rally on the return, then scored on serve to level at 10-10. Them won the next rally to take back the serve and scored on the one after, winning the match 11-10.
Who serves first in each game?
- Game 1: the coin toss winner chooses to serve or receive.
- Game 2: the order is reversed, so the side that received first in game 1 serves first.
- Tiebreaker: the side with more total points in games 1 and 2 chooses, as above.
How does serving work in doubles?
Doubles uses the same side-out scoring, but each team gets 2 servers per turn. A lost rally costs the serving team its server, not a point to the opponents:
| The serving team loses a rally when | What happens |
|---|---|
| The first server is serving | Hand-out: the partner serves next, and the team can still score |
| The second server is serving | Side-out: the serve passes to the other team |
| It is the first service turn of the game | Side-out straight away: the team that serves first in a game gets only one server |
After that opening turn, both partners serve every time their team has the serve. No points change hands on a hand-out or a side-out.
How many serves do you get?
You get 2 chances to put the ball in play. To serve legally, bounce the ball in the service zone, hit it on the first bounce to the front wall, and land it beyond the short line. The served ball may touch one side wall on the way.
- Fault serves give you a second try, and two in a row lose the serve. Examples are a short serve (lands before the short line), a long serve (hits the back wall first), a three-wall serve, a ceiling serve, a screen serve and a foot fault.
- Out serves lose the serve at once, for example a serve that does not hit the front wall first, a missed swing, a fake or balk serve, or serving out of order.
Losing the serve this way works like losing a rally: no point is scored, and it is a side-out (or a hand-out in doubles).
Does racquetball use rally scoring?
Some events do. Under rally scoring every rally scores a point for whoever wins it, and IRF international events have used it since 2022, with IRF World Championships played over the best of 5 games to 11, won by 2. The event format and the history are in rally vs side-out scoring, compared rally by rally.
How the app handles it
Sport Score Tracker scores racquetball with one tap per rally: you record only which side won it, and the app works out whether it scored a point. The defaults follow the rules above: side-out scoring, games 1 and 2 to 15 won by 1, a deciding game to 11 at one game all, and the best of 3 games. The scoreboard shows each side's points and games won and marks the serving side. Options include rally scoring, games to 11, 15 or 21, a deciding game to 11 or 15, and win by one or two.
Side A always serves the first rally, and the side that won a game serves first in the next one, including the tiebreaker, so the app does not follow the reversed order in game 2 or the most-total-points choice. It scores singles: doubles hand-outs, first and second servers and the one-server opening turn are not tracked. It does not record fault serves, hinders, technical fouls or time-outs, and it has no best of 5.
Questions
How many time-outs do you get in racquetball?
Two per game, including the tiebreaker, and each lasts 1 minute. USA Racquetball changed this in 2023; older guides still quote three 30-second time-outs in games to 15 and two in the tiebreaker.
How long is the break between racquetball games?
2 minutes between games 1 and 2, and 2 minutes before the tiebreaker. The rest before the tiebreaker was 5 minutes until USA Racquetball shortened it in 2023.
Can you lose a point in racquetball?
Yes, but only as a penalty. A technical foul, for overtly and deliberately abusive conduct, means 1 point deducted from your score. Otherwise points are only ever added, and only by the serving side.
What happens on a hinder in racquetball?
A replay hinder is replayed, with no point and no change of serve. A penalty hinder (formerly called an avoidable hinder) costs the player who caused it the rally, so the server either scores or loses the serve.
How do you keep score in cutthroat racquetball?
Cutthroat is a three-player game that USA Racquetball treats as a non-tournament variation, so it has no official scoring. Usually the server plays against the other two and, as in singles, only the server scores; when the server loses a rally, the next player serves. Sport Score Tracker does not score cutthroat.
Last reviewed September 25, 2026
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