![]() Many clubs tore down their racquetball courts. In the 1980s, the popularity of this sport started to fall. Sports clubs and country clubs throughout the United States picked up on the enthusiasm of the sport and started building racquetball courts in their clubs. Popularity of the sport grew as more athletes came to notice its high intensity, giving them a great workout and building up sweat while playing. It was also during this time that sporting goods stores began manufacturing official racquetball gear for the sport. By 1969, the game had become so popular worldwide that a man named Robert Kendler founded the International Racquetball Association, thereby changing the name of the sport to “racquetball.” During the same year, the first racquetball official championship was held in St. Sobek founded the Paddle Racquet Association in 1952 and distributed a set of rules to all YMCAs in the United States to help spread the popularity of the sport. He, along with a partner, also decided to combine the rules of handball and squash and start the rules for the racquetball, known at the time as “paddle rackets.” Rackets, paddles, and balls-all appeared in different shapes and forms over the years, as the search for the ideal model of each continued. In the 1940s, Sobek was working in a rubber factory and designed the rubber ball that is used for the sport today. Sobek, a professional handball, squash, and tennis player from Greenwich, Connecticut, who has most often been credited with the invention of the game. ![]() During this time, the sport was referred to as “rackets.” In America, the game first appeared in the1920s. The roots of racquetball may have started in prisons in the 1800s, when inmates were given balls which they would hit against the walls. ![]() Rather, it was developed early in the twentieth century by combining other popular sports-tennis, handball, squash, and a Spanish sport called jai alai. Unlike many other sports popular today, racquetball does not have a long and involved history. It is possible to play solo, doubles, and even with four players. Though outdoor courts exist, they are rare. Racquetball is a game that is played in an indoor court with three walls, a rubber ball, and a small racquet. History of Racquetball The Origins of the Game of Racquetball
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