USA Racquetball Rules: 10 - Men’s Professional, International Racquetball Tour (IRT)#

The Professional divisions at IRT events will follow USAR rules, with the following modifications.

In any match using instant replay or line judges, players are allowed 2 lost appeals per game, both in games to fifteen and in the tiebreaker to eleven. Players may not leave the court during an appeal. An appeal is considered lost when the referee’s call is upheld, unless the ruling is inconclusive.g an appeal.An appeal is lost when the referee’s call is upheld, but NOT lost if the ruling is inconclusive.

A match-ending rally can be appealed even if no appeals remain.

There are no court hinders. All surfaces shall be in play, with the exception of any gallery opening, surfaces designated as out-of-play for a valid reason and objects that are not considered part of the court determined before play begins by the IRT Representative. Anything inside the court is considered part of the court, making it in play unless it is added such as a microphone, speaker, etc.

The referee should stop play immediately whenever the ball hits any part of the court that was designated in advance as out-of-play.

The referee should stop play if after striking a wet spot on the first surface that the ball hits after the front wall only on the serve. If play is not stopped by the referee, play continues as usual. If the ball hits a wet spot during play, play continues.

A noise outside the court does not result in a replay if a player stops play. Play must continue.

The referee should call a screen serve immediately and not consider whether the receiver requests one by raising their hand. Factors to consider when assessing whether the ball passed “too close to the server” are, where the ball would have or did hit the back wall; the angle of the ball toward the corner; whether the receiver paused before moving; the height of the serve; whether the server dodged to avoid being hit by the serve; and whether the receiver was in a center court position.

The server (and partner in doubles) may leave the service zone as soon as the ball is struck for the serve.

A player may only question a rule or interpretation of a rule. Excessive arguing with the referee may result in a technical warning or a technical foul. The first offense is a technical warning and any additional offenses are technical fouls resulting in loss of point. See Rule 10.1 regarding appeals.

The 10-second rule applies to the server and receiver simultaneously when both players are in the general vicinity of their serve or return positions. Collectively, they are allowed up to 10 seconds after the score is called to serve and be ready to receive.

The referee shall call the score and the 10-second count shall commence; if more than 10 seconds is taken, a technical warning is issued for delay of game. Each infraction thereafter will result in a technical foul.

It is the server’s responsibility to look and be certain the receiver is ready. If the server serves while the receiver is signaling “not ready”, that serve will be replayed, with no penalty and without canceling any previous fault serve. If the server repeats this, a technical foul for delay of game shall be called on the server.

Any intentional delay of game such as kicking the ball, hitting the ball after the rally out of frustration or any other delay in the referee’s judgement shall result in a delay of game warning and then each infraction afterwards shall result in a technical foul.

Each player is entitled to one, one-minute timeout per game.

The player must make the referee aware of the time-out and may not leave the court until the referee

acknowledges the time out. A technical foul will be assessed if a player leaves the court without the permission of the referee.

The referee is responsible for informing the players when 10 seconds remain in the timeout. The referee will

strictly enforce the 60-second timeout length. The first infraction of this rule will warrant a technical warning. The second and subsequent infractions will result in a delay of game technical foul.

Players are expected to keep all clothing and equipment in good, playable, and safe condition. Adjustment and replacement of equipment is expected during regular timeouts and time in between games.

However, if the referee determines that an equipment change or adjustment is necessary for fair and safe continuance of the match, the referee may grant an equipment timeout not to exceed 30 seconds.

Equipment worn or played with by the player applicable to a referee granted 30 second equipment timeout includes: broken racquet frame, broken racquet strings, broken eye guards, broken or untied safety wrist strap, wet shirt (shirt considered to be wet if during diving the court becomes excessively wet and slows the game down for continual drying or water from shirt drips onto the court), wet kneepads, torn clothing, torn/ripped glove, broken shoe lace or torn shoe or any other item deemed in need of change or adjustment by the referee so as to continue the match fairly and safely.

Wet gloves will not be included as part of a referee granted equipment timeout. Each player will be expected to use the time prior to the start of the match, the regular timeout granted during the game, or time between games to secure a dry glove for continued play.

The referee is responsible for informing the players when 10 seconds remain in the equipment timeout. The referee will strictly enforce the 30-second equipment timeout length. The first infraction of this rule will warrant a warning from the referee. The second and subsequent infractions will result in a delay of game technical foul.

If a player is unable to obtain replacement equipment, the referee may consult with the IRT Commissioner or IRT representative, and the match bay be forfeited.

If a player is injured during the course of a match as a result of contact, such as with the ball, racquet, wall, floor, or opponent, an injury timeout will be awarded. While a player may call more than one timeout for the same injury or for additional injuries that occur during the match, the player has a total of 15 minutes for injury timeouts during a match. If the injured player is unable to resume play after the 15 minutes is used, the match shall be awarded to their opponent.

Should any external bleeding occur, the referee must halt play as soon as the rally is over, a referee timeout is called to allow the player to stop the bleeding in a reasonable amount of time determined by the referee and/or IRT Commissioner. Play shall not continue until the court has been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected if necessary.

The referee is responsible for informing the players when 20 seconds remain between games. The referee will strictly enforce the 2-minute time between games. The first infraction of this rule will warrant a technical warning. The second and subsequent infractions will result in a delay of game technical foul.

The first matches of each round will start at the times stated on the draw, provided that the players receive 15 minutes to warm up on the court. Subsequent matches will begin 15 minutes after the previous match has ended. For example, if a match ends at 6:15pm, the next match begins at 6:30pm.

Players will be checked in automatically for their IRT matches.

Warm-up time: In singles, both players are allowed 15 minutes of shared court warm-up time. In doubles, each team will receive 7.5 minutes of warm-up time. The lower seeded team will warm up first.

Players do not have to wear eye wear or wrist cords during warm-up, but they must use them as designed once play begins.

If a player is not at the club, or prepared to play, a technical foul will be assessed for each minute the match is delayed. After 4 technical fouls, the referee may declare a forfeit.

A player may only question a rule or interpretation of a rule. Excessive arguing with the referee may result in a technical warning or a technical foul. The first offense is a technical warning and any additional offenses are technical fouls resulting in loss of point. See Rule 10.1 regarding appeals.

The IRT Commissioner will have the final call on all rules questions or disputes. If the Commissioner is not available, an IRT designated official will have the final say.

The IRT Commissioner or IRT representative will have the authority to answer questions and resolve conflicts on site and during matches. At any time during a match, a player may request a ruling from the IRT Commissioner or IRT representative. The opinion of only the acting official is necessary to resolve any issue that may arise. There is no appeal.

If the receiver or server makes contact with the ball with their racquet after the end of the rally and the ball is then determined to be broken, the previous rally shall not be replayed and will stand as is, unless it is determined by the referee that the ball was indeed broken during the rally; the rally will then be replayed.

If the ball is squeezed by hand after the rally is over and before it is struck by a racquet and determined to be broken, the previous rally will be replayed.

Purposely striking the ball after the rally with the intent to impede the above rule shall result in a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.

A “cross-court” shot is defined as a shot from the point of contact to the front wall that would bounce from the front wall toward either back corner without touching a side wall. A “straight-in” shot is one that contacts the front wall directly in front of the contact point. Both “cross-court” and “straight-in” shots must contact the front wall either on the same horizontal plane as the contact point or at the bottom of the front wall. If a defensive player jumps and clears that plane on either a “cross-court” or “straight-in” shot but is contacted by the ball or else the hitting player holds up, a replay hinder will be called.