How Fast Does a Racquetball Travel? Fascinating Numbers

If you have only seen it from a third person’s perspective, you would already realize that racquetball is a very fast-paced sport that requires you to move and react quickly. Of course, the only way for you to realize just how fast this game has always been is for you to actually play it. And the reason why this game is so fast-paced is the fact that the racquetball travels so fast. But just how fast does racquetball travel?

The power-hitting professionals and the top amateurs in racquetball have an average serve of somewhere between 150 and 160 mph. Of course, the number is lower for beginners and lower-level amateurs. Meanwhile, the fastest recorded racquetball serve ever is said to have traveled over 190 mph.

Racquetball is indeed a very fast-paced sport that will require you to work hard to keep up with the ball, which travels and moves so fast that you would be forced to move your feet and strike just as fast. This is why those who want to give themselves a good workout or to enjoy the adrenaline rush love playing racquetball, as this sport is certainly going to keep you moving all the time.

How fast does racquetball travel?

One of the fastest-growing indoor sports that have become a hobby for a lot of different people is racquetball. The sport is popular not only because it does not require a lot of space but also because it is actually very fun and exciting even if you are only playing it as a hobby and not for competitive reasons. And, of course, the reason why racquetball is as fun as it can be attributed to how fast this sport is.

Racquetball is a fast-paced sport that makes use of a rubber ball that you bounce on the wall’s surface using your racket. Because the racket was built to increase the ball’s velocity as it bounces on the wall, you are forced to react quickly to be able to return the ball back to the wall in split seconds because of how fast the ball travels.

Given that racquetball is indeed a very fast sport because of how the ball travels at really high speeds, how fast does racquetball travel?

What you should know about racquetball as a sport is that the only recorded racquetball serves are those that come from professionals and probably top-level amateurs who practice power serving. That means that it would be tough to say how fast the usual racquetball travels when served by a low-level amateur or an average athlete who doesn’t compete professionally.

Still, among the top racquetball professionals in the world, the usual speed at which the racquetball travels when served or returns can be somewhere between 150 to 160 mph. To picture out how fast that is, just imagine a car equipped with a V8 engine running at its top speed.

Meanwhile, when it comes to amateurs, we can’t say for certain how fast a racquetball travels on average, but we can say for sure that most amateur hobbyists are not equipped with the serving power that professionals have. But let’s try to give an estimate.

Let’s suppose that amateur racquetball players have at most 70% of the power that pros have when serving a racquetball. So, if we were to assume that an average racquetball player can reach speeds of 160 mph with a service, then 70% of that would be about 112 mph, which is still quite fast. If you think about it, 112 mph is still pretty fast and is faster than a lot of entry-level cars, even at their top speed. 

So, regardless of whether we are talking about professionals or amateurs, what we can be certain of is that the racquetball travels at really high speeds, which will require players to be not only strong but also very quick because they have to be able to quickly react to the ball once it bounces back. This is why racquetball is an exciting sport to play and is also a good workout for amateurs who just want to burn some calories.

What is the fastest racquetball serve?

While we did say that most high-level racquetball athletes have serving speeds of somewhere between 150 and 160 mph, there are still outliers who have been able to reach speeds much higher than the average. So, what’s the fastest racquetball serve ever recorded?

The fastest serve ever recorded was from former professional racquetball player Egan Inoue, who also went on to become a professional mixed martial artist. Inoue was said to have a max serving speed of 191 mph. This is basically the same as the max speed of a Lamborghini Urus. Egan Inoue achieved that record back in the 80s, but there are some professionals who are said to be able to reach 190 mph on a regular basis.

Do Different Racquetballs Differ In Speed?

Another thing you need to know is that different racquetballs have different speeds depending on their colors.

Black racquetballs are some of the slowest racquetballs because they are designed for longer rallies. The slower the ball is, the longer the rallies are. These are also some of the most durable balls because they don’t get too damaged when they are going at slower speeds.

The blue racquetballs are some of the most common balls out there. These are the balls that are designed for those who want to play recreationally because they are made to have moderate speeds. Python Blue Racquetballs are excellent if you are looking for good blue balls to use when playing with friends.

Meanwhile, the fastest racquetballs are the purple or pink ones. These are the same balls that are used by professionals. That means that the fastest racquetball serves were achieved using purple or pink balls.

Then there are the green racquetballs, which are similar to their blue counterparts but are made to be faster. They are best for those who want to play recreationally but would want to have a faster game.

Red racquetballs are also great but they are best reserved for outdoor conditions. These balls are also very fast but are not as fast as their purple or pink counterparts.

Is a Racquetball Faster Than a Tennis Ball?

If you want to get a better picture of how fast a racquetball can travel, let’s compare it with arguably the most popular racket sport in the world, which is tennis. The two sports are very similar in terms of their equipment, but the differences in the rackets and the balls make one sport faster than the other.

In tennis, the average serving speed of a professional player can be somewhere close to 120 mph. Meanwhile, the fastest serve ever recorded by a professional tennis player is 163.7 mph, which was accomplished by the Australian Sam Groth.

So, as you can see, the average professional racquetball player can serve a ball that’s almost as fast as the fastest tennis ball ever recorded. Meanwhile, amateur racquetball players can serve racquetballs that travel nearly just as fast as the average serving speed of a professional tennis player.

What this means is that, if you already think that tennis is a fast-paced sport that requires you to react to the ball quickly, you would be surprised that racquetball is a sport that is much faster because the ball travels faster in this sport. And the reason can be attributed to the equipment as rackets like the (HEAD MX Hurricane) are meant to handle racquetballs that are supposed to be very fast.