Squash · Guide
Let and stroke explained
When your opponent is in your way, you stop and ask for a let. The answer is one of three: let (replay the rally), stroke (you win the point) or no let (you lose the rally).
What you are entitled to
When it is your shot, your opponent has to give you all four of these:
- A fair view of the ball as it comes off the front wall.
- Direct access to the ball: a straight path to it.
- Room to swing, with a reasonable swing, not an exaggerated one.
- Freedom to hit the ball to any part of the front wall.
If you do not get one of these, that is interference, and you can stop and ask for a let.
Let, stroke or no let
| Decision | When | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Let | There was interference, your opponent made every effort to get out of the way, and you could have got the ball back well. | Replay the rally |
| Stroke | Your opponent did not make every effort to clear; or your shot would have been a winner; or the ball would have hit them on its way straight to the front wall. | You win the point |
| No let | You could not have reached the ball or made a good return anyway; or the interference was tiny; or you played on and then stopped; or you caused the interference by your own movement. | You lose the rally |
The situations that cause the arguments
Your opponent is standing on the line of the ball
If they are right in the path you would take to the ball and have not moved, it is usually a stroke. If they were moving out of the way as fast as they could, it is usually a let.
You hit your opponent with the ball
- It would have gone straight to the front wall: stroke to you.
- It would have hit a side wall first: let.
- It would not have been a good return: you lose the rally.
If you had turned, following the ball round the back of the court, and hit your opponent, it is a stroke to them. That is why you should stop and ask for a let rather than turn and hit if they are anywhere near.
You would have hit them with your swing
Stop. Never play through if you might hit your opponent. If you stop for a genuine safety reason, you are still entitled to the decision you would have had.
Fishing for lets
Moving into your opponent, or taking an indirect route to the ball to create contact, gets "no let". So does stopping when you could never have reached the ball.
Playing without a referee
Most club and box matches have no referee, so the players decide. The usual etiquette:
- Stop and say "let please" as soon as you are blocked.
- If you blocked your opponent and know it, offer the let or the stroke yourself.
- If you genuinely cannot agree, replay the rally as a let.
The simplest way to avoid lets: after you hit, get out of your opponent's way and back towards the T by the most direct route. Most stroke decisions come from a player who stands and admires their shot.
Quick answers
- What is a let in squash?
- The rally is replayed. You get a let when your opponent got in your way but made every effort to get out of it, and you could have played a good return.
- What is a stroke in squash?
- You win the point. A stroke is given when your opponent did not make every effort to clear, or when they were blocking a shot that would have been a winner, or when your shot would have hit them on its way straight to the front wall.
- What is 'no let' in squash?
- The rally stands and your opponent wins it. It is given when you could not have reached the ball anyway, when the interference was minimal, or when you played on and then stopped.
- What happens if the ball hits your opponent in squash?
- If it would have gone straight to the front wall, you win the point (a stroke). If it would have hit a side wall first, it is a let. If it would not have been a good return anyway, you lose the rally.
- Do you have to stop to get a let?
- Yes. Ask for the let straight away by stopping and saying 'let please'. If you play on through the interference, you have accepted it.