Can You Play Squash Alone?

Marc Bistricer
3 min readJan 17, 2023

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Squash courts are usually occupied by 2 players at a time, either playing competitively or friendly. When you have a squash match with a friend or opponent who fails to show up, what happens? Would you be able to use the court you have booked for squash alone? Is the squash club or squash center even willing to let you play alone?

Despite the fact that squash is a game designed to be played by two people, or four in doubles, you can practice and improve your skills alone. On the squash court, coaches have a variety of practice drills that are most effective when used by a solo player.

Below, Canadian sportsman Marc Bistricer takes a closer look at the ways you can play squash alone and how you can use that time on the court to improve your squash skills so that the next time you step on the court you can be a better player.

Can You Play Squash Alone?
The traditional way to play squash is against an opponent. It has happened, however, that Marc has booked and paid for a court only to find out his opponent had canceled at the last minute. As opposed to wasting valuable court time, Marc Bistricer has used this opportunity to get an hour of solid practice and work on his weak shots.

Obviously, when playing squash alone, you can’t compete against yourself. Likewise, when you play alone, you won’t be able to prepare your match strategy for playing an opponent out of position. When Marc Bistricer plays squash alone, he has the chance to work on all the training drills he learned from his coach and cannot use when he plays with someone else.

It has often been difficult for him to maintain enough temperature in his squash ball when playing squash alone. This is especially true if he is concentrating on his weakest shot, his backhand drive, in cold weather. When Marc Bistricer plays alone, he will use a white dot ball instead of the yellow dot ball he normally uses when playing against an opponent. Instead of warming up every few minutes, he will start with a white dot ball.

Is Squash A One-Person Sport?
Squash is a two-player sport or four-player sport if played in a doubles setting. The game is played on a four-walled court with hollow rubber balls and rackets.

As far as squash player Marc Bistricer is concerned, playing doubles squash is very difficult as the court feels overcrowded. In particular, tracking the ball while moving backward and moving against an opponent was nearly impossible. He has, however, only played doubles squash twice.
Competitive squash is played against an opponent, so it is not a sport that can be played solely by one person. Squash players can practice drills alone on a squash court to improve their skills and technique.

Do You Need A Partner To Play Squash?
Technically, squash can be played as either a singles or a doubles game, though playing doubles on a squash court feels rather cramped. In order to play squash doubles, you will need a partner.

In order to play singles, you will need a partner. Squash centers and clubs are available wherever you are, so find one if you are new to the area or on vacation. There are many squash centers that offer friendly tournaments you can participate in. You can contact a squash club to find out if there are any members available for a friendly squash game.

Originally published at https://bistricermarc.weebly.com.

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Marc Bistricer
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Marc Bistricer is a Canadian athlete who has been on Tour since 2008. He made two consecutive quarter-finals at National Squash Academy Open 2014.