For other sports often called "paddleball", see Paddleball (sport).

Racquetball is a racquet sport played with a hollow rubber ball in an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek is credited with inventing the modern sport of racquetball in 1950 (the outdoor, one-wall game goes back to at least 1910 in N.Y.C.), adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velocity and control. Unlike most racquet sports, such as tennis and badminton, there is no net to hit the ball over, and unlike squash no tin (out of bounds area at the bottom of front wall) to hit the ball above. Also, the court's walls, floor, and ceiling are legal playing surfaces, with the exception of court-specific designated hinders being out-of-bounds. It is very similar to 40x20 handball, which is played in many countries.

Joe Sobek is credited with inventing the sport of racquetball in the Greenwich YMCA, though not with naming it. A professional tennis and handball player, Sobek sought a fast-paced sport that was easy to learn and play. He designed the first strung paddle, devised a set of rules, based on those of squash, handball, and paddleball, and named his game paddle rackets.

Kane Waselenchuk (born November 9, 1981) is a professional racquetball player from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Waselenchuk finished the 2011-12 season as the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) for the 7th time. He was undefeated on court in 2010-11, with only a default loss due to illness. It was the second season he'd been undefeated on court. No other men's professional racquetball player has gone through a season undefeated. Waselenchuk, a left-handed player, has dominated the IRT for the last three seasons, including a record 137-match unbeaten streak that lasted over three years.

Waselenchuk has won 54 IRT tournaments through the 2011 US Open, and done that in only 96 tournament appearances for a remarkable tournament winning rate of 56.3%.

Waselenchuk won his first IRT tournament in the 2001-02 season, which was his first year on the IRT full time. That year he finished #4 in the IRT rankings, was #2 the following year, and then #1 at season's end in three consecutive seasons from 2003-04 to 2005-06.

Rocky Carson is an American professional racquetball player (born May 21, 1979). Carson is the current racquetball World Champion, a title he also won in 2008. Carson was the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) at the end of the 2007-08 season., and finished ranked 3rd at the end of the 2009-10 season. A California native, Carson developed his game outdoors, and is known for an unorthodox game style that makes his opponents do the work. In 2008, he became the first man to hold the World Outdoor Championship, International Racquetball Federation (IRF; indoor) World Championship, and US Open titles simultaneously.

Carson has won 12 IRT tournaments in his career, with the highlight being his 2007 US Open Racquetball Championships title. He began to play the pro tour seriously in 1998-99, and won his first tournament in the 2002-03 season. Prior to the 2007-08 season Carson had only won 3 tournaments, but that was his breakout season, as he won 7 tournaments including the US Open and finished the season as the #1 IRT player.

Jack Huczek (born January 13, 1983) is a retired American professional racquetball player. Huczek was the #1 men's professional player at the end of the 2006-2007 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) season, and was #3 at the end of the 2008-09 season. Retired from the IRT on May 24, 2011.

Huczek made his first IRT appearance at 17, in 2000, and won his first IRT event at age 19. Only five players have won a men's pro tour tournament at a younger age*: Steve Serot (at 17), Marty Hogan (17), Brett Harnett (17), Tim Sweeney (18), and Cliff Swain (18).

That win was in Huczek's first season on the tour full time, and helped him finish 5th in the 2001-02 season end rankings. In 2002-2003, he was 4th, and then 2nd for three straight seasons behind Kane Waselenchuk.

Huczek's won 28 IRT tournaments in 103 appearances on tour. He has a winning career record against all other regular tour players except for Sudsy Monchik and Waselenchuk.

As good as his pro career has been, Huczek's record has been better playing internationally on Team USA. In nine appearances, he won seven gold medals in singles as well as a silver and bronze. The last gold medal came at the 2009 World Games.

Ben Croft is a professional racquetball player (born February 11, 1985). Croft was the #3 player on the International Racquetball Tour at the end of the 2010-11 season, which was a career high and the fifth season he'd finished in the IRT's top 10 players. A native of Illinois, he is ranked #3 ranked midway through the 2011-12 season. At roughly 6'0" 150lbs., he often dives to keep the ball in play, earning his nickname "Racquetball's Crash Test Dummy".

Croft has been on the IRT full time since the 2006-07 season. He made his first final at the Mexico Open, which was the last tournament of the 2009-10 season. Croft won his first tournament on February 4, 2012, when he defeated Rocky Carson in the final of the MonaVie Salt Lake City Pro-Am.. Croft is ranked 3rd on the IRT rankings (January, 26th 2012 IRT Rankings).

Croft has won two US National Doubles titles both with Mitch Williams. They won in 2007 and 2010.

He has played on Team USA twice. Both times Croft played doubles with Mitch Williams and they won gold in both the 2010 Racquetball World Championships and the 2009 Pan American Racquetball Championships.