How to Use the Squash & Racquetball Calorie Calculator
Squash and racquetball pack constant sprinting and direction changes into a small court, which pushes your heart rate up quickly and burns calories fast. Enter your weight, sport, rally intensity, and duration, and this calculator estimates calories burned using MET (metabolic equivalent) values.
Squash tends to carry a higher MET than racquetball because the narrower court and bouncier ball leave less downtime between shots. Racquetball is played on a bigger court with more recovery time, but competitive-level play can push its calorie burn close to casual squash.
Within the same sport, a friendly rally and a real match differ a lot in distance covered and how often you have to explode into a shot, so the calorie gap between casual and competitive play can be significant. Treat the result as an average estimate — actual burn depends on your opponent's level and how long rallies last. Because both sports involve sudden direction changes, warming up and wearing proper court shoes helps protect your knees and ankles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally yes. Squash is played on a narrower court with less downtime between shots, so it carries a higher MET value than racquetball at the same effort level. Competitive racquetball, though, can burn more than casual squash.
This calculator applies a roughly 20-43% higher MET value for competitive play versus casual rallies, depending on the sport. The real difference depends on rally length and how much court you cover.