Woops, Wrong Way. Let?"

It's rare, but sometimes a let is warranted.

By Rod Symington, W.S.F. Referees and Rules Committee

Rod Symington is on the WSF Rules and Referees Committee and is a consultant on Rules and Refereeing to the USA. He has also been the Tournament Referee for, among others, the Women's Worlds, Pan Am Games, and Junior Men's and Women's Worlds. To contact Rod with questions or to enquire about clinics and his Squash Rules for Players, email him at symingto@uvic.ca

Squash is a game of deception. If you can fool your opponent by disguising your shot, you will gain a distinct advantage. In fact, it is even perfectly legal to “hide” the ball with your body when it is your turn to return the ball—as long as you clear out of the way as soon as you have played your shot. If you are a master (or mistress) of deception, you might occasionally send your opponent the wrong way—and thereby improve your chances of winning the rally.

But what Rules apply if a player goes the wrong way when it is his or her turn to play the ball?

There are two scenarios that you need to distinguish clearly.

First, if your opponent has provided you with direct access to the ball, but you choose to take an indirect route to the ball and you run into your opponent, you have no right to a let. In effect, you chose to go the wrong way for no good reason when you had been provided the necessary access—and there is no recourse. If your opponent provides you with direct access, you must take it. (In the vast majority of cases, when a player takes an indirect route to the ball, it is an act of cheating—that is, an attempt to get an undeserved let.)

Thus under most circumstances, you are expected to take a direct path to the ball—or suffer the consequences. However, there is one special scenario in which you might be entitled to a let after going the wrong way.

For example, you might think your opponent is going to play a certain type of shot and you move early in the direction of the anticipated shot—but your opponent then hits the ball in a different direction. You recover and go for the ball, but now your opponent is in the way of your direct access. Do you have the right to a let?

This situation typically happens when your opponent shapes to play a drop shot—for example, to the front right corner. As your opponent shapes to hit the ball, you anticipate the drop shot and take a step forward towards the front wall corner. But your opponent suddenly plays a side wall/front wall boast and you are now going the wrong way, because you are going to the front wall corner on the right, but the ball is heading out into the center of the court!

Being fleet of foot, you turn towards the ball—and find your opponent in the way of your direct access to it. Do you now have a right to a let?

Despite your having gone the wrong way initially, the Rules distinguish this scenario from the previous one. In anticipating your opponent's shot and going the wrong way, you may have made a mistake, but the Rules allow you a let if you could have recovered quickly enough to reach the ball and play a good return.

Ong Beng Hee anticipated a dropshot from David Palmer. But
When Palmer played a trickle boast, Beng Hee did an about face,
err, leap. If the referee felt he could still get the ball but
for Palmer's interference, then a let would be awarded.

Of course, you have a right to a let only if you are very quick and demonstrate that if your opponent had not been in the way, you would have reached the ball.

It is important to be absolutely honest when this scenario occurs. You have no automatic right to a let: when you go the wrong way and attempt to recover, you cannot expect a let just because your opponent is now in the way. In this sense, this situation is no different from any other case of interference: if you couldn't have reached the ball, you have no right to a let. So don't ask for one!