Free Sample
The Complete Handbook of Racquetball & Squash Eyewear
For players, coaches, facility managers, and retailers who need practical knowledge about selection, use, and business opportunity in racquetball and squash eyewear
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: Understanding Racquetball & Squash Eyewear
Racquetball and squash eyewear is protective equipment, not fashion or casual sporting goods. It is a lens-and-frame system engineered to prevent a small rubber ball traveling at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour from reaching your eye and causing permanent blindness or traumatic injury. This functional purpose shapes everything about how the eyewear is designed, manufactured, tested, and used—and it is the reason it exists as a distinct category separate from general sports eyewear.
To understand what racquetball and squash eyewear actually is, you must first understand the problem it solves. A regulation racquetball is 2.25 inches in diameter and weighs roughly 1.4 ounces. In competitive play, players routinely strike the ball at velocities between 120 and 160 mph off their racquet strings. In squash, a smaller and harder ball (1.4 inches, 0.9 ounces) can travel equally fast, particularly off a tight string bed or in a hard-hitting rally. When such a ball strikes an unprotected eye at those speeds, the energy transfer is catastrophic: the eye can rupture, the orbit fracture, the retina detach, and permanent vision loss or blindness can result. These are not theoretical risks. Emergency room physicians in cities with active racquetball and squash communities treat eye injuries from these sports every year—injuries that would not have occurred had the player worn appropriate protective eyewear.
Ordinary eyeglasses—even athletic glasses designed for tennis or running—cannot provide this level of protection. A standard eyeglass lens, even one made of polycarbonate, will