Squash Needs to Change Scoring System to Add Drama to Sport
by Ted Gross

October 21, 2013 - In the men's main draw of last week's US Open, only 3 matches out of the 31 played went 5 games, and none of those came down to the wire in the fifth.

Not only are most pro matches one-sided, they contain few, if any, critical points.

As spectators sit in anticipation, they are treated to impressive skills and athleticism, but there is very little drama unfolding.

In other words, watching pro squash under the current scoring system is largely like watching an exhibition.

Squash needs to change to the following scoring system, called Pro Scoring, which will not only make professional matches more entertaining and dramatic, but will also improve play at the junior, college and recreational levels by eliminating meaningless points:

Pro Scoring

A game is to 4 points. Point-per-rally. No tiebreaker.

The player who wins 2 out of 3 games wins the set.

The player who wins 3 out of 5 sets wins the match.


Under Pro Scoring, a player is never out of it. At 1-all in any game you have drama, and when the first player gets to 2, every point is critical.

Compare this to the typical current pro match, where when a player gets down 7-3 or 8-4, not only is the game almost always over, but the player often reverts to low-percentage squash until he or she can get off the court and re-group.

Whether they realize it or not, squash fans have seen enough.

Squash should change to Pro Scoring as soon as possible, so that next year's US Open will be chock full of the drama it lacked this year, and has never had under PAR-11.