Section 6: Scoring
6.1 Scoring System — Point-a-Rally (PAR) (WSF Rules of Squash, Rule 5)
The WSF uses Point-a-Rally (PAR) scoring, also referred to as PARS-11. Under this system, a point is scored on every rally regardless of which player served. This replaced the earlier hand-in/hand-out (HIHO) scoring system for international competition.
6.2 Games
A game is won by the first player to reach 11 points, provided that player leads by at least 2 points (Rule 5.1). If the score reaches 10-10, play continues until one player leads by 2 points. There is no upper cap — a game at 10-10 could theoretically continue indefinitely until a 2-point lead is established (e.g., 15-13, 22-20, etc.).
6.3 Match Format
A standard match is the best of five games (first to win three games wins the match) (Rule 5.3). At the WSF World Championships and most major PSA World Tour events, the best-of-five format is used. Some lower-tier events may use a best-of-three format, at the discretion of the event organisers.
6.4 Serving Order
The server is determined at the start of the match by spin. At the start of each subsequent game, the player who won the previous game serves first. During a game, service changes hands (hand-out) whenever the server loses a rally. The server continues to serve until losing a rally, at which point the receiver becomes the new server (Rule 5.2).
6.5 Calling the Score
The Marker calls the score after each rally, announcing the server's score first. For example, "3-2" means the server has 3 points and the non-server has 2 points. When a hand-out occurs, the Marker announces "Hand out" before calling the new score. The Marker announces "Match ball" when the server requires one more point to win the match, and "Game ball" when the server requires one more point to win the current game.
6.6 Awarding Points for Conduct
Under the Conduct regulations (Rule 15), the Referee may award a Conduct Stroke (one point to the opponent), a Conduct Game (the current or next game to the opponent), or a Conduct Match. These are counted in the score as if played. See Section 7 for details.