Rules
Racketlon is the sport in which you play your opponent in each of the four racket sports table tennis, badminton, squash and tennis. In general the rules of the single sports are applicable. The following rules are exceptions and extensions.
Order of sets
Table Tennis, Badminton, Squash, Tennis - From the smallest to the largest racket.
Counting
-
4 set to 21 points - At 20:20 the set is extended until there is a margin of two points. -
Running Score – Each ralley results in a point -
The one who serves also counts -
Total points count – The winner of a Racketlon match is not the one that wins most sets but the one that scores the most points in total. This means that it is possible to lose three out of the four sets and still win the match! Das Match wird abgebrochen sobald der Sieger uneinholbar in Führung liegt und die restlichen Punkte keine Bedeutung mehr haben (Ausnahme Gruppenspiele). -
Gummiarm Tiebreak– If, after all 4 sets, both players have exactly the same number of points, then one extra point is played in tennis. The toss decides who will serve. The one who serves has only one serve instead of two. Serving & End of courts
-
Toss before the match - The winner of the toss decides whether to start serving or receiving in table tennis. The player, who starts serving in table tennis, starts receiving in badminton, starts serving in squash and starts receiving in tennis. -
In each set (except in squash, of course) the player who starts receiving decides what end to start the set from. -
Switch at 11 – Ends are switched at the time when 11 points are first reached by any of the players (exception in Squash). -
Two serves each - After every two points the serve goes to the other player. At the first of these two serves the server always serves from the right (except in table tennis, of course). The second serve is from the left side. -
One serve each after 20:20 - After 20:20 the serve switches hand after every point until the set is decided. The two first serves are from the right, the two next serves are from the left and so on. Time Intervals & Continuous Play
-
One minute at 11 - A maximum break of one minute shall be allowed at 11 (i.e. when 11 points is first reached by any of the players) in each set. -
3+3 minutes between sets - The break between sets shall be maximised at "3+3" minutes meaning: (a) Warming up at the next sport has to commence within 3 minutes after the end of the previous set. (b) The next set has to commence within 6 minutes after the end of the previous set. -
Continuous play - Play must be continuous at all times (as far as can be reasonably expected). Umpires and referees have the right to penalise players under the misconduct rule should they breach this. -
Restricted pausing - Players may pause for a brief drink and to towel down every five points only (so after 5, 10, 15 points, etc), if this is breached the umpire may penalise the offending player. If sweat has dripped onto the table tennis table, badminton court, etc, then of course the player may use a towel to wipe that away at any time. Conduct on court / penalties
For any act of misconduct (as judged by the umpire) such as swearing, threatening behaviour, racket abuse, delaying or dangerous play, etc, the player shall be penalised as follows (on a per match basis):
-
1st incident - warning -
2nd incident - player loses a point -
3rd incident - player loses the set -
4th incident - player loses the match and is disqualified from the tournament. -
The umpire can choose to escalate this order and skip steps. e.g. a player who deliberately throws his/her racket at the opponent can be disqualified immediately, even without prior warnings Injury
-
5 minutes once - Each player is allowed one injury time-out per match of 5 minutes. -
Stop bleeding - It's not allowed to play if you are bleeding. -
Extension at collision - If any injury is the result of a collision with the opponent, the umpire may allow the player as much time as he needs, and if necessary, penalise either player. 
© fir Racketlon World Championship