Xare is one of the disciplines of the sport Basque pelota. It is played with a racket and a ball in a court called a trinquete. Xare is very popular in South America and is played by both men and women of all ages.
The court used for playing xare consist of walls on all four sides. The left wall features a facade, about 2ft wide with a slanting roof, that projects onto the court. Unlike racquets used for other sports where the strings are tight, the strings in xare racquets resemble a woven mesh. Rather than striking the ball, the action resembles more like a catch and throw using the racquet. Besides the racquet and a ball, a bicycle helmet is the only other equipment used.
A match is played between two two-player teams. The rules are similar to other wall-based sports, where the ball has to be returned back to the front wall with at most one bounce on the ground. The ball is allowed to bounce any number of times or even roll on the roof of the facade. Teams score points if the opponents are unable to return the ball back onto the wall. Matches are played in points and sets format.
Similar Sports
- Basque Pelota — a range of fast-paced sports in which teams alternatively hit a ball against a wall.
- Squash Tennis — derived from both squash and lawn tennis, played on a squash court with tennis rackets and balls.
- Real Tennis — the sport from which modern lawn tennis was derived. It is played in an indoor court of asymmetric dimensions, using rules and scoring similar to those of modern tennis
Related Pages
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports