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While some sports are practically free, others require some budget in order to properly practice it. Besides providing the average cost, we’ll also cover the different costs associated with squash.
Playing squash 3 times a week is costing you around $2,100 per year, ranging between $1,964 and $2,245, and averages to around $175 per month. This number covers your costs for equipment, court rental, and maintenance.
While some of you are only interested in the number, others would like to know about how I arrived at these numbers. Therefore the remainder will provide you with a detailed cost breakdown, so you can make up your own mind whether it is expensive in your case.
If you are looking for a specific answer, navigate directly to this section:
- How much does it cost to play squash?
- Comprehensive overview of all cost on both monthly and annual basis
- Breakdown of squash related costs
- Equipment costs
- Court rental costs
- Maintenance costs
How much does it cost to play squash?
In total, playing squash costs you around $2,100 per year, ranging between $1,964 and $2,245, and averages to around $175 per month.
| Type of cost | Annual costs | Monthly costs |
|---|---|---|
| Racket* | $14 – $68 | $1 – $6 |
| Shoes | $25 – $85 | $2 – $7 |
| Balls | $15 – $30 | $1 – $3 |
| Grips | $22 – $135 | $2 – $11 |
| Bag | $10 – $25 | $1 – $2 |
| Court rental | $1,800 | $150 |
| Restring | $78 – $102 | $6 – $9 |
| Total | $1,964 – $2,245 | $163 – $188 |
Cost breakdown
From a first glance, it is apparent from the left chart that court rental is the main cost you incur when playing squash. The right chart shows the breakdown of non-court rental costs. Next, we’ll look at the costs in greater detail.
Equipment costs
We turn our focus first to the different costs that can be classified as equipment, thus excluding court rental and maintenance. What might be a surprise to you is that the cost for grips is over one-third of the total monthly cost (assuming you play three times a week).
Squash racket
Let’s start with the most obvious and probably the first type of equipment that comes to mind. Yes indeed, I am talking about squash rackets. Squash rackets are tailored to kids, beginners, intermediate and advanced players.
Squash rackets for beginners vary greatly in quality and price. A beginner racket will cost you between $14 and $79. If we turn our focus to rackets aimed at intermediate players, we notice that this group covers a wide range of players since it is the middle of the road. If you consider yourself an intermediate player and are looking for this type of racket, it costs you between $56 and $192. Subsequently, advanced players include professional squash players so these rackets need to be made from the best materials and use the latest technologies. Rackets for advanced players cost around $96 to $203. Thus far these rackets are focused on adults, however, there are also rackets designed specifically for kids. Although some beginner rackets are also suitable for kids, then you need to ensure you don’t pick a racket that is too heavy. Especially beginner rackets are made of cheaper and heavier materials. Nevertheless, squash rackets for kids cost between $26 and $105. Note that rackets on the lower end of this price range are more aimed at beginner kids, whereas the more expensive rackets are aimed at experienced kids. Generally speaking rackets for kids are less expensive than aimed at adults.
In general, rackets last around 3 years for intermediate usage of 3 times a week. Cheaper beginner rackets probably wear out faster. To provide you with an estimate of the average annual cost for a racket, check out the overview below.
| Type of player | Annual cost squash racket |
|---|---|
| Beginners | $ 14 – 26 |
| Intermediate | $ 28 – 64 |
| Advanced | $ 48 – 68 |
| Kids | $ 17 – 35 |
If you want your racket to last longer, you might want to check out these tips to increase the durability of squash rackets
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Squash shoes, if you already own a pair of suitable indoor shoes used for others sports, I would say you don’t need to buy a specific pair of shoes. however, if you don’t, indoor shoes vary greatly in price, but will generally have a price tag between $20 – $200. If we look at dedicated squash shoes, they will cost you between $50 and $170. Shoes will last you between 2 to 3 years, but the wear and tear can vary greatly. If you have a more explosive playing style and are constantly twisting turning lunging and sliding, your shoes will wear out much quicker. The annual cost for shoes is between $25 and $85, or $2 – $7 per month.
Squash balls cost around $4 regardless of whether you pick a ball for beginners or advanced players. If you want to get the best deal, buy them per box for around $3 per ball. It is hard to determine how long a ball would last, so I would recommend always taking one or two extra squash balls with you to the court. If you play three times a week you can expect to need between 10 and 15 balls per year. Buying them in bulk would cost you between $30 and $45, whereas individual purchases are between $40 and $60 per year. Since you play together with someone else, the annual cost for squash balls would be around $15 to $30. On average this will result in about $1 – $3 per month.
Although squash rackets are pre-delivered with squash grips, many players use them often. As the name suggests they enhance your grip, but they also possess absorbing qualities. Besides absorbing moisture they also reduce the shocks and increase comfort while playing. Grips are classified as either a replacement/basis grip or overgrip. The first type is generally less expensive compared to overgrips. Overall it will cost you between $2.25 and $9 per grip. If you play three times a week, you need between 10 to 15 overgrips and one basis/replacement grip per annum, costing between $22 and $135. On a monthly basis, it will cost you between $2 – $11. If you use overgrips (over your basis/replacement grip) you will end near the upper end of this range. However, if you only use replacement/basis grips you will end up towards the lower end of the range.
If you really want to complete your equipment, you need a way to store and carry it. Besides using the backpack you may already own, a squash bag might be a good addition. $40 for smaller backpacks that can carry one racket to more exclusive bags that can carry up to 12 rackets which will cost around $100. A bag will usually last you around 4 years, thus costing between $10 – $25 per year and $1 – $2 per month.
What might be a surprise to you is that the cost for grips is over one-third of the total monthly cost (assuming you play three times a week).
Court rental costs
Individual squash court rental varies between $15 and $40, with an average of $25 per hour. Playing three times a week with your squash partner will cost you $150 per month and $1800 per annum. If you have a membership the costs are definitely cheaper. How much? That is hard to say since every membership is set up differently, making it hard to even come up with an average. Some memberships charge monthly, quarterly, or annually. Besides, some memberships include a lot of other benefits, such as fitness, tennis or sauna.
The costs mentioned in the overview are only for the court rental. If you are willing to kickstart your learning curve or looking to take your squash game to the next level, most squash centers offer private lessons. Similar to memberships, these costs vary greatly in duration, making it hard to come up with a meaningful average. Of course, if you take lessons you won’t have to pay for court rental on top of that.
Maintenance costs
This last type of cost is probably something many recreational players won’t take very seriously. When you purchase a squash racket, it usually is prestrung, meaning the racket has already strings with appropriate tension. Over time, the string wears out and the tension on the strings will decrease. As a result, your racket needs to be restrung. Your next question may be then how often do I need to restring my racket, but as with most maintenance costs, this depends on the usage. Assuming you play 3 times a week, then you need to restring every 4 months. On average it costs between $26 and $34 to restring your racket. This type of maintenance amounts to $78 – $102 per year and between $6.5 and $8.5 on a monthly basis as we’ve seen in the full overview of costs.
If you want to know more about squash strings or are wondering if you can use tennis strings for your squash racket, definitely check out this article.
