Squash, Racquet Ball Or Paddle Ball
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Sports Protective Equipment & Gear · CPSC Code 3256
Down 46% over 5 years
The verdict
Squash, Racquet Ball Or Paddle Ball carry a danger score of 34/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 4,243 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 46% over the last five years.
- 34/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 4,243
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 5.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 3256 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 34/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for squash, racquet ball or paddle ball - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume4,243 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)5.7%
- Fatality rate0.16%
- 5-year trend-46%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Squash, Racquet Ball Or Paddle Ball (CPSC product code 3256, in the Sports Protective Equipment & Gear category) generate an estimated 4,243 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 84,866 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 34/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 46% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2005 (7,783 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2022 (1,379 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for squash, racquet ball or paddle ball is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 8,026 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by strain, sprain to the ankle (7,749 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 20,198 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 5.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.16%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how squash, racquet ball or paddle ball fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 256 | 183 | |
| 5-14 | 3,466 | 1,721 | |
| 15-24 | 15,377 | 4,821 | |
| 25-34 | 9,907 | 2,235 | |
| 35-44 | 11,106 | 3,709 | |
| 45-54 | 10,997 | 3,281 | |
| 55-64 | 7,279 | 1,522 | |
| 65-74 | 6,053 | 652 | |
| 75+ | 1,974 | 274 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Laceration | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Leg | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Eyeball | Other | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Shoulder | Dislocation | |
| Wrist | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
59YOF WAS PLAYING RACQUETBALL AT LOCAL *** WHEN SHE FELL BACKWARDS ON A LEFT OUTSTRETCHED UPPER EXTREMITY WHICH RESULTED IN WRIST PAIN. DENIES HEAD TRAUMA OR LOC. DX: FRACTURE LEFT DISTAL RADIUS CLOSED
18 YOF HIT IN NOSE PLAYING RACQUETBALL DX; NOSE CONTUSION
20YOF C/O CLOSED FRACTURE OF LOWER ARM S/P PT STATES SHE WAS PLAYING RACQUETBALL AND HER ARM BENT BACKWARDS CAUSING HER PAIN. DX: FRACTURE TO FOREARM
54YOM PATIENT PRESENTS WITH LOWER BACK PAIN THAT STARTED AFTER HE WAS PLAYING RACQUETBALL. DX: LOW BACK PAIN
68YOM PRESENTS WITH HAND SWELLING AND BRUISING AFTER A FALL WITH HEAD STRIKE WHILE PLAYING SQUASH. DX: WRIST FRACTURE
69YOM PRESENTS WITH ARM INJURY AFTER PLAYING RACQUTBALL, PATIENT STATES HEFELL ON HIS RIGHT ARM WHILE PLAYING.DX: INJURY OF SHOULDER
30YOM, PLAYING SQUASH COLLIDED WITH THE WALL HYPEREXTENDING HIS ARM DX: LEFT ARM PAIN
26YOM PRESENTS WITH KNEE PAIN AFTER PLAYING SQUASH. DX: KNEE INJURY, KNEE LOCKING
86YOM, TRIPPED AND FELL WHILE PLAYING RACQUETBALL STRIKING HEAD ON THE FLOOR WITHOUT LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, DX: FOREHEAD LACERATION; CHEST WALL PAIN
15YOM WAS PLAYING SQUASH AND TWISTED RIGHT GROIN DX: STRAINED GROIN
18YOF PRESENTED TO ED C/O KNEE PAIN, PT STATED SHE WAS PLAYING SQUASH YESTERDAY, WHILE RUNNING SHE SUSTAINED KNEE PAIN. DX; KNEE PAIN
33 YOF WAS PLAYING RACQUETBALL LOST FOOTING AND ROLLED HER ANKLE. DX: LEFT ANKLE SPRAIN
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to squash, racquet ball or paddle ball on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are squash, racquet ball or paddle ball?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, squash, racquet ball or paddle ball have a danger score of 34/100 (low risk). An estimated 4,243 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from squash, racquet ball or paddle ball?
The most common injury is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 8,026 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from squash, racquet ball or paddle ball increasing or decreasing?
Down 46% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for squash, racquet ball or paddle ball injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 20,198 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by squash, racquet ball or paddle ball?
Of all ER visits involving squash, racquet ball or paddle ball, approximately 5.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (94.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with squash, racquet ball or paddle ball?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Sports Protective Equipment & Gear
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 34/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 15-24 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
