Frescobol (''

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, lit. 'fresh ball) is a

racket sport Racket sports are games in which players use a racket or paddle to hit a ball or other object. Rackets consist of a handled frame with an open hoop that supports a network of tightly stretched strings. Paddles have a solid face rather than a ne ...

originating in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in the 1950s. The game is played between 2 (or occasionally 3) players with solid

rackets Racket may refer to: * Racket (crime), a systematised element of organized crime ** Protection racket, a scheme whereby a group provides protection to businesses or other groups through violence outside the sanction of the law * Racket (sports equ ...

, most often made of wood or fibreglass, and the aim of the game is to hit a small rubber ball between players for as long as possible. It is often considered a

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

activity.

History

Equipment

The racket used is made out of wood or composite materials such as

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

. It can be hollow or solid. The maximum measurements are a width of 25 centimetres and a height of 50 centimetres. It should weight between 300 and 400 grams, depending on player preference. A non-slip grip can be added to the handle. P2080037 forzanes

The ball is a hollow sphere of pressurized

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

. Often

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velo ...

balls are used.

Gameplay

Similar games

Frescobol is very similar to the

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

sport

matkot Matkot ( he, מטקות lit. "racquets") is a popular Padel ball game in Israel similar to beach tennis, often referred to by Israelis as their national beach sport. History Matkot has been played on the beaches of Mandatory Palestine since the ...

/kadima. They are identical in how they are played, but matkot is usually played with round rackets instead of the teardrop shaped rackets used in frescobol. Racket sports Beach sports