and pink, and some are for specific purposes (e.g., outdoor play and indoor play), but the differences are unlikely to matter for recreational play. Beginners are recommended to use a blue ball by Penn, Ektelon, or Wilson. The blue ball is the most commonly used and it is the most neutral ball for average speed and accuracy of contact. Green balls are similar to blue balls. In the United States the main choices of ball are blue and green for tournament play. In some cases the International Pro Racquetball Tour (IRT) will use a purple Penn HD ball as the official ball. A black ball is often used in tournaments for senior players because the ball is designed to be slower moving and allows for longer rallies. The red ball is the fastest in production, and they are known as Red Ektelon Fireballs. This ball is heavier and allows for a quicker pace. Balls do break occasionally, and will lose their bounce over time even without breaking. To keep balls around for a long time it is best to keep them in a room temperature setting and keep them out of extreme cold or heat because this will cause the balls to become less effective and lose their bounce. Rules Play begins with the serve. The serving player must bounce the ball on the floor once and hit it directly to the front wall, making the ball hit the floor beyond the short line; otherwise the serve counts as a fault. The ball may touch one side wall, but not two, prior to hitting the floor; hitting both side walls after the front wall (but before the floor) is a "three wall serve," and a fault. Also, serving the ball into the front wall so that it rebounds to the back wall without hitting the floor first is a long serve, and a fault. Other fault serves include a ceiling serve, in which the ball touches the ceiling after the front wall, and serving before the receiving player is ready. Also, the server must wait until the ball passes the short line before stepping out of the service box, otherwise it is a fault serve. If the server hits the ball directly to any surface other than the front wall the server immediately loses serve regardless of whether it was first or second serve. After the ball bounces behind the