How to track squash on Apple Watch

Method 1: Apple's built-in Squash workout

The Workout app has a Squash workout built in, so you don't need to install anything.

How to start it

1. Open the Workout app on your Apple Watch.
2. Turn the Digital Crown to scroll to the bottom of the workout list.
3. Tap the Add button (+). On watchOS 10 and 11 it's labeled Add Workout.
4. Choose Squash.
5. Tap the Play button to start. On watchOS 10 and 11, tap the workout to start.
6. When you finish, swipe right and tap End. On watchOS 26 and later, you can then turn the Digital Crown to rate your effort. On watchOS 11, scroll down and tap Add Effort first.

If Squash is already in your list, just tap it. The list order changes based on the workouts you use, so Squash gets easier to find.

What it tracks

Raise your wrist during play to see elapsed time, calories burned and heart rate. Before you start, you can change what it shows. On watchOS 26 and later, tap the Views button on the workout. On watchOS 11, tap More Options, then Preferences, then Workout Views. After the match, your workout shows up in the Fitness app on iPhone and in the Health app.

What it doesn't track

Apple's documentation lists no shot, swing or score metric for squash or any other racket sport. So the built-in workout doesn't count your shots, tell a boast from a drive, estimate swing speed or keep score.

Two things to know

• Start the workout yourself before you play. Apple doesn't say whether the watch detects squash on its own.
• Auto-Pause won't help between rallies. Apple describes it only for outdoor running and cycling workouts. To pause by hand, press the side button and the Digital Crown at the same time.

Method 2: SquashWatch for shots, ratings and score

SquashWatch is an Apple Watch app that detects your swings from your wrist motion. It needs watchOS 9.6 or later on the watch and iOS 17.6 or later on the iPhone. The watch app comes with the iPhone app. Setup on the iPhone asks for your height, your skill level and access to Apple Health. You can skip height and skill level, and you can decline Health access. Setup ends on a paywall for the iPhone app. You don't need to pay to use the watch app.

How to track a match

1. Open the SquashWatch app on your watch.
2. On the home screen, pick LEFT or RIGHT to match the wrist you wear the watch on. Wear it on your racket hand.
3. Tap START. Tracking begins right away, with no countdown.
4. Play. A "Learning Your Swing" banner counts your first five swings. Text tips start after that. After each swing, the screen flashes green, yellow or red.
5. To keep score, swipe to the page on the right of the dashboard. After each rally, tap the score of the side that won it, YOU or OPPONENT. Before the first rally, you can tap a side's ball marker to pick who serves first. Pause is on the page to the left.
6. Tap End Session. Your summary appears on the watch. The session is sent to your iPhone right away, or later when the phone is back in range.

What it adds

• Swing count and ratings. Each swing gets a green, yellow or red rating as you play. Drives, cross-courts, lobs and kills are rated against your own fastest swings. Boasts, drops and volleys are rated against set speed ranges. The ratings are tuned to be encouraging, most of all at Beginner level, so treat them as motivation, not a technique analysis.
• Squash shot types. The summary sorts your swings into drives, cross-courts, boasts, drops, lobs, volleys and kills. The first swing after a pause of three seconds or more can count as a serve, and a low, underarm start makes that more likely. Shot names appear after the session, not during play. Treat the split between straight drives and cross-courts, and between boasts and drives, as a rough guide.
• Estimated swing speed. The watch shows the estimated speed of your last swing in mph. The summary shows your top and average speed. The number comes from how fast your wrist rotates, adjusted for your height setting. It estimates swing speed, not ball speed.
• PAR-11 scoring. Games go to 11, at 10-10 you need to win by 2, and matches are best of five. The minus button next to the score takes back the last point. A SERVE badge shows who's serving and from which box. It switches boxes while the same player keeps serving. When the serve changes hands, it always starts on the right box, and you can't pick the left. To reset the current game to 0-0, tap the reset arrow or press and hold a score, then confirm. Finished games are kept. There's no option for other scoring formats.
• Apple Health workout. If you allow Health access, each session is saved as a Squash workout with heart rate and calories. Don't start one in the Workout app too. The watch runs one workout at a time, so starting a second one ends the first.

Workout app vs SquashWatch

• Apple Workout app

  Cost: free and built in.

  Heart rate and calories: yes.

  Saves to Apple Health: yes, and to Fitness.

  Shot count and shot types: no.

  Swing speed: no.

  Score keeping: no.

• SquashWatch

  Cost: tracking on the watch is free. The iPhone app, with your history and trends, needs a paid plan.

  Heart rate and calories: yes, if you allow Health access.

  Saves to Apple Health: yes, as a Squash workout.

  Shot count and shot types: yes, including boasts, drops and kills.

  Swing speed: estimated, in mph.

  Score keeping: yes, PAR-11 to 11, best of five, with a serve badge.

The Workout app is enough for time, calories and heart rate. SquashWatch adds shot counts, squash shot types, speed estimates and PAR-11 scoring.

Tips for accurate tracking with SquashWatch

• Wear the watch snugly on your racket hand.
• Set LEFT or RIGHT before you tap START.
• Set your skill level in the watch app's Settings. It changes how strictly swings are rated. Intermediate and Advanced are in beta.
• Set your height in the same place. The speed estimate uses it to adjust for arm length. The height setting is also in beta.
• Haptics are off by default. To feel a tap on your wrist after each swing, swipe to the page on the left during a session and tap Sound.
• Very soft shots, like a gentle drop, may not register, and neither may a second swing within about half a second of the first. The app is tuned to ignore walking and watch adjustments, so they usually don't count as swings.
• Don't force quit SquashWatch during a session, or your swings from that session are lost. Sessions with no swings aren't sent to your iPhone. If a session doesn't show up there, keep the phone near the watch with Bluetooth on.

About the author

I'm George Yameen, a solo indie developer. I build sports apps for Apple Watch because I love these sports and wanted a better way to track my own game. Questions about this guide? Get in touch or find me on X at @GeorgeYameen.