World rackets champion James Stout retained his British Open title with a victory over Harry Foster at Queens Club, London, yesterday.

The defending champion started slowly losing the first game 4-15, but rallied to win the next four games 15-5, 15-0, 15-9 and 15-5.

It was the first match between Stout, 24, and number two seed Foster since the Bermudian's triumph in the World Championships last November.

En route to the final, Stout beat Andrew Lyons 3-1 (15-6, 9-15, 15-0, 15-3), Peter Brake (8th seed) 3-0 (15-9, 15-7, 15-9), and Mark Hubbard (4th seed), the world doubles champion, 4-0 (17-16, 15-5, 15-4, 15-8).

Rackets was first played in English Prisons during the 18th century, usually amongst gentleman who had been imprisoned as debtors.

Its popularity spread to other prisons and to public houses in London, and then to cities such as Bristol, Bath, Birmingham and Belfast.

In more recent times it has been played almost exclusively in some 36 courts in the UK and in North America.

The courts are approximately one and a half times the width of, and two and a half times the length of a squash court.

They are made of slate, and the game is played at a very fast pace with a white ball almost as hard as a golf ball which travels at up to 180 miles an hour.

Stout took up the sport at school, and was unbeaten as a junior since the age of 14.

He gave it up for several years when he took up professional squash in Belgian, but decided to get back into the game while working as a squash, tennis and racquets professional at the New York Racquets and Tennis Club.

There are about six major rackets championships held each year, including the British and US Championships.

In order to challenge the world champion a player has to win at least two major tournaments and then apply for permission from both the Tennis and Rackets Association (T&RA) in the UK and the North American Racquets Association (NARA) to make a challenge.