Rating Criteria by Level

2.0 (E)

Forehand/Backhand: Incomplete swing. Still working on consistent contact and direction. Avoids backhand; grip and footwork problems on backhand.
Fitness/Movement: N/A
Serve/Return: Learning how and where to stand, cannot hit the return consistently to the service line.
Volley: Has trouble with contact on the volley.
Special Shots: None
Playing Style: Does not understand depth, positioning. Cannot get balls out of corners.
Tournament Experience: None

2.5 (D)

Forehand/Backhand: Form developing. Can handle moderate paced shots. Still has grip and preparation problems.
Fitness/Movement: Typically not fit to play tournament squash; has trouble staying away from the walls; very little anticipation of opponents shot.
Serve/Return: Can hit the serve/cannot return deep with consistency
Volley: Can make contact on the volley, cannot control the ball.
Special Shots: Starting to lob but with little consistency. Ball is regularly out or hits the back wall on the fly.
Playing Style: Runs hard. Cannot consistently control the middle of the court.
Tournament Experience: Has played a few tournament matches.

3.0 (DD)

Forehand/Backhand: Good consistency and variety on moderate shots. Over hits under pressure. On backhand, frequently prepared, starting to hit for depth.
Fitness/Movement: Has started to learn to stay out of the back corners. Still overruns the ball regularly. Barely has the fitness to play a 5 game tournament match.
Serve/Return: Has both lob serve and hard serve. Can now return to behind the service line with consistency. Good lob serves are still hard to return.
Volley: Starting to volley for power and direction. Cannot yet drop off the volley.
Special Shots: Can lob consistently on moderate shots. Goes for drop on ball in middle of court. Understands let point rule. Uses boast on occasion, but usually ineffectively.
Playing Style: Tends to run hard and hit hard. Tries drop only on easy shots.
Tournament Experience: Can beat other lower ranked players with good consistency.

3.5 (C)

Forehand/Backhand: Starting to hit for power. Can retrieve in the front and back corners. Can hit cross court and down the rail for power. Can lob off both sides but without much touch.
Fitness/Movement: Starting to regularly keep away from the ball, the walls and corners. Now is trying to anticipate opponents shots. This player is typically not balanced enough to have a wide selection of shots after a dash to the ball.
Serve/Return: Still occasionally hits a short return. Volleys to depth only.
Volley: Will volley off both sides on easy balls. Starting to drop off the volley.
Special Shots: Now uses boasts and lobs to augment drives.
Playing Style: Can retrieve or go for shots though not able to hit good shots consistently.
Tournament Experience: Has played and probably won a D level tournament.

4.0 (CC)

Forehand/Backhand: Can drive the ball for width and power. Starting to hit drops from mid and front court. Hits the backhand hard but can drop. Misses drop under pressure.
Fitness/Movement: Can now play hard 5 game tournament matches, and have some reserves. Recovery to the T is a part of this player's movement. Starting to show good balance and body control after a sprint to the ball.
Serve/Return: Serves hard and wide with consistency. Lob serve drifts to the middle. Serve returns are generally good shots.
Volley: Now volleys for depth, power and shoots on easy balls.
Special Shots: Boast, lob and drops are part of this player's arsenal. Hits 50% of those shots well.
Playing Style: Physical make up now determines playing style. Big player powers the ball to the corners, tries drops. Smaller, quicker, fitter player plays retrieving game with counter punch shots.
Tournament Experience: Would win a "C" tournament. Could win a match or two in the "B's"

4.5 (B)

Forehand/Backhand: Forehand is a strong shot with power, depth. On backhand, controls depth and power but still occasionally breaks down under pressure.
Fitness/Movement: Watches the other player as a key to moving properly. Recovery is a consideration on virtually every shot. Starting to pay attention to balance when stretching to the ball.
Serve/Return: Aggressive server, tries to use serve to advantage. Returns tend to be consistent along the walls.
Volley: Volleys for drops and length from the front and mid court, but not with great consistency.
Special Shots: Has two or three shots that he/she rallies to get. Can use the drop shot effectively.
Playing Style: Consistently keeps the ball in play against equal opponents. Controls T against the other players.
Tournament Experience: Would win a "C" or "CC" tournament. With minimal improvement, can compete with "BB" players.

5.0 (BB)

Forehand/Backhand: Has purpose with each swing. Drives ball and boasts from same spot. Can throw up good lob from defensive position.
Fitness/Movement: Has learned to float rather than always dash to the ball i.e., starting to show good economy of movement. Has good fitness, can play hard matches with a 5.5 player. Usually well balanced except when on the dead run.
Serve/Return: Can attack with return of serve. Can lob serve wide and high.
Volley: Cuts balls off on a semi-regular basis. Volley to the nick but rarely makes it.
Special Shots: Rallies to set himself up for a winner, does not rush shots except when playing a much better player.
Playing Style: Knows that rallies must start with drives for depth. Tends to play for a shot a little early at times, but can run down balls if shot sets opponent up to take control of the T.
Tournament Experience: Would win a "B" tournament. Could win a match or two in the "A's". Needs to work on the consistency of the quality of his/her shots to get to the "A" level.

5.5 (A)

Forehand/Backhand: Can drive, boast, lob, and drop. Can put any player into the corners with a set up. Drives the ball powerfully enough to get it past a good volleyer. Can hold the shot to take advantage of a player that guesses or leans.
Fitness/Movement: Can get to almost any ball. Knows how to run as hard as necessary to get to each ball to hit the desired shot. Fit enough to defeat all lower rated players.
Serve/Return: Consistently returns a very good shot. Can boast or drop off the return. Serves rarely put this player into an immediate defensive position.
Volley: Volleys whenever possible to length, drop or boast. Uses the volley the way lower level players use their ground strokes.
Special Shots: All shots are hit to the nick. This player has a shot that can finish a rally with a high degree of consistency.
Playing Style: Plays patiently to the opening. Will still rush an occasional shot but patience and shot quality separate the 5.5 player from the 5.0. Is great practice for any level player.
Tournament Experience: Would win every "B" tournament. Might get upset in a "BB" but would win these 80% of the time. Gives the pros a reasonable match.

6.0 (AA)

Forehand/Backhand: Holds almost every shot. Takes advantage of the open court. Defensive shots are very good. Has great wrist. Knows when to lob and drop. Dominates the court with a ball at the T.
Fitness/Movement: The most fit player. Virtually no ball is ungettable. Shows the highest levels of anticipation and balance. These players are most economical in their movement.
Serve/Return: Consistently serves very well. Returns are hit such that the server cannot attack, and may even put the server on the defensive.
Volley: Tremendous volleyer with reach, precision and touch. Likes to volley to the nick.
Special Shots: Has all the shots. Can play the ball high and deep from the back corner.
Playing Style: Plays both his style and the style that makes the opponent look bad. Exploits opponents weakness.
Tournament Experience: Has great results at national tournament level. Usually fairly dominant in local play.