Similar story here - played all through highschool, stopped in college, played off and one after that, but haven't played any in several years now. I've had a few Ektelon racquets (CBK, Toron) and E-Force (Bedlam something-or-other) but my favorite is a Head LiquidMetal. I don't recall the exact model (and they change every year anyway) but it was their top-of-the-line $200+ model, and is an awesome combo of weight, power and control.
Yep, I played with the original Toron, had a brief stint with Head racquets, but returned to Ektelon and really loved playing with the Strobe for years. The "club pro" at my gym is sponsored by Ektelon and is willing to help me find the best racquet for me among the current models that are available. Leagues start next week. I'm extremely rusty, but it's amazing how fast the mental aspect of the game comes back to you in terms of positioning, knowing where the ball is going, and most likely what your opponent is going to hit (pass, pinch, splat, etc.). It's going to take me a lot of practice to get my old form back, if that's even possible after knee surgery.
I played a lot more Squash though, so the first thing I did on a Racquetball court was nearly take my own head off... it takes a lot of getting used to the faster/bouncier ball.
Squash, there's a game that I always thought looked really neat, but never got the chance to play. They make several kinds of balls for racquetball now with different speed ratings. Apparently, the fastest ones are pretty incredible. I do remember that when I played Egan Inoue was one of the top pros and his drive serve in racquetball was clocked at 188 mile per hour.
Same story as yours, I played a lot about 20 yrs ago and have been thinking of playing again. Awesome cardio workout and much better than just running. My club has about 4 courts and they look fairly busy most of the time.
I see your location is Dallas, what club do you go to? Feel free to PM if you don't want to put that out there. I know the Maverick Athletic Club in Arlington is a big racquetball spot. I play at the Lifetime Fitness in Mansfield. Apparently Dallas has a pretty big racquetball community and the Ektelon Open used to be played at the Landmark Fitness Club off of 635 north of downtown. Get back on the court and give it a shot, like you said, the cardio is great.
