Where we'd like to be

Grant Park might have been the place to be last night, but this weekend, we're thinking the place we'd most want to be is on Long Island, New York for the Long Island Open.

They don't have the highest ranked International Racquetball Tour (IRT) players, but Jason Thoerner, Andy Hawthorne and Ruben Gonzalez will also be playing doubles, which would be cool to see. Moreover, there are 31 players in the Pro draw, with some players who have been in qualifiers this year, such as Jason Sylvester, Bradley Kirch, Danny Lavely, and Kadim Carrasco.

So, there should be plenty of good matches and the possibility for upsets.

Moreover, Rhonda Rajsich and Cheryl Gudinas Holmes, the top two players on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) tour, will be playing on Long Island. It's a WPRO satellite event, so there's a small field, but it also includes two time World Champion Aimee Ruiz. And these players will be playing mixed doubles too, which again should be something to see, as should the potential Rajsich-Ruiz semi-final.

Foreign Results

The IRT has reported that Shane Vanderson defeated Tony Carson to win the Japan International Event in Tokyo last weekend. That was a Tier 4 event.

Also last weekend, Gilberto Meija won the Chihuahua Open (a Tier 2 IRT event) in Chihuahua, Mexico defeating Chris Crowther, 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8.

Finally this past weekend, Martin Klippel won the Hamburg Open, defeating Oliver Bertels, 9-15, 15-14, 11-4. Yvonne Kortes won the women's Open division defeating Lara Ludwig, 15-8, 15-9, in the final. It was the second event on the European Racquetball Federation calendar. Next up is the Belgian Open in Brussels, November 21-23.

Follow the bouncing ball....