New Season Schedules

That zipping sound you heard recently was the summer of '09 going by. Sad though that is it means we're only a couple of weeks away from the start of the 2009-2010 racquetball season. There are three pro tournaments next month. Two men's events on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) and one Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) event.

IRT Season

The IRT season kicks off September 9-13 with the Motorola World Championship, a Grand Slam event, in Denver, where they will again be playing in public on the Lucite portable court, which will be set up in Skyline Park.

Last year, Kane Waselenchuk had the best comeback in racquetball history, as he won all but one of the events that he entered after being away from the game for two seasons due to a banned substance suspension. He'll be looking to continue that success, which includes a 6 tournament winning streak.

The IRT season will continue the following week in Terre Haute, Indiana, as the Lawler Sports Pro Am will take place September 17-20.

The complete IRT schedule is below. It's similar to last season, although there is some uncertainty with a few events (some dates pending).

IRT Main Events - 2009-2010 Season
(GS = Grand Slam, T1 = Tier 1)

GS September 9-13 - MOTOROLA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP -Denver, CO
T1 September 17-20 - LAWLER SPORTS PRO AM- Terre Haute, IN

T1 October 8-11 - KENTUCKY OPEN - Bowling Green, KY
GS October 21-25 - US OPEN - Memphis, TN

T1 November (TBA) - JUAREZ OPEN - Juarez, Mexico

T1 January 7-10 - CALIFORNIA OPEN - Los Angeles, CA
T1 January 14-17 - NEW YORK CITY PRO AM - Long Island, NY

T1 February 18-21 - SEATTLE OPEN - Seattle, WA
T1 February 25-28 - SAN DIEGO OPEN - San Diego, CA

T1 March 11-14 - FLORIDA SPRING BREAK - Sarasota, FL
T1 March - BOSTON MA (date pending)

T1 April 8-11 - DENNIS ROSENBERG PRO AM - Allentown, PA
T1 April 15-18 - MEXICO OPEN - Tijuana Mexico (date pending)
T1 April 23-25 - CANADIAN RACQUETBALL CLASSIC - Kitchener Canada (date pending)

GS May MOTOROLA IRT PRO NATIONALS - Chicago, IL (date pending)

WPRO Season

The WPRO season kicks off at the end of September with a new event: the 2009 Ektelon WPRO Texas Open in Dallas, which has a spiffy website and logo.

The WPRO season also looks similar to last year with 8 events, although there's no set place for the WPRO World Championships, which are scheduled for next May.

Paola Longoria emerged as the player to beat last season, as she finished #1 at season's end. However, she was beaten by Kristen Bellows in the WPRO World Championships, as well as Rhonda Rajsich earlier in the season and Cheryl Gudinas Holmes in the Pan American Championships. So while Longoria is #1 there are several rivals for that position.

WPRO Main Events - 2009-2010 Season
(GS = Grand Slam, T1 = Tier 1)

T1 September 25-27 - Dallas, TX - 2009 Ektelon WPRO Texas Open
GS October 21-25 - Memphis, TN - US Open Championships
T1 November 6-8 - Wilmington, NC - East Coast Championships
T1 December 11-13 - Arlington, VA - Christmas Classic

T1 March 12-14 - Gaithersburg, MD - Terrapin Shootout
T1 March 26-28 - York, PA - Miller Lite Open
T1 April 22-25 - Burlington, ON - Canadian Racquetball Classic
GS May 6-9 - WPRO World Championships

Follow the bouncing ball....