Doubles semi-finals at 2018 IRF World Championships

The top seeded Mexican teams are through to the finals in both Men’s and Women’s Doubles at the 19th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in San José, Costa Rica. Alvaro Beltran and Daniel De La Rosa of Mexico won their semi-final in Men’s Doubles against Bolivans Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso, 15-14, 15-8, and their team-mates Alexandra Herrera and Monserrat Mejia beat Colombians Cristina Amaya and Adriana Riveros, 15-8, 15-4, in their semi-final.

Beltran and De La Rosa look to have the more difficult final, as they will face racquetball legends Rocky Carson and Sudsy Monchik of the USA. Carson and Monchik defeated Canadians Tim Landeryou and Samuel Murray, 15-12, 15-2, in the semis. If Carson wins, he’ll become the 3rd man to win both Men’s Singles and Doubles at Worlds after fellow American Todd O’Neill and Beltran. Carson has five titles in singles. Beltran is the defending champion in doubles, which is one of his three doubles titles to go with one singles title.

Herrera and Mejia will play Bolivians Valeria Centellas and Yasmine Sabja, who are surprise finalists, as they entered the medal round as the 7th seeds. In their semi-final match against the Guatemalan team of Maria Renee Rodriguez and Gabriela Martinez, Martinez picked up a left elbow injury. She tried to continue on, but in the middle of the third game found that it was too much, so the final score line was 10-15, 15-7, 6-4, injury forfeit, in favor of Bolivia. Thus, Centellas and Sabja have a chance to become to the first South American team to win Women’s Doubles at Worlds.

Martinez’s left arm injury happened at 10-7 down in game two. She continued to play after taking an injury timeout, but then in the middle of game three, Martinez doubled over, and it was over for her. The seemed to pick up the injury after a dive, although she didn’t stay down, so it didn’t seem to be serious. Then in game three, it became more painful when she wasn’t even about to play the ball, which is a bad sign.

Martinez is in the Women’s Singles final versus Mexican Paola Longoria, and we hope that she’ll be able to play in that.

Look for both finals to be live streamed via the IRF Facebook page.

18th IRF World Championships
August 10-18, 2018
San José, Costa Rica

Men's Doubles - Semi-finals - Friday

1) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa (Mexico) d. 4) Roland Keller & Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia), 15-14, 15-8
3) Rocky Carson & Sudsy Monchik (USA) d. 7) Tim Landeryou & Samuel Murray (Canada), 15-12, 15-2

Men's Doubles - Final - Saturday

1) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa (Mexico) v. 3) Rocky Carson & Sudsy Monchik (USA) - 1 PM MDT

Women's Doubles - Semi-finals - Friday

1) Monserrat Mejia & Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) d. 4) Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros (Colombia), 15-8, 15-4
7) Valeria Centellas & Yasmine Sabja (Bolivia) d. 3) Maria Renee Rodriguez & Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala), 10-15, 15-7, 6-4, injury forfeit

Women's Doubles - Final - Saturday

1) Monserrat Mejia & Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) v. 7) Valeria Centellas & Yasmine Sabja (Bolivia) - Noon MDT

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