Rankings then and now

As we’ve just come through a decade (actually, we always do, but this time the numbering has changed), The Racquetball Blog staff thought it would be fun to compare the top ranked players from 10 years ago with now. Some things have changed, and some things have stayed the same.

Women’s Pro Tour

Let’s look at the women first. In 2010, their tour was called the Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO), while it’s now the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT). Here’s the WPRO rankings from 10 years ago.

WPRO Rankings (as of December 21, 2009)

Rank - Name - Country - Points

1 Paola Longoria, Mexico 1297.00
2 Rhonda Rajsich, USA 1260.06
3 Cheryl Gudinas, USA 631.040
4 Kerri Wachtel, USA 612.70
5 Kristen Bellows, USA 576.00
6 Adrienne Fisher, USA 363.70
7 Jennifer Saunders, Canada 253.45
8 Angela Grisar, Chile 245.00
9 Jo Shattuck, USA 224.41
10 T.J. Baumbaugh, USA 218.80

11 Veronica Sotomayor, Ecuador 217.20
12 Krystal Csuk, USA 203.68
13 Keely Franks, USA 180.25
14 Diane Moore, USA 164.25
15 Samantha Salas, Mexico 133.05
16 Vivian Gomez, USA 128.50
17 Jackie Paraiso, USA 120.00
18 Susy Acosta-Mendoza, Mexico 112.70
19 Doreen Fowler, USA 112.19
20 Cristina Amaya, Colombia 106.50

And now, here’s the current LPRT rankings.

LPRT Rankings (as of January 6, 2020)

Rank - Name - Country - Points

1. Paola Longoria MEX - 2225
2. Maria Jose Vargas ARG - 1543.5
3. Samantha Salas MEX - 1296.5
4. Alexandra Herrera MEX - 768
5. Natalia Mendez ARG - 639.5
6. Rhonda Rajsich USA - 635.5
7. Nancy Enriquez MEX - 606.5
8. Montserrat Mejia MEX - 498.5
9. Cristina Amaya COL - 449.5
10. Masiel Rivera BOL - 433.5

11. Adriana Riveros COL - 269.75
12. Brenda Laime COL - 269.5
13. Ana Laura Flores MEX - 242.75
14. Jessica Parrilla MEX - 215.25
15. Adrienne Fisher Haynes USA - 207
16. Sheryl Lotts USA - 199.25
17. Casandra Lee USA - 198.75
18. Erin Rivera MEX - 166.5
19. Carla Muñoz CHI - 164.5
20. Maria Renee Rodriguez GUA - 151.5

There are five players from a decade ago still in the top 20 now. Most notably Paola Longoria was #1 in January 2010 and she is now too. Rhonda Rajsich was #2 then, and is #6 now. Samantha Salas has moved up from #15 to #3 and Cristina Amaya from #20 to #9, while Adrienne Fisher Haynes was #6 and is now #15. T. J. Baumbaugh was #10, but she’s now running the tour.

More significant than the individuals in the top 20 is where they are from. In 2010, 13 of the top 20 women were from the USA with 3 from Mexico and 1 each from Canada, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. Now, there are 8 from Mexico and only 4 from the USA with 3 from Colombia, 2 from Argentina, and 1 each from Bolivia, Chile and Guatemala, although two of the Colombians and both Argentines are Bolivian born.

That’s a stark contrast, and especially so when you look at just the top 10, which had 7 USA players a decade ago and has just one now.

Men’s Pro Tour

Although the men’s pro tour has changed hands, just like the women’s tour, it did not change names. The International Racquetball Tour continues albeit under under new administration.

Here’s the IRT rankings from a decade ago.

IRT Rankings (as of December 7, 2009)

Rank - Player - Country - Points

1 Kane WASELENCHUK, CAN - 4286
2 Jack HUCZEK, USA - 3240
3 Rocky CARSON, USA - 2906 - 2
4 Jason MANNINO, USA - 2284
5 Shane VANDERSON, USA - 2216 - 5
6 Mitch WILLIAMS, USA - 1901
7 Alvaro BELTRAN, MEX - 1811
8 Chris CROWTHER, USA - 1789
9 Ben CROFT, USA - 1664
10 Andy HAWTHORNE, USA - 1620

11 Javier MORENO, MEX - 972
12 Travis WOODBURY, USA - 968
13 Juan HERRERA, COL - 945
14 Kris ODEGARD, CAN - 941
15 Andres HERRERA, COL - 885
16 Anthony HERRERA, USA - 881
17 Polo GUTIERREZ, MEX - 817
18 Alejandro LANDA, MEX - 801
19 Charlie PRATT, USA 778,
20 Alejandro HERRERA, COL - 776

And now, the current IRT rankings.

IRT Rankings (as of January 6, 2020)

1. Kane Waselenchuk, CAN - 3581.09
2. Alejandro Landa, MEX - 3064.69
3. Rocky Carson, USA - 3032.17
4. Andree Parrilla, MEX - 2399.78
5. Alvaro Beltran, MEX - 2176.75
6. Daniel De La Rosa, MEX - 1889.81
7. Conrrado Moscoso, BOL - 1573.95
8. Samuel Murray, CAN - 1445.18
9. Eduardo Portillo, MEX - 1324.54
10. Rodrigo Montoya, MEX - 1323.82

11. Jake Bredenbeck, USA - 1241.61
12. Sebastian Franco, COL - 1183.19
13. Mario Mercado, COL - 945.34
14. David Horn, USA - 909.67
15. Carlos Keller, BOL - 852.60
16. Gerardo Franco, MEX - 815.89
17. Thomas Carter, USA - 814.33
18. Sebastian Fernandez, MEX - 812.66
19. Robert Collins, USA - 683.71
20. Andres Acuña, CRC - 633.32

This tells a similar tale to what we saw in the womens’ rankings. Four players from the top 20 a decade ago are still in the top 10, including the #1 player then and now: Kane Waselenchuk. Rocky Carson was #3 then and he’s #3 now. But Alejandro Landa has moved up from #18 in 2010 to be #2 now. Finally, Alvaro Beltran was 7th ten years ago, and he’s 5th now.

As with the women, USA players dominated the rankings a decade ago, but now? Not so much. There were 11 USA players in the top 20 in 2010, but are only 5 now, and only one of them in the top 10, just as on the LPRT. Mexican players have doubled from 4 to 8, while the Canadian players were 2 then and are 2 now. There were 3 Colombians in 2010, and there are 2 now, along with 2 Bolivians and a Costa Rican.

So, if you needed any (more) proof that racquetball is more international now than it was a decade ago, this review of the pro top 10s is it.

We look forward to the next decade of racquetball.

Follow the bouncing ball…..