2020 LPRT TeamRoot.Com Super Max Slam

RACQUETBALL IS BACK! It’s been 9 months since a major indoor tournament, but this weekend the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) is playing the TeamRoot.com Super Max Slam in Overland Park, Kansas. There are 33 players in the draw, including the top 11 players and 21 of the top 26. Leading the way is LPRT #1 Paola Longoria, who could get her 100th Tier 1/Grand Slam LPRT win this weekend.

Thirty two players will be trying to prevent Longoria winning, and those with the best chance of doing so are LPRT #2 Maria Jose Vargas, #3 Alexandra Herrera and #4 Samantha Salas, although Salas will likely have to defeat either current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion Gabriela Martinez or veteran - and two time former IRF Champion - Rhonda Rajsich in the quarterfinals to get a shot at Longoria in the semi-finals. 

However, Longoria has only lost twice on tour since April 2018. That’s when she lost to Salas in San Antonio, and she also lost to Vargas in Chesapeake, Virginia in September of last year. Those are her only losses in the last 5 LPRT seasons, during which she had a record of 44-2. 

We don’t expect her to lose in Kansas. 

They are also playing doubles in Kansas, but there are two players who curiously aren’t. Neither Vargas nor Sheryl Lotts are in the doubles draw. Vargas has played with Natalia Mendez for the past few seasons, but Valeria Centellas, who won the Women’s Doubles at the most recent IRF World Championships (with Yazmine Sabja) is playing with Mendez this weekend. Centellas, who is still a junior, has moved to Argentina and will be playing for them, rather than her native Bolivia, so the plan is likely for her and Mendez to play doubles at next year’s World Championships. 

Lotts has often partnered with Rajsich in recent years, but not this weekend. We wonder if Vargas and Lotts knew they each didn’t have doubles partners, as a Vargas & Lotts team would be a decent one. One we think would win at least one match and maybe more. 

Nevertheless, doubles will be interesting, even with Longoria and Salas as the top seeds and heavy favourites. But we want to see how Centellas and Mendez play together, and there are other high quality teams teams, including Herrera and Montserrat Mejia, who have beat Longoria and Salas in the final of the 2019 US Open, as well as Martinez and Maria Renee Rodriguez, and Cristina Amaya and Adriana Riveros. 

There’s been little racquetball action of note over the last several months, so it will be great to see some this weekend. 

You can watch the TeamRoot.com Super Max Slam live via the LPRT YouTube channel or the LPRT website (click “LPRT Live” at the top of the page). The first match of the tournament is 8 AM Friday, with the Round of 32 beginning Friday at 9 AM. Doubles begins at 1 PM Friday with the Round of 16 followed by the quarterfinals at 1 and 2 PM Saturday afternoon. The singles semi-finals are Saturday afternoon at 5 and 6 PM and the doubles semis at 7PM. The singles final will be 1 PM Sunday with the doubles final to follow at 2 PM. All times central. 

2020 LPRT TeamRoot.com Super Max Slam, December 4-6, 2020 

Overland Park, Kansas 

Round of 64 - Friday 

32) Lucia Gonzalez v. 33) Naomi Ros - 8 AM  

Round of 32 - Friday 

1) Paola Longoria v. 32) Lucia Gonzalez or 33) Naomi Ros - Noon

16) Masiel Rivera v. 17) Erin Rivera - Noon 

9) Carla Muñoz v. 24) Megan Shelton - Noon 

8) Jessica Parrilla v. 25) Maria Riquelme - Noon 

 5) Rhonda Rajsich v. 28) Erin Slutzky - 9 AM 

12) Adriana Riveros v. 21) Gabriela Martinez - 9 AM 

13) Sheryl Lotts v. 20) Hollie Scott - 9 AM 

4) Samantha Salas v. 29) Shane Diaz - 9 AM 

3) Alexandra Herrera v. 30) Daniela Rico - 10 AM 

14) Maria Renee Rodriguez v. 19) Adrienna Haynes - 10 AM 

11) Nancy Enriquez v. 22) Micaela Meneses - 10 AM 

6) Natalia Mendez v. 27) Jessica Chen - 10 AM 

7) Valeria Centellas v. 26) Annie Roberts - 11 AM 

10) Cristina Amaya v. 23) Angelica Barrios - 11 AM 

15) Montserrat Mejia v. 18) Brenda Laime - 11 AM 

2) Maria Jose Vargas v. 31) Katie Neils - 11 AM  

Doubles - Round of 16 - Friday 

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas - BYE 

8) Brenda Laime & Masiel Rivera v. 9) Katie Neils & Rhonda Rajsich - 2 PM

5) Jessica Parrilla & Erin Rivera v. 12) Jessica Chen & Megan Shelton - Noon 

4) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia v. 13) Daniela Rico & Maria Riquelme - 2 PM 

3) Nancy Enriquez & Carla Muñoz v. 14) Annie Roberts & Erin Slutzky - 1 PM 

6) Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez v. 11) Lucia Gonzalez & Hollie Scott - 1 PM 

7) Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros v. 10) Angelica Barrios & Micaela Meneses - 1 PM 

2) Valeria Centellas & Natalia Mendez v. 15) Shane Diaz & Naomi Ros - 1 PM 

 Follow the bouncing ball….