Mexican Paola Longoria won the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) US Open title for a record extending 11th time, and 10th in a row, Sunday at the 2021 UnitedHealthcare US Open in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She defeated Maria Jose Vargas of Argentina in the final, 15-3, 15-8.
In game one, they were close early, but after Longoria led 4-2, she scored multiple points each time she was in the service box. In contrast, Vargas struggled to even get in the box, let alone score points.
Of the three points Vargas got in game one, two were ace serves. She just wasn't getting it done in the rallies.
Game two was more competitive early and through the mid-game. Vargas actually led at 4-3 and 5-4, as it seemed there might be a chink in the Longoria armour.
But any flaw was quickly mended with four straight points to lead 8-5. Vargas did respond with a couple of her own to get within one at 8-7.
Then it was slow going for a bit, but Longoria did edge ahead to 11-8. After getting the serve back at that point, she called a timeout.
When play resumed, Longoria won the last four points on as many rallies for the victory. Two of the four points were from Vargas skips, and unforced errors at that.
If you are going to cause an upset - and defeating Longoria would be a big upset - you can't be hurting yourself, yet that's what Vargas did too often Sunday.
Vargas also hit the ball to Longoria far too often, which wasn't making Longoria uncomfortable. You want to make your opponent uncomfortable, especially when trying to cause an upset.
The LPRT will next be at the 2021 3 Wall Ball Outdoor World Championships in Las Vegas, October 20-24. Following that the tour closes the year with three Tier 1 events.
They'll play back to back weekends in November. First, there will be a combined LPRT/IRT (International Racquetball Tour) event in Arizona, November 11-14, which will be followed by the LPRT Turkey Shoot Pro-Am in Chicago, November 19-21. 2021 will close with the 30th Annual Christmas Classic in Severna Park, Maryland, December 10-12. That'll make for a busy finish to the year for the LPRT.
If you missed the final - or any of the other LPRT US Open action - check out the LPRT YouTube channel, as well as the LPRT Facebook page.
2021 UnitedHealthcare US Open Racquetball Championships
October 6-10, 2021 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
LPRT Singles - Final - Sunday
1) Paola Longoria d. 3) Maria Jose Vargas, 15-3, 15-8
Follow the bouncing ball…..
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