When we last did a “Stories of the Year” piece we wrote: “2019 was an action packed year for racquetball, and we expect more of the same in 2020.” If ever there was a year that didn’t meet expectations, it was 2020. We didn’t even do a Stories of the Year for 2020, because COVID-19 was basically THE STORY. That changed somewhat in 2021, although COVID-19 is still around, and looks like it will continue to be around in 2022. Regardless, there were significant racquetball stories on court and off in 2021, and we’ve made a list of them for you.
Top Racquetball Stories of 2021
11) Racquetball sponsors We’d like to take a moment to acknowledge some of the companies and people who sponsor racquetball events, as they help to create elite level competitions that drive interest in the game. Many of them sponsor more than one event, and their generosity and support is greatly appreciated. They include (alphabetically): AGE Solutions, KWM Gutterman, Lewis Drug, Reaching Your Dream Foundation, Suivant Consulting, Team Root, UnitedHeathcare, Williams Accounting & Consulting and Zurek Construction. Truly an A to Z list. Many other sponsors help with individual events, and that’s great too. Elite level racquetball doesn’t happen without sponsors' support.
10) Erika Manilla. Manilla had a magical run at the US Open, going from the qualifying rounds to the semi-finals. She won Women’s Doubles at the USA Racquetball National Championships with Rhonda Rajsich, and the two of them were silver medalists at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in Guatemala. But Manilla is also involved in Manilla Athletics, which is a company put together with her brother Adam and David Horn to do on line racquetball coaching, as well as “Court Wars,” a pay per view racquetball competition. Both of those are interesting endeavours that could help to grow the sport.
9) Rodrigo Montoya. Montoya was the defending IRF World Champion in Men’s Singles, but lost to Jake Bredenbeck in the Round of 16 at Worlds in Guatemala this year. However, he and Javier Mar did win Men’s Doubles for Mexico in Guatemala, so Montoya is still a World Champion, and just the 3rd man to win both singles and doubles at Worlds (after American Todd O’Neill and Mexican Alvaro Beltran).
8) Gabriela Martinez. Martinez won her first Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event in August, and was on the podium in Women's Doubles at Worlds (with Maria Renee Rodriguez) in her home country of Guatemala. She was the defending World Champion in Women’s Singles, but lost in the quarterfinals to Natalia Mendez of Argentina. Nonetheless, it was a great year for Martinez, who’s ranked 5th on the LPRT.
7) Mario Mercado. Mercado won his first International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event this year, and also got on the podium in both singles and doubles at the IRT World Championships representing Colombia. He’s played the pro tour for several years now, and at 27, Mercado is putting the pieces together to be a threat at any event.
6) Conrado Moscoso. Moscoso won his 2nd career IRT event in 2021, and then was a double medalist at the World Championships in Guatemala, where the Bolivian got a bronze medal in Men’s Singles and a silver medal in Men’s Doubles with Roland Keller.
5) Alejandro Landa. Landa won Men’s Singles at the 2021 IRF World Championships in Guatemala. It was his 1st World Championship on his first time on Team USA after a falling out with the Mexico racquetball federation let him to turn his back on Mexico. He was also on the podium in Men’s Doubles in Guatemala with Charlie Pratt.
4) Sudsy Monchik. Throughout the pandemic, Monchik has been an enthusiastic voice for racquetball, helping to keep people engaged, and do his part to generate excitement and interest. This is a marked change from where Monchik was just a few years ago, when he was largely off the scene and not “match fit.” Since then he’s played on Team USA, and is actively coaching, and engaging on social media, including doing a racquetball podcast. It would be difficult to find a bigger champion for racquetball than Monchik.
3) Kane Waselenchuk. What to make of Waselenchuk now? He played very little in 2021, but entered the US Open, which he'd won 12 times in a row (15 times overall), and reached the semi-finals with relative ease. But then he withdrew, stating on social media that it was done in protest to how the IRT was treating him. It was a shocking decision that we still don’t understand and perhaps never will. We’re not sure where he’s at right now, and whether we’ll see more of him on tour. Clearly, he can still play at a high level, but at 40, Waselenchuk may feel that he’s had enough racquetball for this lifetime.
2) Daniel De La Rosa. De La Rosa won three IRT events in a row in 2021, including the US Open for the first time. He had a chance to win four in a row, but lost to Mercado in Arizona. No one but Waselenchuk had won three consecutive IRT events since 2014. Some will say De La Rosa’s US Open win is tainted by Waselenchuk’s withdrawal, but the consensus of The Racquetball Blog staff is that De La Rosa would have won the US Open regardless of who he faced. His form was that good.
1) Paola Longoria. For three years Longoria was not a World Champion. How that must have bugged her. She fixed that this year by winning both Women’s Singles and Women’s Doubles at Worlds, which was the third time she’d won both titles in the same year, and in doing so became the winningest player in IRF World Championship history. Oh, Longoria also won LPRT singles and doubles at the US Open, and continues to be the LPRT’s #1 player. Ho hum, just another year in the life of Paola Longoria.
Honorable mentions: Doug Ganim retired as the US Open tournament director after 25 editions of the largest racquetball event in the world. He leaves behind large shoes to fill. USA Racquetball believes they have someone to do the job, but it’s definitely the end of a great era in professional racquetball. Rhonda Rajsich won both singles and doubles at the USA Nationals and then got on the podium in both singles and doubles at the World Championships, which were her first medals at Worlds in seven years. Oh, and she turned 43 in October. What’d you do at 43? Samuel Murray won his 1st IRT title in Atlanta back in January and later swept singles and doubles at the Canadian National Championships. Montserrat Mejia won her first LPRT event in June and was runner up in doubles (with Alexandra Herrera) at the US Open.
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And now 2022 is here, and we have no expectations.
Follow the bouncing ball….
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