Alexandra Herrera won the 2022 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Boston Open in Marlborough, Massachusetts, on Sunday, as the #2 LPRT player defeated Paola Longoria, the LPRT’s #1 player, 15-8, 15-14, in the final. Herrera’s now won back to back on the LPRT for the first time, and these are her first two career titles. It’s also the first time since late 2010 that (a) someone other than Longoria has won back to back LPRT events, and (b) Longoria has lost two events in a row. Herrera beat Longoria in Vero Beach, Florida two weeks ago.
Longoria and Samantha Salas won the Boston Open doubles title by defeating Kelani Lawrence and Hollie Scott, 15-13, 7-15, 11-7, a match that was much closer than it looked on paper, as Longoria and Salas are the #1 doubles team on the LPRT and Lawrence and Scott were the 6th seeds. But that’s why you play the games, and the young Americans Lawrence and Scott were full measure for taking it to a breaker, and could have won it if the veterans - and current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champions from Mexico - had slipped up in some way. But they didn’t.
In the singles final, Herrera never trailed in game one, although they were tied at 5-5 and 6-6. Herrera - a lefthanded player - drove serve down the left side to Longoria’s backhand effectively, and followed it up with solid shots during the rallies to win by a comfortably margin.
Longoria started well in game two, as she used a 1/2 lob Z serve to the right side - Herrera’s backhand - and took a large lead at 12-1. It looked like a tie-breaker would be needed to decide the winner.
However, Herrera went back to what had been working in game one: strong drive serves to the left with a couple of Z serves to the left. That got her back into the game, and gave her some good opportunities during the rallies to put the ball away as she was doing in game one.
The result was one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent memory, as Herrera went from 12-1, 13-8, and 14-11 down to tie the game at 14-14, and then win it 15-14. On game point, Herrera drove serve to the left, and Longoria returned it into the middle (she may have been intending to go cross court), where Herrera hit a roll out forehand shot to win.
There was some controversy when Longoria served at 14-11 after Herrera had called a timeout. On the ensuing rally, a Herrera shot went into the back right corner and didn’t really come out. Longoria felt that there was a court hinder, as apparently there is a grate at the bottom of the back wall. It’s difficult to know whether that happened, as the bottom of the back wall is unseen from outside the court. The trajectory of the ball into that back right corner looked like it was going to be a winner regardless, and that seemed to be what the referee was relying on to make the call. Longoria appealed the call, but the line judges upheld the referee’s call.
Longoria didn’t serve again, as Herrera won the next three rallies to win the game and match.
In game one of the doubles final, Lawrence and Scott were ahead early at 5-2 and 6-3. But Longoria and Salas turned that around to come back and lead 11-6. Lawrence and Scott got the serve back at that point, and Lawrence began hitting a drive jam serve to the left side (Lawrence was playing the right side; Scott the left), so the ball would come off the left wall in front of Longoria and over to Salas who would be on her backhand side as it came to her.
The strategy was effective, as Lawrence and Scott scored four straight points to tie the game as 11-11. They got another to lead 12-11, but then an avoidable hinder call got the Mexicans back in the service box and they got three points to reach game point at 14-12. A Scott backhand cross court shot from right to left got her side back in the service box, but they couldn’t score, as she skipped a ball on the next rally and then a Salas forehand cross court shot got the Mexicans their 2nd game point. They converted that when Longoria hit a winning backhand pinch shot.
Thus, Lawrence and Scott needed to win game two, and put in that "must win" situation, they never trailed in game two, as they continued to use drive jam serves to good effect. The game winning point came as Scott hit a backhand jam serve to the right side that cracked off the wall, so Salas couldn’t return it. That was the serve Scott hit effectively against Herrera and Montserrat Mejia in the semi-finals.
The tie-breaker was close all the way with points going back and forth. They were tied at 5-5, and then Longoria and Salas went ahead 8-5, and never trailed from there. Three winners by Lawrence and Scott got them the serve back and two points to make it 8-7. But a great forehand reverse pinch shot by Salas and a backhand cross court shot by Longoria put an end to the Americans’ run.
Three more rallies ended with Mexican winners - two by Longoria and one by Salas, and the game was over at 11-7, and also the match, two games to one. The win is Longoria and Salas’s third of the season (Longoria also won once with Maria Jose Vargas).
Despite the loss, Lawrence and Scott showed they are a team to be reckoned with, as they made a good account of themselves against both of the top teams on tour - beating the 2nd seeds Herrera and Mejia in the semi-finals and almost beating the top seeds and reigning World Champions in Longoria and Salas.
The next Tier 1 LPRT event is the Battle at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, April 29-May 1, but they’ll play outdoors in the 2022 Beach Bash in Hollywood, Florida March 24-27. If you missed any of the action from Boston, and there were several very good matches - including the two finals, check out the LPRT YouTube channel, as well as the LPRT Facebook page.
LPRT Boston Open
March 4-6, 2022 - Marlborough, Massachusetts
LPRT Singles - Final - Sunday
2) Alexandra Herrera d. 1) Paola Longoria, 15-8, 15-14
LPRT Doubles - Final - Sunday
1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas d. 6) Kelani Lawrence & Hollie Scott, 15-13, 7-15, 11-7
Follow the bouncing ball….
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