2022 IRT New York Open final abandoned due to unsafe conditions

The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) abandoned the final of the IRT New York Open in Wantagh, New York on Sunday, as the court conditions were judged to be unsafe for the players. The decision was made after Kane Waselenchuk and Daniel De La Rosa had played the first game, which Waselenchuk won 15-4. There was high humidity that made the court surfaces damp and slippery, so after some deliberation and consultation with the players, the decision was made to call it off.

The IRT posted the following statement on their website:

“We would like to extend our apologies to all racquetball fans. A decision was made by IRT Commissioner Pablo Fajre, finalists, #1 ranked Daniel De La Rosa, and #7 ranked Kane Waselenchuk, that for the safety of the players, we needed to suspend the match today after game one. Unfortunately, we were experiencing issues with the HVAC systems preventing us from keeping the courts safe for the players. Every effort was made throughout the event to make playing conditions as safe as possible, but high humidity levels created a situation that was beyond our control.”

It was an unfortunate end, as these were the players that we wanted to see face off. De La Rosa has been the player in the best form on tour over the last year, while Waselenchuk is considered by many to be the best player ever, but hasn’t played very much since the pandemic began. Moreover, Waselenchuk lost to Andree Parrilla in January, so there was some question as to what form he was in.

Waselenchuk had answered that question in an emphatically positive way earlier in the tournament with decisive wins over Parrilla in the quarterfinals and Samuel Murray in the semi-finals. That form looked like it would carry over to the final, as Waselenchuk won game one by a comfortable margin.

However, we’re not to know if that form would have held for the entire final. Sad.

The next Tier 1 IRT event is not listed on the IRT website, but if you missed any of the New York Open action, check out the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page.

2022 IRT New York Open, May 12-15, 2022
Wantagh, New York

Final - Sunday

1) Daniel De La Rosa v. 7) Kane Waselenchuk, 4-15, abandoned due to unsafe court conditions

Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Daniel De La Rosa d. 4) Alejandro Landa, 14-15, 15-14, 11-3
7) Kane Waselenchuk d. 3) Samuel Murray, 15-1, 15-1

Follow the bouncing ball….