Mexicans won three World Championships Thursday at the 23rd International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in Temuco, Chile, taking the three doubles divisions, while the singles titles were split between Argentina and Bolivia.
Argentina’s Maria Jose Vargas won Women’s Singles for the first time by defeating former World Champion Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala, 8-11, 11-1, 11-3, 11-3. Vargas, 33, was in the final of the first time, while Martinez played her fifth final, despite being only 27 years old.
Martinez won the first game of the final, but Vargas was dominant after that, as she kept Martinez moving around the court. After the first game, Martinez seemed to be rushing her shots, which didn’t help her cause.
Bolivian Conrrado Moscoso won his second Men’s Singles World Championship by defeating American Jake Bredenbeck, 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10. He’d previously won in 2018. It was Bredenbeck’s second consecutive final, as he’d also reached the finals in 2024, when he lost to team-mate Daniel De La Rosa.
The final was closely fought, and it looked like Bredenbeck would force a tie-breaking fifth game, as he led for much of game four. However, Moscoso was able to come back and close out the match in four games.
The Women’s Doubles final did go to five games, although that looked unlikely early on as Mexicans Alexandra Herrera and Samantha Salas won the first two games against Americans Michelle Andersen (née Key) and Erika Manilla. But Andersen and Manilla stepped it up and took the next two games to force a breaker.
But in the breaker, it was Mexico who took an early lead and held off the Americans, winning 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-6. Both Herrera and Salas had won doubles at Worlds before. Herrera won for the second consecutive time (she did so with Montserrat Mejia in 2024), while Salas’s win was her sixth, with the previous five all coming with Paola Longoria. Salas’s first win was back in 2010.
The Men’s Doubles final was also a five game affair with Mexicans Andree Parrilla and Eduardo Portillo eking out a victory over the Canadian defending champions Coby Iwaasa and Samuel Murray, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-6. It’s the first world championships for both Parrilla and Portillo.
Portillo had a chance to win it in game four, when they led 11-10 after fighting off three Canadian game points, but he skipped a clear forehand set up. If they hadn’t won in the end, that error would likely have kept Portillo up at night.
But in game five, Mexico never trailed, scoring the first two points and after a 2-2 tie, Mexico led the rest of the way. The end of the game and match was sad, as Portillo hit a defensive shot that was going to be a set up off the right wall for an Iwaasa forehand shot until it slid down the wall and was unplayable by the Canadian.
Salas won a second title in Temuco, as she and Rodrigo Montoya won Mixed Doubles for a second time, beating Guatemalans Edwin Galicia and Gabriela Martinez in the final, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6. Salas’s two titles give her eight (8!) for her career, which is second only to her long time doubles partner Paola Longoria’s 11. For his part, Montoya’s no slouch, as the mixed title was his fourth World Championship, and he is only one of two players (Daniel De La Rosa is the other) to have won singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Worlds.
Players will now play men’s and women’s team competitions, which are best of three matches (two singles matches and a doubles match) between countries beginning on Thursday. The defending Men’s Team champions are the USA, while Mexico are the defending Women’s Team champions.
The IRF is live streaming some of the matches from Temuco via their YouTube channel.
23rd IRF World Championships
October 16-24, 2026 - Temuco, Chile
Men's Singles
Final - Thursday
2) Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. 1) Jake Bredenbeck (USA), 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10
Consolation Round
Final - Thursday
7) Francisco Troncoso (Chile) d. 5) Alvaro Guillen (Costa Rica), 11-3, 11-1, 11-1
Women's Singles - Medal Round
Final - Thursday
2) Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) d. 4) Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala), 8-11, 11-1, 11-3, 11-3
Consolation Competition
Final - Thursday
4) Cristina Amaya (Italy) d. 6) Rebecca Amaya Ardaya (Bolivia), 11-7, 11-7, 11-7
Men's Doubles
Final - Thursday
2) Andree Parrilla & Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) d. 1) Coby Iwaasa & Samuel Murray (Canada), 12-10, 7-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-6
Consolation Competition
Final - Thursday
4) Ramon De Leon & Luis Perez (Dominican Republic) d. 2) Lautaro Cufre & Leandro Zurita (Argentina), 11-6, 11-6, 11-5
Women's Doubles - Medal Competition
Final - Thursday
1) Alexandra Herrera & Samantha Salas (Mexico) d. 3) Michelle Andersen & Erika Manilla (USA), 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-6
Consolation Competition
Final - Wednesday
3) Frédérique Lambert & Juliette Parent (Canada) d. 1) Catalina Guzman & Paula Mansilla (Chile), 11-3, 11-8, 11-6
Mixed Doubles
Final - Thursday
2) Rodrigo Montoya & Samantha Salas (Mexico) d. 4) Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala), 11-6, 11-9, 11-6
Consolation Competition
Final - Thursday
2) Carla Muñoz & Alan Natera (Chile) d. 1) Yasutaka Mizuno & Maiko Sato (Japan), 11-5, 11-5, 11-6
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