The Racquetball Blog: editorial

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Monday, January 8, 2024

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

2023 USA Racquetball National Championships - Team Qualifying Doubles Preview

USA Racquetball is running both its National Doubles and Singles Championships together this week at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. But for National Team Qualifying purposes they will only be competing in Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Doubles divisions. USA Racquetball will have National Team Qualifying for Men’s and Women’s Singles May 25-28 in Lombard, Illinois.

Last year’s champions are the top seeds this year - Rocky Carson and Charlie Pratt in Men’s Doubles, Kelani Lawrence and Hollie Scott in Women’s Doubles and Michelle De La Rosa and Alejandro Landa in Mixed Doubles - but perhaps the most interesting - and baffling - name in the draw is Daniel De La Rosa. Yes, THAT Daniel De La Rosa.

De La Rosa is baffling, because he represented Mexico just last year, so we don’t think he would be eligible to represent the USA this year. Players can switch national allegiance, and Alejandro Landa, who is De La Rosa’s partner in Men’s Doubles, did so a few years ago. But our understanding is there needs to be a gap in international competitions of at least a year.

Now, this year’s biggest international event is the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile in October. Last year’s International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico - De La Rosa’s hometown - were in August, so there will be over 12 months between the 2022 World Championships and the 2023 Pan American Games. Perhaps that means De La Rosa would be eligible to represent the USA in Chile, although being in a major event for one nation in one calendar year and then for another country in the next calendar year seems to be stretching - if not actually breaking - the eligibility rule.

De La Rosa is also playing Mixed Doubles, although not with his wife Michelle, who as mentioned is the defending Mixed Doubles champion with Landa. Daniel De La Rosa is playing with Hollie Scott. They are the 4th seeds, so there could be a De La Rosa showdown in the Mixed Doubles semi-finals.

There are some notable names the Women’s Doubles draw. Former IRF World Champions Aimee Roehler and Janel Tisinger-Ledkins are the 4th seeds, and Rhonda Rajsich is back playing with Sheryl Lotts, and they are seeded 2nd. The semi-finals could be Roehler and Tisinger-Ledkins versus top seeds Lawrence and Scott, and Rajsich and Lotts versus 3rd seeds Erika Manilla and Michelle De La Rosa.

Mixed Doubles play begins Thursday, while Men’s and Women’s Doubles will begin Friday. The Mixed final will be Saturday night, while the Men’s and Women’s finals will be on Sunday. Check out the action live from Tempe via the USA Racquetball YouTube channel. Note the match times below are Mountain Standard time.

2023 USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships
February 1-5, 2023 - Tempe, Arizona
US National Team Divisions

Men's Doubles

Round of 16

1) Rocky Carson & Charlie Pratt - BYE
8) Robert Collins & Danny Lavely d. 9) Jack Goldberg & Charles Rankin, forfeit

5) Jason Samora & Jeff Stark - BYE
4) Wayne Antone & Adam Manilla - BYE

3) Daniel De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa - BYE
6) Thomas Gerhardt & Brent Walters - BYE

7) Iain Dunn & Paul Saraceno - BYE
2) Jake Bredenbeck & Sam Bredenbeck - BYE

Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Rocky Carson & Charlie Pratt v. 8) Robert Collins & Danny Lavely - 5:40 PM
4) Wayne Antone & Adam Manilla v. 5) Jason Samora & Jeff Stark - 3:30 PM

3) Daniel De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa v. 6) Thomas Gerhardt & Brent Walters - 7:40 PM
2) Jake Bredenbeck & Sam Bredenbeck v. 7) Iain Dunn & Paul Saraceno - 1:20 PM

Women's Doubles

Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Kelani Lawrence & Hollie Scott v. 8) Carlee Jansz & Katie Neils - 6:40 PM
4) Aimee Roehler & Janel Tisinger-Ledkins v. 5) Annie Roberts & Erin Slutzky - 12:20 PM

3) Erika Manilla & Michelle De La Rosa v. 6) Naomi Ros & Lexi York — 2:30 PM
2) Rhonda Rajsich & Sheryl Lotts v. 7) Erin Boadway & Fran Transfiguracion - 4:40 PM

Mixed Doubles

Round of 16 - Thursday

1) Michelle De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa - BYE
8) Robert Collins & Annie Roberts v. 9) Iain Dunn & Estefania Perez Picon - 11:15 AM

5) Thomas Carter & Kelani Lawrence - BYE
4) Daniel De La Rosa & Hollie Scott - BYE

3) Sam Bredenbeck & Lexi York - BYE
6) Sheryl Lotts & Charlie Pratt - BYE

7) Jake Bredenbeck & Janel Tisinger-Ledkins - BYE
2) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla - BYE

Quarterfinals - Thursday

1) Michelle De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa v. 8) Robert Collins & Annie Roberts or 9) Iain Dunn & Estefania Perez Picon - 7:25 PM
4) Daniel De La Rosa & Hollie Scott v. 5) Thomas Carter & Kelani Lawrence - 1:15 PM

3) Sam Bredenbeck & Lexi York v. 6) Sheryl Lotts & Charlie Pratt - 3:25 PM
2) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla v. 7) Jake Bredenbeck & Janel Tisinger-Ledkins - 5:25 PM

Follow the bouncing ball....

Monday, January 23, 2023

Natera & Trujillo win at 43rd Annual Lewis Drug Pro-Am

Alan Natera won Men’s Open Sunday at the 43rd Annual Lewis Drug Pro-Am in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he defeated Gerson Miranda Martinez, 11-15, 15-4, 11-6, in the final. In the semi-finals, Natera, who was the top seed, defeated 5th seed Lee Connell, 15-11, 11-15, 11-3, while 3rd seed Miranda Martinez upset 2nd seed Jordan Barth, 15-11, 15-8.

There was also an International Racquetball Tour (IRT) U21 division in Sioux Falls, as the Lewis Drug Pro-Am was an IRT event. There were four players in the U21 division, so it was a round robin competition.

Erick Trujillo won the U21 division going undefeated against the other three players without losing a game. Curiously, Trujillo’s closest match was against Benjamin Horner, an American teen-ager who finished 4th without winning a game. But Horner’s two games versus Trujillo were close with Trujillo winning 15-11, 15-13.

Why are there U21 divisions?

The IRT introduced U21 divisions last year, as a result of the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) including U21 in their World Junior Championships. The IRF was concerned about players getting to the end of their junior eligibility (previously the oldest division at World Juniors was U18) and quitting racquetball, when they could still develop into good players.

That’s a real concern, and not isolated to racquetball. Players in other sports will quit once they get beyond their teenage years or junior years, because their lives change significantly from being kids at home to becoming adults away from home. Things that were once priorities - like the sports they played - can fall by the wayside as other things - school, work, etc. - take priority.

But the dream of any athlete should be to play for their country. The IRF has extended the possibility of fulfilling that dream for another three years at the World Junior level by introducing the U21 division. This is a good move, because racquetball has grown internationally through international competitions. The IRF got racquetball included in the Pan American Games - the highest level of international competition outside of the Olympics - and that trickles down to smaller international competitions, like the Central American and Caribbean Games.

Countries want to compete in those games, so they develop sport programs to do so. That’s why we’ve seen the development of so many elite racquetball players outside of the United States, where racquetball originated.

Do the pro tours need U21 divisions?

While a U21 division at the IRF World Junior Championships makes a lot of sense, U21 divisions on the pro tours make little sense. The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) seems to get this, as they have not had U21 divisions in their events this season with the exception of the US Open. Having a U21 LPRT division at the US Open may have been decided by USA Racquetball, as they would have wanted to have equal opportunity for both men and women, so if there was to be an IRT U21 division, then there should be a LPRT U21 division.

The U21 IRT draws are often small, usually fewer than ten players. Going to World Juniors, a weeklong event where you are representing your country and you can be assured that there will be a good field of players, is one thing, but going somewhere for a weekend tournament, which will likely have a small field of players, is another thing.

We believe that the IRT introduced U21 - with some prize money - as a means to help younger players pay for expenses to compete on tour. But we’d prefer the prize money from a U21 division to go into the Open division, and have the open division pay out for semi-finals as well as the finalists.

For example, the New York Open last year had $500 for first and $250 for second in U21, while Open was $600 for first and $400 for second ($1750 over both divisions). We think it would be better to have it all in Open with $750 for first, $500 second, and $250 for each semi-finalist.

Having younger players in Open means that they are could play “wily veterans.” Wily vets have been around awhile, seen a few things, have a few tricks up their sleeves, and are happy to school a young’un on the court. That schooling would be more useful to a young developing player than playing another kid of a similar age.

The young players may beat the wily veterans, and that’s great. In the long run, the young players should beat the wily veterans, because time is on the side of the young players, and they should use that time to develop skills to beat the wily vets. One way to develop those skills is by playing experienced players, i.e. the wily veterans.

Upcoming events

While the pro tours are off until late February, the focus next weekend will be on national events. USA Racquetball is having its 2023 National Doubles and National Singles Championships in Tempe, Arizona, February 1-5.

Also, Racquetball Canada will hold its second National Team Selection Event of the season February 3rd and 4th in Grande Prairie, Alberta, and Mexico’s Campeonato Nacional Selectivo 2023 will be in Juarez, Mexico, February 1-5.

43rd Annual Lewis Drug Pro-Am
January 19-22, 2023 - Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Men’s Open Singles

Final

1) Alan Natera d. 3) Gerson Miranda Martinez, 11-15, 15-4, 11-6

Semi-finals

1) Alan Natera d. 5) Lee Connell, 15-11, 11-15, 11-3
3) Gerson Miranda Martinez d. 2) Jordan Barth, 15-11, 15-8

Quarterfinals

1) Alan Natera d. 8) Carlos Ramirez, 15-3, 15-3
5) Lee Connell d. 4) Anthony Martin, 15-9, 15-5

3) Gerson Miranda Martinez d. 6) Ty Hedalen, 15-4, 15-2
2) Jordan Barth d. 7) Matthew Majxner, 15-2, 15-9

IRT U21 Singles

Rank - Player - Record

1) Erick Trujillo - 3-0 (6 games won, 0 lost)
2) Diego Garcia - 2-1 (4, 2)
3) Carlos Ramirez - 1-2 (2, 4)
4) Benjamin Horner - 0-3 (0, 6)

Follow the bouncing ball….

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

USA Racquetball reveals financial difficulties

USA Racquetball (USAR) today issued a statement that partially detailed the dire financial straits the organization is in. We had speculated the USAR may have money troubles, when they made the appointment of Mike Grisz as the Executive Director, and that he would be working pro bono (i.e., without salary).

Today USAR stated they have restructured operations based on projected revenues, including memberships, which are approximately 5,000 or half what they were prior to the pandemic. Annual membership revenue is said to be down $125,000. The restructuring leaves USAR with one paid employee, and volunteers taking up the slack. That’s not a good situation.

Moreover, the operations of the USAR’s national championships, which is one of their most important activities, ran at a loss of $170,000 in 2022. That deficit combined with reduced revenues has put USAR in dire straits.

Thus, the USAR is making an appeal for financial donations in hopes of raising $100,000 by year end to give themselves a fresh start for 2023.

The importance of a National Sport Organization (NSO) cannot be overstated. It is the NSO that provides overview and guidance to a sport, especially in terms of rules of play, national championships, national teams, player ranking, and coach training. These provide the framework for a sport.

Without a strong NSO a sport’s profile within a country diminishes, because there would be no one carrying the torch for the sport. And internationally the country may miss competitions if there is no way to select players to represent the country, let alone support those players to go to an event. 2023 is a Pan American Games year, and the number of players a country can send to the Pan Am Games will be determined by how well a country does at the Pan American Championships in the spring. Thus, it’s important to have a strong showing at the Pan Am Championships, so that you can send as many players as possible to the Pan Am Games.

But USAR has struggled to send teams to international competitions - especially the Pan American Championships, which is an annual competition - even before its current financial situation. How are they going to do so in 2023? The US Olympic Committee may provide support for going to the 2023 Pan Am Games, which will be in Santiago, Chile, as it’s a multi-sport event second in size only to the Summer Olympics, but you have to qualify players to compete there.

Many players view the Pan Am Games as racquetball's Olympics, as it's the largest event that includes racquetball. While Pan Ams are not a global event, the best racquetball countries are in the Americas, so the Pan Am Games generally have the best racquetball players competing for gold.

Hopefully, the USAR’s appeal will be successful, and they can get to a more financially stable position. Racquetball originated in the United States, and the USA was the leading country for much of its history. They are still one of the leading countries, which makes the USAR’s predicament all the more poignant.

Follow the bouncing ball….

Monday, October 17, 2022

Weekend Round Up - Waselenchuk injury & Grisz appointment

Usually our weekend round is bits and bobs of tournament results, but today we have a couple of off court news items.

Waselenchuk injury

Kane Waselenchuk announced he completely tore his Achilles tendon last month at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Capitol Classic Racquetball Tournament in Millersville, Maryland. His announcement came during an interview Sunday night on Sudsy Monchik’s Beyond The Court YouTube channel. Waselenchuk underwent surgery for the injury on October 4, so he’ll be in rehabilitation for the injury soon.

How well Waselenchuk will be able to recover from the injury is anyone’s guess, and he received mixed messages from medical professions ahead of his surgery. Counting against him is the fact he’ll turn 41 next month. But counting for him is the fact that he’s an elite athlete, who is well aware of how to train properly and the benefits of doing so.

According to WebMD, people return to full activity 4-6 months after surgery, and a full recovery isn’t expected until a year afterwards with the possibility of never getting back to 100%. That means Waselenchuk might not be back to full fitness until he turns 43 next November. Of course, those are expectations for common people, and Waselenchuk is quite uncommon, so his recovery may be much better or faster or both than this guideline.

Many people are saddened by Waselenchuk’s absence from the IRT, which is understandable because he’s the best player of this era. Some are so disappointed that they have lost interest in racquetball, which is difficult to understand, because there are still good players and great matches to be seen. Are these players as good as Waselenchuk? Maybe not, but Waselenchuk was never going to play forever, so there was always going to be a point at which he left the scene.

Sadly, that point may come due to injury rather than Waselenchuk’s choice, but it was going to come. Recently, Roger Federer and Serena Williams retired from tennis, and their absences will be noticed and they’ll be missed. But we’re still going to watch tennis.

And we’re going to watch racquetball even without Waselenchuk.

Grisz named USA Racquetball Executive Director

On Friday, USA Racquetball (USAR) announced the appointment of Mike Grisz as their new Executive Director. Grisz was on the USAR Board of Directors, so for the third consecutive time a USAR board member has become the Executive Director. Grisz succeeds Mike Wedel, whose resignation was announced last month. Wedel held the position for four years succeeding Jason Thoerner. Like Grisz, both Wedel and Thoerner were USAR board members prior to becoming Executive Director.

If you were looking for a breath of fresh air from the new Executive Director, it’s difficult to see it coming from someone already within the organization. Do you need to hire a racquetball person as your Executive Director? Racquetball Canada’s last three Executive Directors have come from outside of racquetball, and they have all been positive for the organization. So, no it’s not necessary to hire a racquetball person to be the USA Racquetball Executive Director, and it could even help bring a new perspective to the table.

But Grisz could be a good choice for the position. From our brief interactions with him, he seems like a fine fellow. However, the Executive Director’s role is to serve at the will of the Board, so no one should be expecting Grisz to be a white knight riding in to solve all of USA Racquetball's problems.

We’re not sure what problems those are, although one may be finances, as part of the announcement in Grisz’s appointment is that he will serve the role unpaid. Explaining his decision to do so, Grisz said “I feel I owe this to the sport that has contributed so much to my life.” USAR President Stewart Solomon’s comment that “the Board is grateful that [Grisz] is able to volunteer his time” when “the association is still recovering from a reduced membership base” suggests the USAR isn’t in a good financial position.

Was the USAR Board in a situation where they were unsure of whether they could pay someone whatever the going rate is for a National Sport Organization’s Executive Director and Grisz, as a Board member, saw that difficulty and volunteered - literally - to fill the position? It could be that they took the path of least resistance in making this appointment.

But doing the easiest thing isn’t always the best thing. For example, if someone is not being paid, then people may not be as critical of the person, because “well, the person is doing it out of the kindness of his/her heart” and how can you be critical of someone who is doing that? Moreover, what is the USAR going to do for their next ED when they have to go from budgeting $0 for the position to something significant, because being the ED of a National Sport Organization is a big job that should command a significant salary, especially if you are looking to attract quality candidates for the job.

Again, Grisz could work out fine, but the situation suggests USA Racquetball isn’t in a good place right now.

US Open

Grisz stated that one of his objectives is to “enhance the US OPEN and all of the other National Events.” This was the first year the US Open was handled without Doug Ganim, who was its Tournament Director for the 25 previous US Opens. Many people were disappointed that the portable court, which was the primary feature of Ganim’s US Opens, was not used this year, although it seemed that using the portable court was not a possibility, which again we believe is due to finances. However, we think it would have been more disappointing to not have a US Open at all, so good on the USAR for continuing the US Open tradition even if the portable court was unavailable.

If you’re looking for why the US Open wasn’t a spectacle this year compared to years past, consider that Ganim ran that event exclusively, so he could give the event his full attention. Connor Shane ran it this year, as he is the USA Racquetball’s Director of National Events. There are 5 US National Championships plus the US Open on Shane’s plate. If you think six events seems like too much for just one person, we’d agree with you.

But USA Racquetball only has three staff members: Shane, Grisz, and Reneé Isherwood, who is the Director of Operations & National Teams. Three staff members is not many for a National Sport Organization. In comparison, USA Table Tennis has six staff members, and US Squash has 27 (twenty seven!) staff members plus five technology staff.

So, USAR is operating as a bare bones organization, and that can make it difficult for them to solve any of the problems (perceived or actual) that they have.

Thus, when Grisz said he’s “looking forward to a challenging … experience,” he’s undoubtedly going to have one.

Follow the bouncing ball…..

Thursday, June 30, 2022

2022 USA Racquetball National Junior Championships

The USA Racquetball Junior Championships wrapped up last weekend in Des Moines, Iowa, where they’ve been held for two years in a row. One hundred and one players participated with about a 60/40 split between boys and girls (60 boys & 41 girls), including 16 girls in the U18 division. That continues the trend for more girls to be playing at USA Junior Nationals over recent years, although it is a slightly lower ratio than last year’s 54/46 split. It’s good to see an upward trend to girls participation, because girls can be as sporty as boys, and racquetball is a great sport to show off that sportiness.

Two differences in this event over last year’s, and they are a result of changes at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) level. The IRF introduced a U21 division beginning with the 2022 IRF World Junior Championships, so the USA Junior Nationals included U21 for the first time. Also, the IRF scoring for World Juniors will be best of 5 games each to 11 points with each rally resulting in a point (i.e., rally scoring), and each game has to be won by 2 points. Thus, that was the match format used in Des Moines.

"And the winners are..."

The champions in the U21 divisions were Micah Farmer of San Marcos, Texas and Annie Roberts of Gresham, Oregon. Farmer was runner up in U18 in 2019, but is a National Champion now, as he defeated Cody Elkins of Los Angeles, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, in the Boy’s U21 final. Roberts came out on top of a six player round robin competition in the Girl’s U21 division, including a win over runner up Shane Diaz of San Antonio, won by Roberts in three close games, 12-10, 13-11, 12-10.

Roberts’s win was her fifth consecutive USA Junior Championship in singles. She’s the first player to win five consecutive Girls Singles titles since Kelani Lawrence (née Bailey) won five in a row from 2009 to 2013, although that’s only counting titles from U14 and up. Heather Mahoney won two U10 titles, three U12 titles then two U14 titles from 2014 to 2019.

Prior to that Aubrey O’Brien won five titles from 2006 to 2010, and Adrienne Fisher won seven titles from 1998 to 2004 (the first was a U12 title), and that looks to be the girls’ record for consecutive titles.

Farmer was a double champion in Des Moines, as he won Boy's U21 Doubles with Assuan Castaneda (Hialeah, FL) by defeating Elkins and Samuel Schulze (Ocala, FL) in the final, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8. However, Roberts didn’t win Girl’s U21 Doubles, as she and Khyathi Velpuri (Castle Rock, CO) lost to Diaz and Graci Wargo (Clearwater, FL), 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4.

The winners in Boy’s and Girl’s U18 had similar storylines. Both Josh Shea of Cortlandt Manor, New York and Heather Mahoney of Penngrove, California were 3rd in their respective U16 divisions last year, but won U18 this year, although both also needed five games to come out on top. Shea defeated last year’s Boy’s U18 Champion Timmy Hansen of Wellington, Florida, 11-9, 11-3, 11-13, 10-12, 11-7, and Mahoney got the better of Julia Stein from Malvern, Ohio, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9.

Both Mahoney and Shea were double champions in Iowa. Shea and Paul Saraceno of Simi Valley, California won Boy’s U18 Doubles by defeating Hansen and Andrew Gleason of Johnston, Iowa, 4-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7, while Mahoney teamed up with Stein to go undefeated in a six team round robin competition in Girl’s U18 Doubles, including a win over 2nd place finishers Brielle Fernando of Beaverton, Oregon and Gabbie Roseman of Des Peres, Missouri, 11-5, 11-3, 11-4.

Both the Boy’s and Girl’s U16 Champions were repeat winners from 2021, as Nikhil Prasad of Fremont, California and Naomi Ros of San Antonio successfully defended their titles. They also both defeated players they’d defeated last year, but this year’s matches were closer. Prasad came back to defeat Gatlin Sutherland from Great Falls, Montana, 12-14, 11-3, 10-12, 11-8, 11-3. Last year, Prasad beat Sutherland in two straight games in the semi-finals.

The girls final was a repeat of 2021, as Ros faced off with Ava Kaiser of Lake Elmo, Minnesota once again, and again won, 9-11, 14-12, 11-5, 11-8, although last year, Ros’s victory over Kaiser was in two straight games.

The U16 doubles champions were largely repeat winners also. Prasad and Sutherland teamed up to win doubles last year, and did so again this year, going undefeated in a five team round robin. Similarly, Kaiser and Ros also teamed up to win a six team round robin in Girl’s U16 Doubles, which was a second consecutive title for Kaiser, who won with Kareena Mathew of Convallis, Oregon last year.

Changing divisions

With the introduction of the U21 division, the IRF World Junior Championships will switch their World Cup divisions to be U21, U18 and U16, rather than U18, U16, and U14. Thus, U14 divisions are less emphasized, which overall is a sensible decision. Athlete development begins young, but it’s not great to push kids into competition too soon or with too much emphasis on winning and losing at too young an age, because that can lead them to think about their outcomes, rather than their development.

An athlete winning at 24 is significant, but not so much for a player winning at 14.

Emphasizing winning and losing at a young age can lead kids to think they are not good at a sport, and lead them out of the sport, which you don’t want to happen. You want to keep as many kids in your sport as possible for as long as possible, because that will maximize the chances that some of them will turn out to be really good at your sport.

Development takes time, which is why you do want young kids to play sports, so that they can develop a base of skills to use later. But differences in performances up to the age of 12, 13, 14, are going to be primarily determined by differences in maturation, rather than physical potential. Kids mature at different times, and that difference drives results for young kids more than their potential ability. But it’s easy for kids (and their parents and coaches) to think that any difficulties in sport are due to something inherent to the kids rather than that they just haven’t yet matured as much as their peers.

Another issue is players leaving sport when they get to 18, 19, 20 years of age. This happens in many sports, not just racquetball, because around that time a person's life changes substantially with decisions to be made about what a person is going to do with their life. The person may not have been doing sport for their own reasons, so they may choose to leave the sport, because it isn't a priority for them.

Again, we don't want people leaving the sport, because in doing so we can miss out on people who could develop into very good players. If introducing a U21 division for World Juniors gives players a reason to stay in the sport, and keep playing racquetball, then it will be a very positive thing.

Finally, the 2022 USAR Junior Championships had some great matches. If you want to look back on some of the action, check out the USA Racquetball Livestream channel for the event, where over 40 matches are archived.

2022 USA Racquetball National Junior Championships
June 23-26, 2022 - Des Moines, Iowa

Boy's U21 Singles - Final

Micah Farmer (San Marcos, TX) d. Cody Elkins (Los Angeles), 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3

3rd Place

Assuan Castaneda (Hialeah, FL) d. Samuel Schulze (Ocala, FL), 11-3, 11-6, 11-8

Semi-finals

Micah Farmer (San Marcos, TX) d. Assuan Castaneda (Hialeah, FL), 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5
Cody Elkins (Los Angeles) d. Samuel Schulze (Ocala, FL), 11-8, 11-1, 6-11, 10-12, 12-10

Boy's U18 Singles - Final

Josh Shea (Cortlandt Manor, NY) d. Timmy Hansen (Wellington, FL), 11-9, 11-3, 11-13, 10-12, 11-7

3rd Place

DJ Mendoza (San Antonio, TX) d. Andrew Gleason (Johnston, IA), forfeit

Semi-finals

Timmy Hansen (Wellington, FL) d. DJ Mendoza (San Antonio, TX), 11-2, 11-5, 11-5
Josh Shea (Cortlandt Manor, NY) d. Andrew Gleason (Johnston, IA), 11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10

Boy's U16 Singles - Final

Nikhil Prasad (Fremont, CA) d. Gatlin Sutherland (Great Falls, MT), 12-14, 11-3, 10-12, 11-8, 11-3

3rd Place

Benjamin Horner (Ankeny, IA) d. Cole Sendrey (Frisco, TX), 9-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9

Semi-finals

Nikhil Prasad (Fremont, CA) d. Benjamin Horner (Ankeny, IA), 11-6, 11-9, 11-9
Gatlin Sutherland (Great Falls, MT) d. Cole Sendrey (Frisco, TX), 11-13, 11-3, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7

Boy's U14 Singles - Final

Nathan Rykhus (Stockton, CA) d. Eshan Ali (Union City, CA), 13-11, 10-12, 11-2, 8-11, 11-8

3rd Place

Axel Lopez (Chicago) d. Joshua Tramm (New Brighton, MN), 11-5, 11-8, 11-7

Semi-finals

Eshan Ali (Union City, CA) d. Joshua Tramm (New Brighton, MN), 11-5, 11-3, 11-7
Nathan Rykhus (Stockton, CA) d. Axel Lopez (Chicago), 11-8, 11-7, 11-7

Girl's U21 Singles - Round Robin

1. Annie Roberts (Gresham, OR) - 5-0
2. Shane Diaz (San Antonio) - 4-1
3. Estefania Perez Picon (Manteca, CA) - 3-2

Girl's U18 Singles - Final

Heather Mahoney (Penngrove, CA) d. Julia Stein (Malvern, OH), 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9

3rd Place

Gabbie Roseman (Des Peres, MO) d. Hailey Fitts (Wildwood, MO), 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7

Semi-finals

Heather Mahoney (Penngrove, CA) d. Hailey Fitts (Wildwood, MO), 11-4, 11-6, 11-1
Julia Stein (Malvern, OH) d. Gabbie Roseman (Des Peres, MO), 11-3, 11-4, 4-11, 11-6

Girl's U16 Singles - Final

Naomi Ros (San Antonio) d. Ava Kaiser (Lake Elmo, MN), 9-11, 14-12, 11-5, 11-8

3rd Place

Sonya Shetty (Fremont, CA) d. Andrea Perez-Picon (Manteca, CA), 11-6, 11-7, 11-5

Semi-finals

Naomi Ros (San Antonio) d. Andrea Perez-Picon (Manteca, CA), 11-3, 11-5, 11-5
Ava Kaiser (Lake Elmo, MN) d. Sonya Shetty (Fremont, CA), 8-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-4

Girl's U14 Singles - Final

Andrea Perez-Picon (Manteca, CA) d. Elizabeth Denier (Champlin, MN), 11-3, 11-8, 11-6

3rd Place

Montserrat Torres (Bellwood, IL) d. Lydia Werk (Wildwood, MO), 11-3, 11-8, 11-5

Semi-finals

Andrea Perez-Picon (Manteca, CA) d. Montserrat Torres (Bellwood, IL), 11-0, 11-6, 11-4
Elizabeth Denier (Champlin, MN) d. Lydia Werk (Wildwood, MO), 11-1, 11-5, 11-3

Boy's U21 Doubles - Final

Assuan Castaneda (Hialeah, FL) & Micah Farmer (San Marcos, TX) d. Cody Elkins (Los Angeles) & Samuel Schulze (Ocala, FL), 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8

Boy's U18 Doubles - Final

Paul Saraceno (Simi Valley, CA) & Josh Shea (Cortlandt Manor, NY) d. Andrew Gleason (Johnston, IA) & Timmy Hansen (Wellington, FL), 4-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7

3rd Place

Ethan Flavell (Beaverton, OR) & Spencer O’Dea (DeMotte, IN) d. Tucker Elkins (Salem, OR) & Armando Perez (Pasadena, CA), 12-10, 11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 11-4 [sic]

Semi-finals

Andrew Gleason (Johnston, IA) & Timmy Hansen (Wellington, FL) d. Tucker Elkins (Salem, OR) & Armando Perez (Pasadena, CA), 11-8, 11-2, 11-2
Paul Saraceno (Simi Valley, CA) & Josh Shea (Cortlandt Manor, NY) d. Ethan Flavell (Beaverton, OR) & Spencer O’Dea (DeMotte, IN), 11-3, 11-6, 11-7

Boy's U16 Doubles - Round Robin

1. Nikhil Prasad (Fremont, CA) & Gatlin Sutherland (Great Falls, MT) - 4-0
2. DJ Mendoza (San Antonio) & Cole Sendrey (Frisco, TX) - 3-1
3. Benjamin Horner (Ankeny, IA) & Juan Herrera II (Freeport, IL) - 2-2

Girl's U21 Doubles

Shane Diaz (San Antonio) & Graci Wargo (Clearwater, FL) d. Annie Roberts (Gresham, OR) & Khyathi Velpuri (Castle Rock, CO), 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4

Girl's U18 Doubles - Round Robin

1. Heather Mahoney (Penngrove, CA) & Julia Stein (Malvern, OH) - 5-0
2. Brielle Fernando (Beaverton, OR) & Gabbie Roseman (Des Peres, MO) - 4-1
Hailey Fitts (Wildwood, MO) & Hannah Werk (Chesterfield, MO) - 3-2

Girl's U16 Doubles - Round Robin

1. Ava Kaiser (Lake Elmo, MN) & Naomi Ros (San Antonio) - 5-0
2. Andrea Perez-Picon (Manteca, CA) & Sonya Shetty (Fremont, CA) - 4-1
3. Thea Mattfeldt (Glendale, AZ) & Montserrat Torres (Bellwood, IL) - 3-2

Follow the bouncing ball….

Monday, May 16, 2022

Weekend Round Up - Let's get the facts right

As we reported yesterday, the final of the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) New York Open in Wantagh, New York, between Daniel De La Rosa and Kane Waselenchuk was abandoned due to unsafe court conditions. Coby Iwaasa and Jose Daniel Ugalde were scheduled to play in the Men’s Open final at about the same time as the IRT final, and from the tournament draw site on R2 Sports it appears that match was played with Iwaasa winning 15-14, 14-15, 11-10. Seems like it was quite the match, eh?

One problem. It didn’t happen.

On Sunday, when the IRT final was abandoned we noted - and tweeted - that the Iwaasa-Uglade final was also on R2 as a double forfeit, which is what the IRT final is listed as. But later the Men’s Open final result was changed to the 11-10 result.

We imagined that there was an error in the initial reporting, as sometimes happens, and we tweeted a correction. But then this happened.

It was a double forfeit also, we didn’t play the match due courts conditions, they didn’t want to show a double forfeit on the draw.
— José Daniel (@DanielUgalde90) May 15, 2022

It was nice that Ugalde clarified the situation. However, this should have been unnecessary, because the double forfeit result should be on the draw. It isn’t (still as of Monday morning; May 16, 2022).

We all understand that stuff happens that is outside of our control, even when we thought everything had been accounted for. We’re living in a pandemic, so more than ever we know that stuff happens that we can’t control.

We are also living in a time when people are questioning what is true, or the truth, and the Truth - capital T - can be a slippery thing. Yet there are facts. And those facts should be accurately recorded.

Part of the purpose of The Racquetball Blog is to record racquetball facts, because people have not been very good at recording them in the past. If you don’t record your facts, your history, then it suggests that you don’t care about your history, and if you don’t care, why should anyone else?

We believe it should go without saying we want to do this as accurately as possible. Thus, it’s really troubling that a match result would be recorded incorrectly, because it’s getting the facts wrong intentionally. If the facts are wrong, then how can you know the truth of the situation?

It can be difficult enough to get the facts straight when everyone is trying their best to make accurate records. People knowingly obscuring the facts is appalling.

We should do better.

2022 Sweet Caroline Open

Valeria Centellas won Women’s Open at the Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina on the weekend. She defeated Cristina Amaya, 13-15 15-11, 11-8, in the final. In the semi-finals, Centellas came back to defeat Carla Muñoz, 13-15, 15-11, 11-4, while Amaya beat Micaela Meneses, 15-7, 15-2.

Upcoming events

The racquetball season is winding down, so it’s championship time. The USA Racquetball National Doubles and Singles Championships begin May 25 in College Station, Texas, on the campus of Texas A & M University, and the Racquetball Canada National Championships will be May 24-28 in Brossard, Québec.

The 2021-22 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season winds up with what has become a marquee event for them: the TeamRoot.com Super Max Slam, June 9-12 in Overland Park, Kansas. TeamRoot has put considerable prize money into the event over the last few years, so expect a big field of players to be there.

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

Men’s Open Final

6) Coby Iwaasa v. 8) Jose Daniel Ugalde, abandoned due to unsafe court conditions

Semi-finals

8) Jose Daniel Ugalde d. 12) Christian Wer, 15-4, 15-4
6) Coby Iwaasa d. 2) Juan Francisco Cueva, 15-11, 15-1

Quarterfinals

8) Jose Daniel Ugalde d. 1) Set Cubillos, 15-11, 5-15, 11-7
12) Christian Wer d. 4) Andrés Gómez, 15-9, 15-11

6) Coby Iwaasa d. 3) Edwin Galicia, 15-12, 15-8
2) Juan Francisco Cueva d. 23) Miguel Angel Arteaga Guzman, 15-7, 15-7

2022 Sweet Caroline Open
May 12-14, 2022 - Greenville, South Carolina

Women’s Open - Final

3) Valeria Centellas d. 5) Cristina Amaya, 13-15 15-11, 11-8

Semi-finals

5) Cristina Amaya d. 1) Micaela Meneses, 15-7, 15-2
3) Valeria Centellas d. 2) Carla Muñoz, 13-15, 15-11, 11-4

Follow the bouncing ball….

Friday, January 28, 2022

IRF rule changes: Rally scoring, appeals and new divisions

Last week the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) announced rule changes for their events moving forward. The changes are across three areas: (i) divisions offered, (ii) appeals, and most importantly, (iii) the scoring system. We’re going to address these areas in reverse order, so let’s start with scoring first, as it’s the most drastic change.

Rally scoring

The IRF is switching to rally scoring, so each rally will result in a point (unless there’s a hinder). To score a point previously, a player needed to serve and win the rally. Now points can be won by either player or team regardless of who served. Other sports - volleyball and squash, for example - have made this change previously.

In meetings at last year’s IRF World Championship, it was announced that this change was likely to happen, and the rationale was that multi-sport games wanted sports to have time certainty for their competitions. That is, a large organized games (e.g., the Olympics) wants to know how long matches are going to take, so as to better plan their competition schedules. With sports that play with a time limit (e.g., soccer & basketball) one has a sense of how long things will take, but in sports with a scoring limit (e.g., volleyball & squash) how long a match takes can be less certain. Rally scoring is proposed as a way to bring certainty to match length, and the hope is that matches will take less than 60 min.

The IRF explicitly states this in their announcement: “many times our matches are too long… That negatively affects … Racquetball in Olympic Chain tournaments [read: multi-sport games].” They also suggest that people unfamiliar with racquetball find it difficult to follow scoring under the previous rules.

We’re not opposed to rally scoring in principle, but whether matches are actually too long is a judgment call. Also, changing your sport because other entities demand it is really a ‘tail wagging the dog’ situation, even if the desired goal (inclusion in multi-sport games) is a worthy one.

The nature of racquetball is different from other sports that have gone to rally scoring. Volleyball matches have a lot of sideouts, so when teams needed to serve to score, it took a long time to accumulate points, as serving isn’t a big advantage in winning rallies. Squash is similar, as high level players rarely serve aces. Serving in racquetball, as in tennis, is a major advantage.

Also, racquetball rallies are brief. Generally, a racquetball rally lasts 5 sec. Ideally, a strong serve forces a weak return, followed by rally ending shot. Repeat as necessary. Thus, it’s like a sprint. Squash is more like a series of marathons with the serve just starting the rally. Tennis is in between: aces are common, as are long rallies.

With that in mind, we were concerned that rally scoring was going to be done with the existing best of three games format, which would mean matches that would be far too brief. Even though racquetball is like a sprint, you want there to be many sprints, not just a few.

Thankfully, the IRF will use a best of 5 games format with games to 15 points, although they’re keeping their win by 1 point rule, which The Racquetball Blog has long been opposed to (if you’re not going to win by one at the start, then don’t play win by one at the end). But then if a tie-breaker is needed, the 5th game will be to 11 points and win by 2 points. For a change that is supposed to make things clearer for the general observer it’s strange to change the breaker in two ways from the other games, although win by two, so yay!

Tie-breakers in volleyball are to fewer points - 15 rather than 25, and in squash, a fifth game tie-breaker is to 11 points just like the first four games. Both volleyball and squash play with a win by 2 rule, as does every other sport that plays to scoring limit. Racquetball is the scoring unicorn.

In moving to rally scoring, players will be allowed only one timeout per game, which is a reduction from the two previously allowed. That could make a difference in when to call a timeout. Previously with two timeouts in a game to 15, a five point difference was a common guide as to when to call a timeout, but that might not be a good rule of thumb if you only have one timeout.

Thus, you might want to wait longer before calling a timeout, when you only have one. But with rally scoring you expect each game to be briefer, so maybe you don’t want to wait longer. Maybe you want to call it sooner. Certainly, when you are behind in rally scoring, especially behind late, it can be difficult to come back. Reducing the timeouts complicates things.

Appeals

Players may make two appeals per game, but the play they want to appeal must be the last action of the rally. Thus, no more playing a rally out and then appealing the serve, for example, or playing through what could later be appealed for as a hinder. This means players need to be certain of what they think happened.

Both reducing timeouts and changing what can be appealed reduce the input a coach may have during a game. Fewer timeouts means there are fewer chances to talk to the player, and with players having to stop during a rally to make an appeal immediately after the action in question, it’s difficult to also look back to a coach for input on whether to make an appeal.

But in general, allowing appeals for only the last action in a rally - that is, immediate appeals - does clarify what is being appealed, and is easier to follow. Too often observers - and perhaps line judges and the referee - aren’t clear on what is being appealed when the appeal happens at the end of the rally for something that happened several shots earlier.

New divisions

Finally, the IRF will be adding divisions to some of its competitions. Specifically, there will be Mixed Doubles at events. This will help make racquetball “more inclusive and interesting for women to play.” Mixed doubles has been played in competitive tennis and badminton for many years, but not often in racquetball, although some years back, World Juniors did have Mixed Doubles divisions.

Speaking of World Juniors, the IRF will be including U21 at World Juniors beginning in 2022. This will be part of the World Cup divisions along with U18 and U16, which means that U14 will no longer be part of the World Cup divisions. U14 will be included in the Espirit Cup along with U12 and U10.

Introducing U21 is intended to help retain players who have aged out of what was previously their junior years, but perhaps have not developed enough to make their senior National Teams. This is a good goal, although all sports lose athletes in the years 18-22, as that’s a period when the lives of people change, so what was once a priority may no longer be a priority. That includes sports, and it doesn’t matter how skilled the person was at the sport. But if offering another competitive opportunity for racquetball players could keep more people playing, then it’s a good thing to do.

Ramifications

Will other racquetball organizations change to align themselves with what the IRF is doing? In years past, there was little interest from the pro tours in doing so. For decades, the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) used a best of five games to 11 win by 2 match format that made it different from both USA Racquetball and IRF events. The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) also used that format for many years, although they’ve used several match formats over the years.

In recent years, both pro tours moved to the best of 3 games format, and the LPRT did so specifically to be consistent with IRF matches. We’re OK with the pro tours being different. We didn’t think it was a problem when they had different match formats than the IRF. But if people are interested in consistency across the sport, then maybe the IRF changes will be picked up by other organizations. However, the rally scoring format is a big change that could freak out some traditionalists, so it may be resisted.

Overall, we think the IRF rule changes are positive. The rally scoring match format may need some adjustment - perhaps every game should be to 15 and win by 2? We think the IRF is open to making adjustments after an initial year of rally scoring, because they can’t really be certain how this is going to shake down. But adding clarity to the appeal process as well as some additional divisions in competitions will be a good thing.

Follow the bouncing balls…..

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Racquetball's top stories for 2021

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.

If you enjoy The Racquetball Blog, please help spread the word through social media to all your friends, and follow us on Twitter (@racquetballblog) and on Facebook.

And now 2022 is here, and we have no expectations.

Follow the bouncing ball….

Monday, November 22, 2021

Weekend Round Up: Wins for Lawrence, Rodriguez & Acuña, and sad news

Kelani Lawrence won Women’s Open on the weekend at the 29th Annual Glass Court LPRT Turkey Shoot in Lombard, Illinois, where she defeated Carla Muñoz in the final, 15-12, 13-15, 11-6, in what could be a potential match up at the upcoming International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in Guatemala, as Lawrence is on Team USA and we expect Muñoz will be there representing Chile.

In the semi-finals, Lawrence beat Kristin Coulter, 15-0, 15-0, and Muñoz defeated Veronica Sotomayor, 8-15, 15-5, 11-8.

Also in Illinois, Rodrigo Rodriguez, the 2nd seed, upset 1st seed Maurice Miller, 15-9, 15-12, to win Men’s Open. In the semis, Rodriguez needed a tie-breaker to get past veteran Keith Minor, 14-15, 15-5, 11-8, while Miller defeated Eric Mathews in two straight games, 15-14, 15-0.

Down in Florida at the 2021 IRT Sarasota Open presented by Team Dovetail in Sarasota, Florida, Andres Acuña beat Sam Bredenbeck, 15-10, 15-7, to win Men’s Open. Acuña defeated Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 15-5, 15-4, in one semi-final, while Bredenbeck took out Felipe Camacho, 15-7, 15-11, in the other.

Deaths in the family

Racquetball, as a small sport, can seem like a family, and we were saddened to learn of the recent deaths of two of our family. Lori Jane Powell was a long time member of Team Canada, a top ten player on the women’s pro tour, two time Pan American Champion (once in singles and once in doubles), and a member of the gold medal winning team at the 2000 IRF World Championships.

Following her retirement due to injury, Powell worked with Racquetball Canada as its Technical Director. She was a friend, and always great to be around. We’re not sure the last time we saw LJ, and we are saddened, and not a little stunned, that there won’t be a next time. She was just 50 years old.

If racquetball is a family, then Charlie Garfinkel was one of our grandfathers. He was an outstanding character and great player during the 1960s and 1970s, which was an era of big characters. Garfinkel or “The Gar” hailed from Buffalo, New York, and he also contributed to racquetball off the court by authoring two of the early books on the sport and ethusiastically promoting it.

Garfinkel, who was inducted into the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame in 1989, died earlier this month at age 82.

29th Annual Glass Court Turkey Shoot
November 19-21, 2021 - Lombard, Illinois

Women’s Open Singles - Final

5) Kelani Lawrence d. 3) Carla Muñoz, 15-12, 13-15, 11-6

Semi-finals

5) Kelani Lawrence d. 8) Kristin Coulter, 15-0, 15-0
3) Carla Muñoz d. 7) Veronica Sotomayor, 8-15, 15-5, 11-8

Men’s Open Singles - Final

2) Rodrigo Rodriguez d. 1) Maurice Miller, 15-9, 15-12

Semi-finals

1) Maurice Miller d. 5) Eric Mathews, 15-14, 15-0
2) Rodrigo Rodriguez d. 3) Keith Minor, 14-15, 15-5, 11-8

2021 Sarasota Open presented by Team Dovetail
November 18-21, 2021 - Sarasota, Florida

Men’s Open Singles - Final

1) Andres Acuña d. 3) Sam Bredenbeck, 15-10, 15-7

Semi-finals

1) Andres Acuña d. 4) Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 15-5, 15-4
3) Sam Bredenbeck d. 2) Felipe Camacho, 15-7, 15-11

Follow the bouncing ball….

Monday, November 15, 2021

Weekend Round Up: Wins for Barrios, Natera & a 21st seed

Alan Natera and Angelica Barrios won Men’s and Women’s Open, respectively, at the Arizona Open Racquetball Championships in Tempe, Arizona on the weekend. Barrios, who was the top seed in Women’s Open, defeated 3rd seed Nancy Enriquez, 15-14, 15-11, in the final. Natera was seeded 3rd in Men’s Open, and beat 8th seed Sam Bredenbeck, 15-12, 15-13, for the title.

Both women’s semi-finals went to a tie-breaker. Barrios eked out a win over 4th seed Carla Muñoz, 15-8, 13-15, 11-10, and Enriquez held on for a win over 2nd seed Valeria Centellas, 15-12, 12-15, 11-4. In the men’s semis, Bredenbeck beat 5th seed Felipe Camacho, 15-12, 15-5, and Natera got the benefit of a walkover win from Mario Mercado, who had other business to attend to (namely winning his 1st International Racquetball Tour (IRT) title).

From the That’s Weird Department

It’s rare for a low ranked player to make it deep in a draw, regardless of the division. Even rarer for two players to do it in the same draw. But for four (4!) players to do it, and the lowest ranked player in the draw to win the event?!? Well, now you’re just being silly.

But, your honour, let us present the 2021 Arizona Open Men’s A division, which was won by 21st seed (in a field of 21) Dante Ramos, who defeated 19th seed Spencer Galloway in the final, 15-2, 15-8. In the semi-finals, Ramos defeated 16th seed Oliver Terrazas, 15-10, 15-9, while Galloway had a forfeit win over 15th seed Bruce Pope.

That’s right. In a field of 21 players the semi-finalists were the 15th, 16th, 19th and 21st seeds. Crazy.

Some of those players were also in Men’s Elite, which Mr Terrazas won (as the 15th seed). Mr Ramos, who was only the 2nd highest seeded player (17th out of 18 players), lost in the quarterfinals, although that was after defeating the #1 seed in the Round of 16.

Coming up

Both the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) are back in action this weekend. The LPRT will be in Illinois for the 29th Annual Glass Court LPRT Turkey Shoot, while the IRT will be in Florida for the 2021 Sarasota IRT Open.

Then in the last week of November the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) XX World Racquetball Championships will begin in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Worlds will run from November 28 to December 6, and the IRF XXXII World Junior Championships will begin December 2 and run to December 11.

Usually, Worlds and World Juniors are run separately, but these are not usual times. Also, Worlds is usually done in even numbered years, but the pandemic caused the postponement of the event last year. There is some urgency to hold the World Championships this year, as racquetball is part of the program for the 2022 World Games (previously the 2021 World Games, but it was postponed following the postponement of the Summer Olympics) in Birmingham, Alabama.

The World Championships are the qualifying event for the World Games. The top 16 finishers at Worlds will earn spots to play in Birmingham. Note: the spots are earned by the players, not their countries. Thus, Rocky Carson not going to Worlds means he cannot qualify for the World Games, even if a US man qualifies for one of the 16 spots and then is unable to play; Carson could not take his place.

Thus, it’s going to be a busy, busy racquetball period before the end of the year. Did we mention that the LPRT will also play in December? Oh, well, they will, as the 30th Annual Christmas Classic takes place in Maryland, December 10-12.

Arizona Open Racquetball Championships
November 11-14, 2021 - Tempe, Arizona

Men’s Open Singles - Final

3) Alan Natera d. 8) Sam Bredenbeck, 15-12, 15-13

Men’s Open Singles - Semi-finals

8) Sam Bredenbeck d. 5) Felipe Camacho, 15-12, 15-5
3) Alan Natera d. 2) Mario Mercado, forfeit

Men’s Open Singles - Quarterfinals

8) Sam Bredenbeck, d. 16) Julius Ellis, 15-2, 15-2
5) Felipe Camacho d. 13) Juan Pablo Rodriguez, 15-4, 14-15, 11-6

3) Alan Natera d. 22) Felipe Arenas, 15-7, 15-7
2) Mario Mercado d. 7) Set Cubillos, 15-11, 15-3

Women’s Open Singles - Final

1) Angelica Barrios d. 3) Nancy Enriquez, 15-14, 15-11

Women’s Open Singles - Semi-finals

1) Angelica Barrios d. 4) Carla Muñoz, 15-8, 13-15, 11-10
3) Nancy Enriquez d. 2) Valeria Centellas, 15-12, 12-15, 11-4

Women’s Open Singles - Quarterfinals

1) Angelica Barrios d. 8) Annie Roberts, 15-6, 15-11
4) Carla Muñoz d. 5) Sheryl Lotts, 15-9, 15-14

3) Nancy Enriquez d. 11) Aisling Hickey, 15-7, 15-6
2) Valeria Centellas d. 7) Lexi York, 15-14, 15-4

Follow the bouncing ball….

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Waselenchuk addresses his US Open withdrawal & complaints about the IRT

Kane Waselenchuk, the long time #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT),* was on Sudsy Monchik’s Beyond The Court podcast last month trying to explain his reasons for withdrawing from singles at the US Open prior to his semi-final match with Carlos Keller, despite the fact that Waselenchuk was the 12 time defending champion. His explanation was, well, not very concise. It seems that Waselenchuk feels disrespected by the IRT executive, and was made to feel uncomfortable at the US Open from some things members of the IRT executive did.

If you and Waselenchuk stepped on to an elevator, and you asked him to explain why he withdrew from the US Open, we don’t think he could do it by the time you reached your floor, even if you were going from the first floor of the Sears Tower to the top floor. Does that mean his grievance is unfounded or simply whining? No. Rather, it means it’s a long standing issue that has come to a breaking point for Waselenchuk in a “straw that broke the camel’s back” kind of way.

Waselenchuk feels the IRT hasn’t done enough for him, and that they have been antagonistic towards him recently. We certainly don’t feel that the IRT is blameless in this situation, even if only some of Waselenchuk’s claims are accurate.

But the IRT is in an awkward position as they are trying to be fair to all of their players (we all want competitions to be fair), but there is one player that people regularly cite as the “best ever” or the “Goat” (greatest of all time). That player is Waselenchuk. Shouldn’t the Goat get more than the rest? Doesn’t he deserve that?

On the one hand, it makes total sense for the Goat to get more. But on the other hand, if one player gets more than the others, then that seems unfair. Those are the hands the IRT has been dealt, and how to play them can be tricky, especially if the players involved are uncooperative.

For much of Waselenchuk’s career, he didn't seem to be interested in being putting himself out there or being the face of the IRT. Rather, he seemed to take a “just watch me” position, letting his on court performance speak for him. And it didn’t just speak. It shouted. And echoed.

After more than a decade and a half with that position, you can understand if the current IRT executive assumed Waselenchuk would be maintaining that position. To their credit, the IRT has done more lately to try to put their players’ stories out there by interviewing them post-match on the matches they have streamed on line. Such interviews were rare prior to the current IRT regime.

Waselenchuk gave one such interview following his quarterfinal win over Rocky Carson at the US Open, which put him into the semi-finals against Carlos Keller. After stating that he was proud and happy for Keller reaching the semis, Waselenchuk said “I won’t be so proud and so happy for him tomorrow when I play him.” Thus, there was no indication that Waselenchuk had any intention of withdrawing from the event prior to his match with Keller.

Comparison with Longoria

Late in the podcast, Waselenchuk brought up Paola Longoria, stating “her success has had no correlation to the success in the United States or North America in racquetball.” (1:18:55 into the podcast) Now, last time we checked Mexico, where Longoria hails from, was part of North America, and women’s racquetball in Mexico is doing really well. Moreover, the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) is stronger now than it ever has been (certainly stronger than it’s been in two decades). Some of the younger players have probably been inspired by Longoria, and want to follow in her footsteps.

Geography aside, it’s not completely clear what Waselenchuk’s point is in referencing Longoria, but comparing the two is like apples and oranges or, really, apples and firetrucks. Sure they’re both red, but that’s about as far as it goes. That is, Waselenchuk and Longoria are not in similar places. Longoria as a Mexican player has built a career not simply by winning on the LPRT, but also on playing for her country, and winning gold medals for Mexico.

To understand the significance of that know that Mexico has sent over 2100 athletes to the Summer Olympics and they have come back with 13 gold medals.** In contrast, Longoria has won 42 gold medals in her international career. Included in Longoria’s accomplishments are six World Championships (three in singles & three in doubles), as well as three each in Women’s Singles and Doubles and Women's Team events at the Pan American Games. In brief, she is a sports super star in a country that doesn’t have many such stars.

Waselenchuk spoke of winning World titles, but those are IRT season titles, not International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships, and winning a pro event - even a US Open - isn’t the same as winning a World Championship. He hasn’t won any World Championships in singles or doubles; he did win two team titles. Rocky Carson has five World Championships in Men’s Singles. Waselenchuk has none.

Moreover, Longoria has over 282,000 followers on Twitter and over 348,000 on Instagram. Waselenchuk has 67 followers on Twitter (the @KingKaneRB Twitter account, which we believe had ~2,000 followers, is currently suspended for reasons unknown) and 2,546 on Instagram. That’s a stark contrast. And the LPRT didn’t do all the work to promote Longoria to that level of notoriety. She did it herself.

Summary

The Waselenchuk-IRT situation is ugly, which is why we’ve resisted writing about it for so long. But it’s also an important story, because he has been a great player. Would we have advised Waselenchuk to withdraw at the US Open as he did? No. It would have been better to play, win and then air his grievances.

There are issues - and strong wills - on both sides. Thus, there is no clear path to a resolution of their differences.

Athletes don’t often choose their exits from sport. Most often Father Time chooses for them. However, Waselenchuk may have chosen his exit. We only wish it was a happier one.

Follow the bouncing ball…..

* - Note - Waselenchuk is currently #2 behind Daniel De La Rosa following De La Rosa's three straight titles this season.

** - some of Mexico’s gold medals were in team events, so technically more than 13 Mexican athletes have got gold medals at the Summer Olympics, but they’ve only done so in 13 events.

Monday, October 11, 2021

Weekend Round Up - IRT statement on the Waselenchuk decision & the Open Division winners from the US Open

IRT Statement on Kane Waselenchuk’s decision

The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) made an “Official Statement” prior to its US Open final on Sunday, which was posted on Facebook on Monday regarding Kane Waselenchuk’s forfeit of his semi-final match at the US Open versus Carlos Keller on Saturday. Waselenchuk’s decision was shocking, and in his post-match interview following his quarterfinal win he made no indication that he was even considering not playing.

The IRT’s statement read as follows:

”The IRT is disappointed in the decision by Kane Waselenchuk not to play in the singles semifinal at the UnitedHealthcare US Open on Saturday. It is an unfortunate decision that detracts from the tremendous play of all of the players and the celebration of the 25th anniversary of this event. The IRT is unaware of any injury or circumstances that would have prevented Kane from playing. The IRT provides the opportunity for open communication between all of our players and management. Our goal is to make the tour as successful as possible.”

There’s not a lot of content in that other than to express disappointment in the situation.

Of course, it’s a difficult situation for the IRT, who presumably aren’t interested in airing any “dirty laundry” in public, which is an appropriate stance for the organization to take.

Waselenchuk’s statement on Saturday about why he wasn’t playing cited “disagreements with the International Racquetball Tour,” so there is an onus on him to state what they are. The IRT can then respond to his statement. The IRT didn’t prevent him from playing. He chose not to play for reasons that are currently unstated.

While we would all like to have clarification on this situation, it won’t allow us to go back in time and have Waselenchuk and Keller play that semi-final. It’s always sad when a match isn’t played, regardless of the circumstances.

This situation was created by Waselenchuk, but that doesn’t mean the IRT had no part in it. We understand there has been friction between the two parties for some time, although the exact nature of that friction isn’t clear. Whether one of the parties somehow increased that friction Friday night or whether Waselenchuk tolerated that friction at the US Open as long as he was playing doubles with Sudsy Monchik is uncertain.

When Waselenchuk and Monchik, who were a fun team to see play, lost in the semi-finals Friday, Waselenchuk may have lost his real reason for being in Minneapolis. He’ll turn 40 next month, so Waselenchuk may be more focussed on the next phase of his life rather than racquetball. He has accomplished more than anyone else in IRT history, so his ability has been proven over and over.

Waselenchuk may have been intent on retiring after this US Open anyway, given his age and that Doug Ganim - the only tournament director the US Open has ever had - is retiring, which casts a shadow of uncertainty over the future of the event. Furthermore, Waselenchuk hadn’t played singles since prior to the pandemic, which suggests he might not be interested in competing anymore.

What’s clear is that this is a sad situation, and doesn’t reflect well on either party. Could they have done something so it wouldn’t have got to this point? Probably, though it’s difficult to say without knowing the causes of the friction, which will likely never be completely known.

If Waselenchuk has played his last IRT match, it will be a sad way to go out. But he’s left a legacy of excellence that will likely never be matched.

That is something to be admired.

Open Division winners at the US Open

The top seeds in Women’s and Men’s Open won their respective divisions on Sunday at the 2021 UnitedHealthcare US Open in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the women’s final, Angelica Barrios beat 2nd seed Carla Muñoz, 15-12, 15-6, while in the men’s final Andres Acuña came back from a game down to defeat 3rd seed Erik Trujillo, 7-15, 15-11, 11-4.

In the women’s semi-finals, Barrios beat 5th seed Kelani Lawrence, 15-14, 15-5, while Muñoz held on to defeat 19th seed Erin Groves, 15-13, 13-15, 11-5. In the men’s semis, Acuña defeated 5th seed Set Cubillos, 15-4, 15-11, and Trujillo beat 10th seed Shai Manzuri, 15-2, 15-12.

Barrios’s win was a successful defense of the Women’s Open title she won at the 2019 US Open. The open division is usually off limits for players ranked in the top 8 on the pro tours, and given Barrios’s semi-final finish in the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) divison in Minneapolis, she may not be able to make it three in a row next year, because she could be in the top 8 by season’s end.

A curious thing about the men’s division is that the 2nd seed Felipe Camacho lost his first match to Hector Barrios. Barrios then lost to Juan Francisco Cueva, who lost to Manzuri, who lost to Trujillo, who lost to Acuña. This means that Camacho gets the wooden spoon, or had the worst outcome in the division, which is an unusual thing to happen to the 2nd seeded player.

2021 UnitedHealthcare US Open Racquetball Championships
October 6-10, 2021 - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Women’s Open Singles - Final

1) Angelica Barrios d. 2) Carla Muñoz, 15-12, 15-6

Semi-Finals

1) Angelica Barrios d. 5) Kelani Lawrence, 15-14, 15-5
2) Carla Muñoz d. 19) Erin Groves, 15-13, 13-15, 11-5

Quarterfinals

1) Angelica Barrios d. 8) Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-7, 15-5
5) Kelani Lawrence d. 4) Micaela Meneses, 15-10, 15-9

19) Erin Groves d. 6) Sheryl Lotts, 15-11, 12-15, 11-8
2) Carla Muñoz d. 7) Jenny Daza, 15-6, 15-9

Men’s Open Singles - Final

1) Andres Acuña d. 3) Erik Trujillo, 7-15, 15-11, 11-4

Semi-Finals

1) Andres Acuña d. 5) Set Cubillos, 15-4, 15-11
3) Erik Trujillo d. 10) Shai Manzuri, 15-2, 15-12

Quarterfinals

1) Andres Acuña d. 40) Luis Aguilar, 15-5, 15-0
5) Set Cubillos d. 13) Joe Kelley, 15-8, 15-6

3) Erik Trujillo d. 6) Edwin Galicia, 15-11, 15-13
10) Shai Manzuri d. 18) Juan Francisco Cueva, 15-12, 14-15, 15-8

Follow the bouncing ball…..

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

USA will not be going to the Pan Am Championships

USA Racquetball (USAR) has announced that they will not be sending a team to the 2021 Pan American Championships in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, September 3-11. This is the first international racquetball event since the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

The announcement of this decision is oddly written, as it states “The USA Racquetball Board of Directors brings the disappointing news that the United States will not be sending our U.S. Team to participate in the Pan American Racquetball Championships,” which makes it sound like the United States has made this decision. But the USAR Board made the decision.

They did so after the USAR Team Committee analyzed the situation, and made a recommendation to the Board to not send a team to Bolivia given the current travel conditions that are still being effected by the coronavirus pandemic. The decision is entirely reasonable, but weirdly presented.

Racquetball Canada is not planning on sending a team to Bolivia either, and reached that decision some time ago. They have yet to hold a National Championships since the pandemic began, although are planning to do so next month: September 16-19 in Brossard, Québec.

USAR still hopes to send a team to the International Racquetball Federation World Championships in Guatemala, October 29-November 6, and Racquetball Canada is also planning to send a team to Worlds.

Hopefully, the pandemic conditions will not prevent that event from going ahead with a full compliment of participating countries.

Follow the bouncing ball…..

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

How is John Ellis not in the Hall of Fame?

While we were watching the Boys U18 Singles final at the USA Racquetball (USAR) Junior Championships in Des Moines, Iowa on Sunday, which was a great match and you can check it out via the USA Racquetball Livestream channel, the commentator mentioned that the finalists Timmy Hansen and Julius Ellis are sons of former elite players: Tim Hansen and John Ellis, respectively. And in passing it was mentioned that Mr. Hansen is in the USAR Hall of Fame.

That made us think “wait, isn't John Ellis in the Hall of Fame?’ Which led us to “HOW IS JOHN ELLIS NOT IN THE HALL OF FAME???”

This is no disrespect to Mr Hansen, who seems fully deserving of being in the Hall of Fame, and was a Team USA member who won gold in Men’s Doubles (with Jim Floyd) at the 1991 Tournament of the Americas (Pan American Championships). But if the Hansen and Ellis fathers were to face off - as someone suggested in a comment on the boys match - we know who we’re betting on every day, and twice on Sundays, and it’s not Hansen.

John Ellis was in the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) top 10 for 10 straight seasons (1993-94 to 2002-03) including five consecutive seasons as the #3 player, which was generally behind two guys (Sudsy Monchik & Cliff Swain) who are both in the conversation for the best men’s player ever. Over his career, Ellis won 8 IRT titles and was runner up 18 times.

Ellis also was the US National Singles Champion in 1993, and won three US National Doubles titles: in 1991 and 1993 with Eric Muller and 2003 with Adam Karp. He won gold with Team USA in Men’s Singles at the 1995 Pan American Games.

If that’s not enough, Ellis has also run a very successful racquetball program in Stockton, California, which has produced several elite level players.

All of that begs the question: How is John Ellis not in the Hall of Fame?

Follow the bouncing ball….

Monday, January 18, 2021

The astonishing Mr. Murray

A week on and it’s still astonishing to think that Samuel Murray is an International Racquetball Tour (IRT) champion. Not astonishing because of the luck involved. Luck played little role in Murray’s win, as he defeated Javier Mar, Daniel De La Rosa, Alejandro Landa, and Conrrado Moscoso to win the Suivant Consulting Pro-Am title in Lilburn, Georgia last weekend. The last three of those players - De La Rosa, Landa and Moscoso - have all won IRT events and have nine titles between them (4, 4, 1, respectively). Murray beat them, so now he joins them as an IRT champion.

Rather it’s astonishing because few saw it coming. Indeed, in the IRT pre-tournament discussion Dean Baer, Todd Boss and Favio Soto were unanimous in their prediction of a Murray loss to Mar in the Round of 16 (prediction at 44' of video). So, none of them even thought Murray would play one of those past champions, because they didn’t have Murray getting out of the 16s! To be fair, in the fantasy entries only one of 22 entries had Murray getting past the quarterfinals with 7 of 22 having him lose to Mar and 13 having him lose to De La Rosa.

Astonishing because of where Murray's come from. He grew up in Baie-Comeau, Québec (~21,000 population) on the north shore of the St Lawrence River some 700 km (420 miles) east of Montreal. You wouldn’t pick Baie-Comeau as the origin of a star in any sport, let alone in racquetball, but as a coach we know likes to say “they have to come from somewhere.” So Murray's win is a real "small town boy does good" story.

Astonishing because when Murray was a junior no one was thinking "Sam’s going to be an IRT champion." He was overshadowed by Coby Iwaasa, who was a phenomenal junior player. Murray did beat Iwaasa to win U16 at the 2010 Canadian Junior Championships, though Iwaasa is three years younger than Murray. He didn’t win U18 singles in Canada, and didn’t win any titles at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championships.

But Murray persisted. In 2014, he won his 1st Canadian title by teaming with Vincent Gagnon to win Men’s Doubles at the Canadian Championships. Another Men’s Doubles title came in 2016 (with Pedro Castro), and that win helped Murray go to the 2016 IRF World Championships. He was the only Canadian man to come home from that Worlds with a medal: a bronze in Men’s Singles, which was Murray’s first medal for Canada.

Murray followed up that success by starting to play the IRT full time in the 2016-17 season. He only made it past the 16s twice that season - one quarterfinal and one semi-final - and finished ranked 14th. Not the kind of results that would make you think that he would win an IRT event, let alone that “Murray could be #1” someday, which is the kind of talk that has surrounded the likes of De La Rosa and Moscoso from the time they started on tour.

He’s only missed two events over the past four seasons, and been in the top ten each of the last three seasons, including making his first final in September 2018. There’s a common saying that success is a lot about showing up, and Murray has continued to show up.

In doing so, he’s achieved something few other players - and only one other Canadian - has achieved: an IRT title. What other astonishing achievements will be in Murray's future?

Probably more than we think.

Follow the bouncing ball….

Monday, March 23, 2020

USAR cancels 2020 National Singles & National Junior Championships

Late today, USA Racquetball sent an email announcing the “difficult but appropriate decision to cancel the National Singles and National Junior Championships scheduled for May and June, respectively” (bold in the original). This is a change from last Wednesday, when USA Racquetball was “fully committed to hosting” those championships.

We thought their commitment was optimistic, and unfortunately that optimism has not been rewarded.

National Singles and the National Junior Championships are USA Team selection events, so alternative arrangements will need to be made to select the US teams. USA Racquetball is “discussing approaches” to how that could be accomplished. Of course, if the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships (scheduled for August) and World Junior Championships (scheduled for November) are cancelled, then determining US Team members would be unnecessary.

While cancelling the IRF events may seem unlikely, the COVID-19 situation has created a great deal of uncertainty in the world. So much so, that Canada and Australia announced yesterday that they would not be sending athletes to the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo if it starts as scheduled on July 24. There is a generally feeling - though no official announcement - that the Olympics will be postponed, maybe even by a year.

While that seems like a good idea, it will have other ramifications. Most Olympic sports are set up on a 4 year - quadrennial - cycle based on when the Olympics occur. There are smaller games that build up to the Olympics. In the Americas, there’s the Central American Games one year, the Central American & Caribbean Games, the next, then the Pan American Games in year three and the Olympics in year four. Moving the Olympics can throw that off.

Also, moving the Olympics can create conflicts with other events. For example, athletics - aka track and field - holds its World Championships every two years in odd numbered years. The 2021 Athletics World Championships are scheduled for August 6-15 in Eugene, Oregon.

Back within racquetball, the 2020 IRF World Championships are also supposed to be the qualification event for the 2021 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. If Worlds, don’t happen, then it’s unclear how players will qualify for the World Games. Bigger picture, if the Olympics do happen in 2021, then they may conflict with the World Games, which probably won’t make people in Birmingham happy, and there would be less attention for an event that will feature racquetball.

So, COVID-19 has changed our current conditions, and will for some time. But COVID-19 will also have a “hangover” for future conditions, as we recover from it.

We wish you the best in these current conditions, and that any hangovers are minimal.

Follow the bouncing ball….

Thursday, March 19, 2020

IRT cancels two events & where we are now

Another day, and another racquetball organization cancels tournaments due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Today, the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) announced Thursday that both their Denver event (scheduled for April 30-May 3) and their Sarasota event (May 14-17) have been cancelled.

On their website, the IRT states "these are critical times for everyone. The safety of our athletes is of the utmost importance to us. Without having events and clubs shut down, it makes it difficult for players to not only practice but make an income. We hope to come out of this challenging time stronger than before. Stay healthy & safe."

The statement is a bit awkward in highlighting players' incomes, and not taking fans into account also. Because some of the point in what people are being asked to do here - in terms of social isolation - is for people to be separated so that the spread of the virus is limited. That is, this is very much a case of it not just being about YOU, and what happens to YOU, but about what you could do to others. That is, who you could infect.

This is why we were so surprised that last weekend’s IRT Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois was not cancelled. That’s especially in light of the fact the World Health Organization identified the situation as a pandemic on Wednesday, and the City of Chicago recommended against gatherings of 250 people or more. There were 203 players registered in the Shamrock Shootout, so there were likely more than 250 people in the club during that event.

Of course, the COVID-19 developments have happened quickly, and sporting events began to be cancelled in the middle of last week, when players would have already been in Lombard. It can be more difficult for a small enterprise (like the IRT) than a large enterprise (like the NBC, NHL, etc) to walk away from money, and cancelling last week would have meant no one gets paid, yet everyone would have expenses. Not a happy prospect.

But, as some people say “hard choices, easy life - easy choices, hard life.”

It would have been a hard choice to cancel last week, but it would have been a better choice.

There will probably be more hard choices before this is over, and we wish you the best in making them.

Follow the bouncing ball….

Monday, January 27, 2020

Montoya & Muñoz win on the weekend & Landa switches countries

Rodrigo Montoya and Carla Muñoz had Open Division wins on the weekend. Montoya won Men’s Open at the 42nd Lewis Drug Pro-Am in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Muñoz won Women’s Open at the Sweet Caroline Pro-Am in Greenville, South Carolina.

In Sioux Falls, Montoya defeated Gerardo Franco, 15-10, 15-11, in the final. He reached the final with a win over Mario Mercado, 15-5, 15-9, in one semi-final, while Franco beat Andres Acuña in the other semi, 15-11, 15-6.

In Greenville, Muñoz needed three games to take the title, as she lost the first game to Kelani Bailey Lawrence, but came back to win, 8-15, 15-4, 11-2. In the semi-finals, Muñoz beat Cristina Amaya, 15-9, 15-5, while Bailey Lawrence defeated Valeria Centellas, 15-9, 15-4.

Landa switches countries

The big off court news from the weekend was Alejandro Landa switching country affiliation from Mexico to the USA. He’s registered to play in next month’s USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships in Tempe, Arizona, where he’ll play doubles with Sudsy Monchik. Landa’s also registered to play US Team Qualifying Singles.

That’s a huge change. Landa was the 2017 Pan American Champion in both Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles (with Polo Gutierrez), as well as 2016 Pan Am Champion in Men’s Doubles with Javier Moreno. He’s also won four titles on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), and is the IRT’s #2 ranked player.

Someone who is a proven winner changing countries is a major deal.

Landa has lived in the USA since he was a teenager, so he must be a dual citizen to make this change. The change probably stems from Mexico not selecting Landa to play in last year’s Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

He had won their National Team Selection Event last spring, defeating Alvaro Beltran in the final. However, at the 2019 Pan American Championships, Landa lost in the quarterfinals to Andres Acuña, while Beltran made the semi-finals. That led Mexico to choose Beltran and Rodrigo Montoya - who was only a quarterfinalist in the Mexican selection event, but was part of their Pan Am Games Men’s Doubles team (with Javier Mar) - to play Men’s Singles in Lima.

Montoya and Beltran were the finalists in Lima with Montoya defeating Beltran for the gold medal, so it’s difficult to say that Mexico didn’t select two good players. Yet the process seems to have treated Landa unfairly, and he was understandably upset about being passed over.

Thus, we understand that Landa petitioned the Mexican racquetball federation to release him so he could play for another country: the USA. From a competitive perspective, the depth of talent currently in the USA is shallower than in Mexico, where it only seems to be getting deeper, especially with a young player like Eduardo Portillo getting to his first IRT final on the weekend.

So Landa’s switch could benefit both his chances and the USA’s chances to medal at future international events, including the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships this summer. Those who might be unhappy about this change are the players who were US Team hopefuls, which might include players who have been on the team once or were hoping to get on the team for the first time in the near future.

The addendum to Landa’s switch is that he picked up an injury to his right arm - his racquet arm - in Sioux Falls on the weekend that led him to default his quarterfinal match against Samuel Murray in the middle of game two. Landa and Murray were scheduled to play a semi-final doubles match after their singles match, but they chose not to play that match at all due to Landa’s injury.

Landa is registered for this weekend’s IRT event in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and the USAR National Doubles are the following weekend. But his injury jeopardizes his participation in both tournaments.

Coming up

As mentioned above, the IRT will play the 3rd of back to back to back events this weekend, when they gather in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin for the Lou Bradley Memorial tournament. The Lou - as it’s affectionately called - is a long running event, and has been an IRT event for several years. But this is the first year the Lou is a Tier 1 event. A field of 35 players are registered to compete, including the top 13 ranked players, so it should be a great event.

Next weekend the USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships happens in Tempe, Arizona, and the 2nd Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event will take place as part of the 46th Annual Keystone Classic in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

2020 Lewis Drug Pro-Am, January 23-26, 2020
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Final

3) Rodrigo Montoya d. 4) Gerardo Franco, 15-10, 15-11

Semi-finals

4) Gerardo Franco d. 1) Andres Acuña, 15-11, 15-6
3) Rodrigo Montoya d. 2) Mario Mercado, 15-5, 15-9

Men’s Open - Quarterfinals

1) Andres Acuña d. 9) Anthony Martin, 15-11, 15-3
4) Gerardo Franco d. 5) Tim Landeryou, 4-15, 15-3, 11-4

3) Rodrigo Montoya d. 11) Lee Connell, 15-10, 15-9
2) Mario Mercado d. 10) Andrés Gómez, 15-9, 15-3

2020 Sweet Caroline Pro-Am, January 24-26, 2020
Greenville, South Carolina

Final

4) Carla Muñoz d. 2) Kelani Bailey Lawrence, 8-15, 15-4, 11-2

Semi-finals

4) Carla Muñoz d. 1) Cristina Amaya, 15-9, 15-5
2) Kelani Bailey Lawrence d. 3) Valeria Centellas, 15-9, 15-4

Women’s Open - Quarterfinals

1) Cristina Amaya d. 8) Angelica Barrios, 15-3, 15-9
4) Carla Muñoz d. 5) Sheryl Lotts, 15-13, 15-7

3) Valeria Centellas d. 6) Susana Acosta, 15-9, 15-7
2) Kelani Bailey Lawrence d. 7) Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-1, 15-6

Follow the bouncing ball….

Monday, January 8, 2024

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Monday, January 23, 2023

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Monday, October 17, 2022

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Monday, May 16, 2022

Friday, January 28, 2022

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Monday, November 22, 2021

Monday, November 15, 2021

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Monday, October 11, 2021

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

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