Final LPRT rankings for 2024-25

The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) final rankings for 2024-25 have been released. Paola Longoria is the #1 player for the 14th time in her career, but the first since 2021-22. Montserrat Mejia and Maria Jose Vargas, who have finished #1 in the last two seasons, tied for the #2 position behind Longoria.

Longoria has been in the top 10 for 18 seasons, 3rd most all time behind Rhonda Rajsich’s 22 and Cheryl Gudinas’s 21. Interestingly, Longoria’s ratio of top 10s to #1s is 18:14 or 9:7, which is exactly Michelle Gould’s ratio, as she had 9 top 10 seasons with 7 seasons at #1. Gould’s seven #1s are second most all time behind Longoria.

The four other active players have been in the top 10 for at least 10 seasons: Vargas and Cristina Amaya with 12 seasons each, Samantha Salas with 11, and Alexandra Herrera with 10.

LPRT Singles Rankings for 2024-25

Rank - Player - Points

1) Paola Longoria (Mexico) - 1521.5 points
2) Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) - 1218
2) Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) - 1218
4) Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - 919
5) Natalia Mendez (Argentina) - 528

6) Brenda Laime (Bolivia) - 492.5
7) Kelani Lawrence (USA) - 487.5
8) Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) - 451.5
9) Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) - 320.25
10) Cristina Amaya (Colombia) - 305.5

11) Samantha Salas (Mexico) - 302.5
12) Valeria Centellas (Argentina) - 227
13) Lexi York (USA) - 226
14) Sheryl Lotts (USA) - 207.25
15) Stephanie Synhorst (USA) - 187.5

16) Carla Muñoz (Chile) - 169.25
17) Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) - 168.75
18) Maria Paz Riquelme (Colombia) - 150
19) Annie Sanchez-Roberts (USA) - 150
20) Michelle Key (USA) - 114.5

Salas narrowly missed out on a 12th career top 10 this season, as she was just three points behind Amaya, who was 10th.

The points difference between 12th and 13th and 16th and 17th was even less. Valeria Centellas was 12th, just one point ahead of Lexi York, and Carla Muñoz was only 1/2 point ahead of Maria Renee Rodriguez for 16th.

Doubles

The top three in the doubles rankings are also close with about 10 points separating Maria Jose Vargas in #1 and Brenda Laime in #3 with Montserrat Mejia between them at #2. Vargas was in six of the seven doubles finals in 2024-25, but she only won once, while Laime won four doubles titles and Mejia won three titles. Thus, it’s a bit curious that Vargas is top, but the points are close, and her six finals are more than Laime’s four and Mejia’s three.

This season was different from 2023-24, when Mejia and Alexandra Herrera were in all seven of the finals and they won six of them. Thus, they were the top two doubles players, but Herrera slipped down the rankings to 8th this season, in part because she missed two events.

Similarly, Paola Longoria didn’t play in three of the doubles events, so that’s partly why she’s 7th despite winning once and being in another final to go with two semi-final finishes.

LPRT Doubles Rankings for 2024-25

Rank - Player - Points

1) Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) - 172.5 points
2) Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) - 163.34
3) Brenda Laime (Bolivia) - 163.31
4) Valeria Centellas (Argentina) - 137.4
5) Natalia Mendez (Argentina) - 136.62

6) Samantha Salas (Mexico) - 101.09
7) Paola Longoria (Mexico) - 88.68
8) Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) - 83
9) Michelle Key (USA) - 81.03
10) Kelani Lawrence (USA) - 78.58

11) Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) - 69.44
12) Cristina Amaya (Colombia) - 62.29
13) Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) - 59.02
14) Lexi York (USA) - 55.32
15) Carla Muñoz (Chile) - 49.91

16) Sheryl Lotts (USA) - 45.27
17) Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - 38.77
18) Maria Paz Riquelme (Colombia) - 33.35
19) Angelica Barrios (Bolivia) - 26.16
20) Erika Manilla (USA) - 23.52

The LPRT’s 2025-26 season will begin in September with the “World Singles and Doubles Championships” in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, September 4-7.

Follow the bouncing ball…

Longoria wins at 2024 LPRT Battle at the Beach & LPRT Season Summary

Paola Longoria won the 2024 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Battle at the Beach in Norfolk, Virginia, by defeating Alexandra Herrera, 15-5, 15-10, in the final on the weekend. She had a chance to win the doubles title also, but Longoria and Samantha Salas lost in that final to Herrera and Montserrat Mejia, 15-5, 15-9.

While the finals were relatively straight forward matches, the doubles semi-finals were anything but, as both went the distance. Longoria and Salas squeaked by Natalia Mendez and Maria José Vargas 14-15, 15-14, 11-9, in the first semi and then Herrera and Mejia needed three games to defeat Brenda Laime and Carla Muñoz, 14-15, 15-9, 11-2, in the second semi.

Final Rankings

Maria José Vargas didn’t win in Norfolk, but she won five of the eight LPRT events this season, and that form put Vargas on top of the season ending LPRT rankings for the first time in her career. She’s the third different player to be #1 in as many seasons, as Mejia was #1 last season, and Longoria the season before that, which was the last of 11 consecutive seasons for Longoria at #1.

Longoria’s three wins this season helped her finish #2 with Mejia #3. Herrera is #4 and Laime #5.

Rounding out the top 10 are Kelani Lawrence at #6 and Mendez at #7. Cristina Amaya is 8th, and that’s her 11th season in the top 10, and first since 2019-20.

Carla Muñoz finished at 9th, and then there was a tie for 10th between Gabriela Martinez and Erika Manilla, who was out of action for much of the season with a hip injury the required surgery, but was the only player outside of the top 4 to reach a final this season.

Herrera and Mejia topped the doubles rankings, as they won six of the seven doubles titles, and were runners up in the event they didn’t win. Longoria and Salas finished second four times, which helped them to tie for 3rd in the rankings.

LPRT player awards

Maria José Vargas was named LPRT Player of the Year on the weekend. Kelani Lawrence was the Most Improved Athlete this season, as she went from #14 to #6 in the LPRT rankings.

Finally, Mejia was named the Fan Favorite this season via a fan vote.

Congratulations to Vargas, Lawrence and Mejia on their awards.

If you missed any of the matches from Norfolk on the weekend - the doubles semis were pretty great, or any other LPRT tournament this season, check out the LPRT YouTube channel.

2024 LPRT Battle at the Beach
Norfolk, Virginia - June 6-9, 2024

Singles Final - Saturday

3) Paola Longoria d. 4) Alexandra Herrera, 15-5, 15-10

Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 4) Brenda Laime & Carla Muñoz, 14-15, 15-9, 11-2
3) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas d. 2) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas, 14-15, 15-14, 11-9

Doubles - Final - Saturday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 3) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas, 15-5, 15-9

2023-24 LPRT Final Rankings - Singles
Rank - Player - Country - Points - Wins - Finals - Semi-finals - Quarterfinals

1) Maria José Vargas (Argentina) - 1502 - 5, 0, 2, 0
2) Paola Longoria (Mexico) - 1409.5 - 3, 1, 4, 0
3) Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) - 1093.5 - 0, 4, 3, 1
4) Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) - 896 - 0, 2, 4, 2
5) Brenda Laime (Bolivia) - 467.5 - 0, 0, 1, 4

6) Kelani Lawrence (USA) - 460 - 0, 0, 0, 6
7) Natalia Mendez (Argentina) - 393.5 - 0, 0, 0, 4
8) Cristina Amaya (Colombia) - 353.5 - 0, 0, 1, 1
9) Carla Muñoz (Chile) - 342.5 - 0, 0, 0, 2
10) Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - 333 - 0, 0, 0, 5
10) Erika Manilla (USA) - 333 - 0, 1, 1, 1

2023-24 LPRT Final Rankings - Doubles
Rank - Player - Country - Points - Wins - Finals

1) Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) - 333.19 - 6, 1
1) Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) - 333.19 - 6, 1
3) Paola Longoria (Mexico) - 182.65 - 0, 4
3) Samantha Salas (Mexico) - 182.65 - 0, 4
5) Maria José Vargas (Argentina) - 173.94 - 1, 1

6) Natalia Mendez (Argentina) - 160.19 - 1, 1
7) Carla Muñoz (Chile) - 131.05 - 0, 1
8) Brenda Laime (Bolivia) - 112.2 - 0, 0
9) Kelani Lawrence (USA) - 96.95 - 0, 0
10) Hollie Scott (USA) - 84.7 - 0, 0

Follow the bouncing ball….

LPRT 2022-23 Season Recap - What a year!

The 2023-24 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) kicks off Friday in Colorado with the KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships. But before that happens, let’s review the 2022-23 LPRT season, which was one of the most remarkable women’s pro seasons ever.

Remarkably, Montserrat Mejia finished as the #1 LPRT player for the first time. She dethroned Paola Longoria, who had been the #1 player for 11 consecutive seasons. Mejia did so by winning 5 of the 10 events last season, while Longoria won 3 with Alexandra Herrera and Gabriela Martinez winning one each.

Four different winners on tour hadn’t happened since 2007-08, when Cheryl Gudinas, Rhonda Rajsich, Christie Huczek (née Van Hees) and Longoria won. Moreover, four is the most winners there’s ever been in a women’s pro racquetball season.

Mejia and Longoria were in the most finals last season, six and four times, respectively. But the player with the third most finals was Brenda Laime, who was in three finals, more than either Herrera (two) or Martinez (one).

Yet if you count appearances in both the semi-finals and finals, Erika Manilla is 3rd (with 5), not Laime, Herrera or Martinez, and behind only Mejia (7) and Longoria (6).

Moreover, Maria Jose Vargas was in two finals and two semi-finals in the five events she played after returning to the tour following the birth of her 3rd child. She hasn’t won on tour since 2019, but almost did so in the last event of this past season.

All of this indicates how remarkable 2022-23 was, and we think 2023-24 could be even better. Longoria will want to regain the #1 ranking, and Mejia will want to show that winning that ranking was no fluke. Presumably, Vargas will play the whole season, so she’ll be a threat at every event, rather than just half of them.

Moreover, Herrera, Martinez, Laime and Manilla aren’t going away. Then there’s Angelica Barrios, Natalia Mendez, Jessica Parrilla and Carla Muñoz to contend with.

We never saw elite women’s racquetball in the 1980s and 1990s, but this could be the best it has ever been. The depth of the field is that great.

Thus, there is a lot to look forward to in the 2023-24 LPRT season, and we're excite to see how it’s all going to unfold.

You can watch the action live from Colorado via the LPRT YouTube channel. Play begins Thursday with the Round of 64 (one match) and Round of 32, and continues through to the final on Sunday at 11:15 AM. All times Mountain.

2022-23 LPRT Results Summary
Players who reached at least one quarterfinal

Montserrat Mejia - 5 wins, 1 final, 1 semi-final, 1 quarterfinal
Paola Longoria - 3 wins, 1 F, 2, SF, 2 QF, 2 Round of 16
Alexandra Herrera - 1 win, 1 F, 2 SF, 3 QF, 2 R16
Gabriela Martinez - 1 win, 5 R16

Brenda Laime - 3 F, 2 QF, 4 R16
Maria Jose Vargas - 2 F, 2 SF, 1 QF
Erika Manilla - 1 F, 4 SF, 2 QF, 3 R16
Angelica Barrios - 1 F, 3 SF, 1 QF, 3 R16

Jessica Parrilla - 2 SF, 3 QF, 5 R16
Natalia Mendez - 2 SF, 3 QF, 5 R16
Carla Muñoz - 1 SF, 5 QF, 4 R16
Samantha Salas - 1 SF, 4 QF, 3 R16

Kelani Lawrence - 5 QF, 4 R16
Valeria Centellas - 4 QF, 6 R16
Hollie Scott - 2 QF, 5 R16
Sheryl Lotts - 1 QF, 4 R16
Nancy Enriquez - 1 QF, 2 R16, 3 R32

2022-23 LPRT Final Rankings

Singles

1) Montserrat Mejia
2) Paola Longoria
3) Alexandra Herrera
4) Erika Manilla
5) Brenda Laime

6) Angelica Barrios
7) Maria Jose Vargas
8) Jessica Parrilla
9) Carla Muñoz
10) Natalia Mendez

11) Samantha Salas
12) Gabriela Martinez
13) Valeria Centellas
14) Kelani Lawrence
15) Cristina Amaya

16) Hollie Scott
17) Maria Paz Riquelme
18) Sheryl Lotts
19) Maria Renee Rodriguez
20) Nancy Enriquez

Doubles

1) Paola Longoria
2) Samantha Salas
3) Alexandra Herrera
4) Natalia Mendez
5) Montserrat Mejia

6) Erika Manilla
7) Valeria Centellas
8) Kelani Lawrence
9) Jessica Parrilla
10) Brenda Laime

11) Maria Renee Rodriguez
12) Carla Muñoz
13) Hollie Scott
14) Gabriela Martinez
15) Angelica Barrios

16) Maria Jose Vargas
17) Cristina Amaya
18) Maria Paz Riquelme
19) Rhonda Rajsich
20) Nancy Enriquez

Follow the bouncing ball….

2021-22 LPRT Season Summary

Paola Longoria finished as the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) for the 13th time - and 11th consecutive season. Those are LPRT records, far surpassing Michelle Gould’s seven #1s, six of which were consecutive. Longoria won 6 of the 9 LPRT events this season, and she continues to be the dominant player on the LPRT.

And yet 2021-22 was a remarkable season for other players as well. Gabriela Martinez and Alexandra Herrera both won their first LPRT titles. Indeed, Herrera won back to back events, defeating Longoria in each final, which was most impressive.

Erika Manilla also had a breakthrough season, going from #37 in 2020-21 to #6 this season, which included two semi-finals and three quarterfinals. Notably, Manilla became the highest ranked USA player not named Rhonda Rajsich since 2005, when Cheryl Gudinas finished above Rajsich.

To her credit, Rajisch, helped by four quarterfinal finishes, did finish in the top 10 this season, which was her 22nd season in the top 10, breaking the record set by Gudinas of 21 top 20 seasons.

Overall, twelve players reached the semi-finals or better in one or more of the 9 LPRT events this season. Six of those players were in more than one semi-final (or better). A further six players made it to the quarterfinals at least once.

Doubles

Paola Longoria and Samantha Salas won three of the seven LPRT doubles titles this season, and Longoria won another with Maria Jose Vargas. But Alexandra Herrera also won three titles, and did so with three different partners: Montserrat Mejia, who is her usual partner, as well as Jessica Parrilla and Erika Manilla.

Those results led to Herrera finishing as the #1 LPRT Doubles player ahead of Longoria. Salas, who missed a few events, was #3 with Manilla and Mejia #4 and #5, respectively.

Maria Renee Rodriguez, who is a strong right side doubles player, finished the season as the 6th ranked LPRT doubles player with Kelani Lawrence 7th. Natalia Mendez and Valeria Centellas, who are frequent doubles partners on the LPRT as well as for Argentina internationally, were the 8th and 9th ranked players with Jessica Parrilla rounding out the top 10.

If you sum the singles and doubles rankings to create an overall ranking, Longoria and Herrera are joint #1, as they were 1 and 2 or vice versa in the rankings. Manilla comes out 3rd overall with ranks that sum to 10 (6th in singles + 4th in doubles) with Mendez 4th (12 = 4 + 8) and Mejia 5th (15 = 10 + 5).

Best ever?

We didn’t see much of the women’s pros in years gone by, but we know that the best of them were great, so we’re hesitant to call Paola Longoria the best player ever. However, this does seem to be the best era of women’s racquetball.

Several players are threats to reach the semi-finals. Yet if Longoria is in the draw, it’s difficult to pick anyone but her to win it. That does suggest that she’s the best ever, because Longoria continues to dominant the tour when it seems to be its strongest.

Much of her primary competition are young. Just as Longoria was much younger than the elite pros, like Rajsich and Gudinas, when she arrived on the scene, so are players like Herrera, Martinez, Manilla and Barrios younger than Longoria, who’ll be 33 later this month, and is now in the role of veteran. It will be interesting to see how the youngsters fare against Longoria and each other over the next few years.

That’s why we feel that the 2022-23 LPRT season can’t come soon enough!

LPRT 2021-22 Season Ending Rankings - Singles

Rank - Name - Country - Points

1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) - 1976
2 Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) - 1321.5
3 Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) - 1019.5
4 Natalia Mendez (Argentina) - 602
5 Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - 579

6 Erika Manilla (USA) - 522.25
7 Angelica Barrios (Bolivia) - 465
8 Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) - 449.5
9 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) - 444
10 Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) - 436.25

11 Carla Muñoz (Chile) - 406.75
12 Kelani Lawrence (USA) - 401
13 Brenda Laime (Colombia) - 371
14 Samantha Salas (Mexico) - 367.5
15 Valeria Centellas (Argentina) - 294.5

16 Hollie Scott (USA) - 286
17 Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) - 223.75
18 Sheryl Lotts (USA) - 210.25
19 Nancy Enriquez (Mexico) - 192.25
20 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) - 171.25

LPRT 2021-22 Season Results Summary - Singles
Player - Wins - Finals - Semi-finals - Quarterfinals

Paola Longoria - 6 - 2 - 0 - 0
Alexandra Herrera - 2 - 3 - 2 - 0
Gabriela Martinez - 1 - 0 - 1 - 2
Maria Jose Vargas - 0 - 3 - 2 - 2
Montserrat Mejia - 0 - 1 - 0 - 2

Natalia Mendez - 0 - 0 - 3 - 3
Erika Manilla - 0 - 0 - 2 - 3
Angelica Barrios - 0 - 0 - 2 - 1
Jessica Parrilla - 0 - 0 - 1 - 3
Samantha Salas - 0 - 0 - 1 - 3

Kelani Lawrence - 0 - 0 - 1 - 2
Hollie Scott - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0
Rhonda Rajsich - 0 - 0 - 0 - 4
Carla Muñoz - 0 - 0 - 0 - 4
Brenda Laime - 0 - 0 - 0 - 4

Valeria Centellas - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1
Nancy Enriquez - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1
Jenny Daza - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1

LPRT 2021-22 Season Ending Rankings - Doubles

Rank - Name - Country - Points

1 Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) - 240.5
2 Paola Longoria (Mexico) - 219.21
3 Samantha Salas (Mexico) - 170.6
4 Erika Manilla (USA) - 146.78
5 Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) - 141.61

6 Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) - 124.22
7 Kelani Lawrence (USA) - 106.95
8 Natalia Mendez (Argentina) - 112.34
9 Valeria Centellas (Argentina) - 100.68
10 Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) - 99.29

11 Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - 93.68
12 Hollie Scott (USA) - 89.43
13 Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) - 78.69
14 Carla Muñoz (Chile) - 70.45
15 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) - 65.4

16 Brenda Laime (Colombia) - 55.12
17 Sheryl Lotts (USA) - 49.19
18 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) - 42.76
19 Montserrat Perez (Mexico) - 36.7
20 Adriana Riveros (Colombia) - 27.4

LPRT 2021-22 Season Ending Rankings - Combined
Rank - Name - Country - Score (Singles rank + Doubles rank)

1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) - 3 (1+2)
1 Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) - 3 (2+1)
3 Erika Manilla (USA) - 10 (6+4)
4 Natalia Mendez (Argentina) - 12 (4+8)
5 Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) - 15 (10+5)

6 Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) - 16 (3+13)
6 Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - 16 (5+11)
8 Samantha Salas (Mexico) - 17 (14+3)
9 Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) - 18 (8+10)
10 Kelani Lawrence (USA) - 19 (12+7)

11 Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) - 23 (17+6)
12 Valeria Centellas (Argentina) - 24 (15+9)
13 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) - 24 (9+15)
14 Carla Muñoz (Chile) - 25 (11+14)
15 Hollie Scott (USA) - 28 (16+12)

Follow the bouncing ball....

Rankings then and now

As we’ve just come through a decade (actually, we always do, but this time the numbering has changed), The Racquetball Blog staff thought it would be fun to compare the top ranked players from 10 years ago with now. Some things have changed, and some things have stayed the same.

Women’s Pro Tour

Let’s look at the women first. In 2010, their tour was called the Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO), while it’s now the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT). Here’s the WPRO rankings from 10 years ago.

WPRO Rankings (as of December 21, 2009)

Rank - Name - Country - Points

1 Paola Longoria, Mexico 1297.00
2 Rhonda Rajsich, USA 1260.06
3 Cheryl Gudinas, USA 631.040
4 Kerri Wachtel, USA 612.70
5 Kristen Bellows, USA 576.00
6 Adrienne Fisher, USA 363.70
7 Jennifer Saunders, Canada 253.45
8 Angela Grisar, Chile 245.00
9 Jo Shattuck, USA 224.41
10 T.J. Baumbaugh, USA 218.80

11 Veronica Sotomayor, Ecuador 217.20
12 Krystal Csuk, USA 203.68
13 Keely Franks, USA 180.25
14 Diane Moore, USA 164.25
15 Samantha Salas, Mexico 133.05
16 Vivian Gomez, USA 128.50
17 Jackie Paraiso, USA 120.00
18 Susy Acosta-Mendoza, Mexico 112.70
19 Doreen Fowler, USA 112.19
20 Cristina Amaya, Colombia 106.50

And now, here’s the current LPRT rankings.

LPRT Rankings (as of January 6, 2020)

Rank - Name - Country - Points

1. Paola Longoria MEX - 2225
2. Maria Jose Vargas ARG - 1543.5
3. Samantha Salas MEX - 1296.5
4. Alexandra Herrera MEX - 768
5. Natalia Mendez ARG - 639.5
6. Rhonda Rajsich USA - 635.5
7. Nancy Enriquez MEX - 606.5
8. Montserrat Mejia MEX - 498.5
9. Cristina Amaya COL - 449.5
10. Masiel Rivera BOL - 433.5

11. Adriana Riveros COL - 269.75
12. Brenda Laime COL - 269.5
13. Ana Laura Flores MEX - 242.75
14. Jessica Parrilla MEX - 215.25
15. Adrienne Fisher Haynes USA - 207
16. Sheryl Lotts USA - 199.25
17. Casandra Lee USA - 198.75
18. Erin Rivera MEX - 166.5
19. Carla Muñoz CHI - 164.5
20. Maria Renee Rodriguez GUA - 151.5

There are five players from a decade ago still in the top 20 now. Most notably Paola Longoria was #1 in January 2010 and she is now too. Rhonda Rajsich was #2 then, and is #6 now. Samantha Salas has moved up from #15 to #3 and Cristina Amaya from #20 to #9, while Adrienne Fisher Haynes was #6 and is now #15. T. J. Baumbaugh was #10, but she’s now running the tour.

More significant than the individuals in the top 20 is where they are from. In 2010, 13 of the top 20 women were from the USA with 3 from Mexico and 1 each from Canada, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. Now, there are 8 from Mexico and only 4 from the USA with 3 from Colombia, 2 from Argentina, and 1 each from Bolivia, Chile and Guatemala, although two of the Colombians and both Argentines are Bolivian born.

That’s a stark contrast, and especially so when you look at just the top 10, which had 7 USA players a decade ago and has just one now.

Men’s Pro Tour

Although the men’s pro tour has changed hands, just like the women’s tour, it did not change names. The International Racquetball Tour continues albeit under under new administration.

Here’s the IRT rankings from a decade ago.

IRT Rankings (as of December 7, 2009)

Rank - Player - Country - Points

1 Kane WASELENCHUK, CAN - 4286
2 Jack HUCZEK, USA - 3240
3 Rocky CARSON, USA - 2906 - 2
4 Jason MANNINO, USA - 2284
5 Shane VANDERSON, USA - 2216 - 5
6 Mitch WILLIAMS, USA - 1901
7 Alvaro BELTRAN, MEX - 1811
8 Chris CROWTHER, USA - 1789
9 Ben CROFT, USA - 1664
10 Andy HAWTHORNE, USA - 1620

11 Javier MORENO, MEX - 972
12 Travis WOODBURY, USA - 968
13 Juan HERRERA, COL - 945
14 Kris ODEGARD, CAN - 941
15 Andres HERRERA, COL - 885
16 Anthony HERRERA, USA - 881
17 Polo GUTIERREZ, MEX - 817
18 Alejandro LANDA, MEX - 801
19 Charlie PRATT, USA 778,
20 Alejandro HERRERA, COL - 776

And now, the current IRT rankings.

IRT Rankings (as of January 6, 2020)

1. Kane Waselenchuk, CAN - 3581.09
2. Alejandro Landa, MEX - 3064.69
3. Rocky Carson, USA - 3032.17
4. Andree Parrilla, MEX - 2399.78
5. Alvaro Beltran, MEX - 2176.75
6. Daniel De La Rosa, MEX - 1889.81
7. Conrrado Moscoso, BOL - 1573.95
8. Samuel Murray, CAN - 1445.18
9. Eduardo Portillo, MEX - 1324.54
10. Rodrigo Montoya, MEX - 1323.82

11. Jake Bredenbeck, USA - 1241.61
12. Sebastian Franco, COL - 1183.19
13. Mario Mercado, COL - 945.34
14. David Horn, USA - 909.67
15. Carlos Keller, BOL - 852.60
16. Gerardo Franco, MEX - 815.89
17. Thomas Carter, USA - 814.33
18. Sebastian Fernandez, MEX - 812.66
19. Robert Collins, USA - 683.71
20. Andres Acuña, CRC - 633.32

This tells a similar tale to what we saw in the womens’ rankings. Four players from the top 20 a decade ago are still in the top 10, including the #1 player then and now: Kane Waselenchuk. Rocky Carson was #3 then and he’s #3 now. But Alejandro Landa has moved up from #18 in 2010 to be #2 now. Finally, Alvaro Beltran was 7th ten years ago, and he’s 5th now.

As with the women, USA players dominated the rankings a decade ago, but now? Not so much. There were 11 USA players in the top 20 in 2010, but are only 5 now, and only one of them in the top 10, just as on the LPRT. Mexican players have doubled from 4 to 8, while the Canadian players were 2 then and are 2 now. There were 3 Colombians in 2010, and there are 2 now, along with 2 Bolivians and a Costa Rican.

So, if you needed any (more) proof that racquetball is more international now than it was a decade ago, this review of the pro top 10s is it.

We look forward to the next decade of racquetball.

Follow the bouncing ball…..

Waselenchuk defeats Carson to win 2019 IRT Syosset Open

Kane Waselenchuk defeated his long time rival Rocky Carson, 15-3, 15-4, to win the 2019 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Syosset Open. The win assures Waselenchuk that he will finish the 2018-19 IRT season at #1 for the 13th time, which is a record. It’s more than twice as many times as the player with the second most season ending #1 rankings: Cliff Swain, who did it six times.

Waselenchuk said “I knew I had to come out with a better game at the beginning” than how he played in the semi-finals against Andree Parrilla on Saturday, when Waselenchuk lost game one to Parrilla. “Rocky’s been playing well the last couple of tournaments,” said Waselenchuk, so he knew he was in for a battle. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and his game.”

And it was a vintage performance by Waselenchuk, as he was making the creative shots that help separate him from the rest of the field. Also, he served more effectively than he did early against Parrilla. For example, he ended both game one and game two with drive serve aces to the right side.

Afterwards, Waselenchuk related how he and Carson had been talking at their hotel prior to the match. “We were talking about how old we are, and the fact that we’re still able to do this, and we’re still #1 and 2 in the world.” Waselenchuk is 37 and Carson will turn 40 later this month. “When I was 25, 26 years old, if you’d told me I’d be 37 and the #1 player in the world, I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” said Waselenchuk.

However, “the belief within myself is tremendous. I believe in myself, and through hard work, it’s happened,” he said. Waselenchuk added he’s “just happy I can still play at a high level like this.”

Final Rankings

The Syosset Open was the last Tier 1 of the 2018-19 IRT season, but there are a few more lower tier events over the next month. However, there will be little change in the rankings from those that come out on Monday and the end of the season. Did anyone help themselves in Syosset?

Alvaro Beltran was ranked 6th coming into the weekend, but less than 6 points behind #5 Daniel De La Rosa. Beltran was a quarterfinalist in Syosset, while De La Rosa lost in the Round of 16, so Beltran should move into the #5 spot. If De La Rosa finishes 6th, it will be the first time he’s out the top 5 since the 2012-13 season, when he was 9th.

Similarly, Samuel Murray and Sebastian Franco were less than 10 points apart, in 7th and 8th, respectively. Murray reached the quarters this weekend, while Franco lost in the 16s, so Murray should finish 7th and Franco 8th. Murray was 8th last season, so he’ll move up one spot this season, while Franco will be two spots lower, after being 6th last season.

There won’t likely be any other ranking changes based from this weekend. Waselenchuk will finish #1, Carson #2, and then Alejandro Landa will be #3 and Parrilla #4. Beltran will round out the top 5. The next five should be De La Rosa in 6th, Murray 7th, Franco 8th, and Rodrigo Montoya in 9th and Mario Mercado in 10th.

The IRT plans to announce its 2019-20 season schedule in early June. If you missed the Syosset Open final, you can watch via the IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page.

2019 IRT Syosset Open, May 2-5, 2019
Syosset, New York

Final - Saturday

1) Kane Waselenchuk d. 2) Rocky Carson, 15-3, 15-4

Follow the bouncing ball….

IRT & LPRT Rankings & Martinez announcement

Kane Waselenchuk’s win in Lombard, Illinois on the weekend solidified him at the top of the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) rankings. Rocky Carson - runner up on the weekend - remains the #2 IRT player. But Alejandro Landa has moved up a spot, as he’s now #3 with Daniel De La Rosa dropping to #4. Alvaro Beltran rounds out the top 5.

Andree Parrilla, who was the defending champion in Lombard, sits at 6th. Samuel Murray is 7th with Sebastian Franco 8th, Jose Diaz 9th and Mario Mercado 10th.

Over the top 10 there are four Mexicans, two Canadians, two Colombians and two USA players. In the next 10, the USA dominates with 7 players (Jansen Allen, 12th, David Horn, 13th, Jake Bredenbeck 14th, Adam Manilla 15th, Charles Pratt 16th, Thomas Carter 17th, Robert Collins 20th), as well as two Mexicans (Rodrigo Montoya - 11th; Gerardo Franco - 19th) and one Costa Rican (Felipe Camacho - 18th).

The IRT is living up to its name.

Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour

Paola Longoria leads the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) rankings with her Mexican compatriots Samantha Salas 2nd and Alexandra Herrera 3rd. Those are the only three players who have been in a final this season with Longoria winning each one: four times against Salas and twice versus Herrera.

The other seven players in the top 10 come from six different countries. Maria Jose Vargas of Argentina is 4th and her team-mate Natalia Mendez is 7th. The USA’s Rhonda Rajsich is 5th, and Mexico’s Nancy Enriquez 6th. Canadian Frédérique Lambert is 8th, Guatemalan Gabriela Martinez is 9th and Colombia Adriana Riveros is 10th.

Shocker!

But the big news on the women’s racquetball front is that Gabriela Martinez, who is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) Women’s Singles World Champion, announced her retirement via Facebook on Tuesday. .

Martinez, 19, indicated that she is going to be concentrating on her studies for now, although she seems to leave the door open to playing more in the future. Regardless, it’s an astonishing announcement from one of the most promising young athletes in racquetball.

This isn’t without precedent, as Christie Huczek - then Christie Van Hees - also retired early in her career, and after having won the IRF World Championship. But Huczek came back after a couple of years to compete again, and won another World Championship as well as two more US Open titles; she won one prior to retiring.

So, let’s hope something similar happens with Martinez. That this is merely a sabbatical, not a retirement.

Coming up

The next big event on the racquetball calendar is the Bolivia American Iris Open in Cochabamba, Bolivia, March 27-31. The Bolivia Open is a true Grand Slam event, as it’s both an IRT and an LPRT event.

International Racquetball Tour Rankings - Monday March 18, 2019

Rank - Player - Points

1) Kane Waselenchuk (Canada) - 2,860.98
2) Rocky Carson (USA) - 2,328.19
3) Alejandro Landa (Mexico) - 1,756.17
4) Daniel De La Rosa (Mexico) - 1,592.00
5) Alvaro Beltran (Mexico) - 1,406.00

6) Andree Parrilla (Mexico) - 1,302.02
7) Samuel Murray (Canada) - 1,264.00
8) Sebastian Franco (Colombia) - 1,214.01
9) Jose Diaz (USA) - 1,114.00
10) Mario Mercado (Colombia) - 953.02

11) Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) - 834.02
12) Jansen Allen (USA) - 784.01
13) David Horn (USA) - 775.03
14) Jake Bredenbeck (USA) - 696.02
15) Adam Manilla (USA) - 605.02

16) Charles Pratt (USA) - 583.02
17) Thomas Carter (USA) - 528.03
18) Felipe Camacho (Costa Rica) - 521.05
19) Gerardo Franco (Mexico) - 486.03
20) Robert Collins (USA) - 401.06

Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour Rankings - Monday Mar 18, 2019

Rank - Player - Points

1) Paola Longoria (Mexico) - 1,870.00
2) Samantha Salas (Mexico) - 1,186.00
3) Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) - 600.00
4) Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) - 522.25
5) Rhonda Rajsich (USA) - 483.00

6) Nancy Enriquez (Mexico) - 427.25
7) Natalia Mendez (Argentina) - 421.50
8) Frédérique Lambert (Canada) - 415.50
9) Gabriella Martinez (Guatemala) - 386.50
10) Adriana Riveros (Colombia) - 284.50

11) Cristina Amaya (Colombia) - 263.50
12) Adrienne Fisher (USA) - 181.25
13) Casandra Lee (USA) - 176.25
14) Carla Muñoz (Chile) - 169.75
15) Ana Laura Flores (Mexico) - 167.50

16) Yazmine Sabja (Bolivia) - 162.00
17) Masiel Rivera (Colombia) - 161.25
17) Sheryl Lotts (USA) - 161.25
19) Michelle De La Rosa (USA) - 133.25
20) Monserrat Mejia (Mexico) - 131.75

Follow the bouncing ball….

Alejandro Landa is the #1 IRT player

Alejandro Landa is the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT). Yes, that’s right. Landa is #1. No, we don’t have that wrong. Why should that be a surprise? No one has won more IRT events in 2018 than Landa, although Kane Waselenchuk has won the same number: 2.

But people are all a twitter, if not actually on Twitter, about the latest IRT rankings, and perhaps not so much because Landa is #1 as that Waselenchuk is #6. Many people - those at The Racquetball Blog included - argue Waselenchuk is the best men’s racquetball player ever. He’s undefeated at the US Open since 2003 and has been the dominant player on the IRT for most of the last 15 years, so it seems a safe argument.

But the IRT rankings are based on players’ results from the past 12 months. Very much a “what have you done lately?” type of system. Waselenchuk was hurt for much of the first part of 2018 - and didn’t play the last event in 2017 or the first event of this season - so despite winning five times last season, Waselenchuk finds himself at #6, because four of those wins came in the first part of the season, which is now more than 12 months ago.

Tennis uses a similar system, although they stress performances from the past 52 weeks including the 4 Grand Slam events as well as other high level competitions. Tennis differs from racquetball in having more regularly scheduled events, so there are many opportunities for players to earn ranking points.

Waselenchuk, who’s now healthy, and once again won the US Open in October, hasn’t had the chance to defend his other wins from the fall of 2017, because there haven’t been tournaments at the same time this fall. That’s not his fault, yet it’s cost Waselenchuk in the rankings.

There are two questions. One, does this matter? Two, if this ranking system isn’t going to be used, what will replace it? Whether it matters is debatable, as we’d fully expect Waselenchuk to win the next event he enters. Although he may play Rocky Carson, IRT #2, or Daniel De La Rosa, #3, in the quarterfinals, and those are players Waselenchuk generally doesn’t face until a final, or at least a semi-final. Those would be marquee matches, which the IRT should want to have in a semi or a final, not a quarterfinal. So, in that regard it’s not great.

There are other ranking systems. USA Racquetball and Racquetball Canada uses a system that is based on head to head results, such that you can only move ahead of Player X if you defeat Player X twice consecutively, or defeat two players ranked higher than Player X within a 13 month period.

Perhaps of interest, Waselenchuk is ranked #1 on the USA Racquetball (USAR) rankings. Also, Andree Parrilla is #2 on the USAR rankings but 9th on the IRT rankings, and going the other way, Mario Mercado, 7th on the IRT, is 16th on the USAR. Landa is 5th on the USAR.

While there are good points to this system - players can move up the rankings quickly - it doesn’t reward participation, which a tour should want to do from a business perspective. You want to have your best players playing regularly, if not actually at every big event, because your tournament organizers will want to know that if they host an event, the best players are going to show up. One way to give the players an incentive for showing up is to have rankings reward participation.

That participation component can lead to players getting high rankings without winning big events, which has happened in tennis where players have been ranked #1 without winning a Grand Slam event, and it happened on the IRT last season, when Carson was the #1 player at season’s end despite not winning a Tier 1 event.

But with a varying schedule perhaps the IRT would be better off by counting events rather than time. That is, rather than the strict 12 month period in use now, perhaps rankings should be based on the period covering the last 15, say, events (Tier 1 or Grand Slam) played with players able to drop results from 2 events. So, rankings would be a maximum of 13 Tier 1 or Grand Slam events. They would also want to accommodate results from lower Tier events somehow.

Of course, another system could be used, or the current system could just be maintained with the acknowledgement that no system is perfect. But one purpose of ranking the players is to generate interest and debate, so in that regard: mission accomplished!

The IRT will be in action this weekend in Portland, Oregon for the John Pelham Memorial tournament, which was won by Charlie Pratt last year.

IRT Rankings - November 26, 2018

Rank - Player - Country - Points

1 Alejandro LANDA (Mexico) 2116.30
2 Rocky CARSON (USA) 2112.18
3 Daniel DE LA ROSA (Mexico) 1986.16
4 Sebastian FRANCO (Colombia) 1674.15
5 Samuel MURRAY (Canada) 1628.03

6 Kane WASELENCHUK (Canada) 1500.42
7 Mario MERCADO (Colombia) 1496.02
8 Alvaro BELTRAN (Mexico) 1490.01
9 Andree PARRILLA (Mexico) 1432.15
10 Jansen ALLEN (USA) 1152.02

11 Jose DIAZ (USA) 1146
12 David HORN (USA) 1064.02
13 Charlie PRATT (USA) 972.14
14 Adam MANILLA (USA) 786.01
15 Felipe CAMACHO (Costa Rica) 670.04

16 Jake BREDENBECK (USA) 633.01
17 Thomas CARTER (USA) 620.03
18 Robert COLLINS (USA) 480.05
19 Gerardo FRANCO (Mexico) 467.01
20 Rodrigo MONTOYA (Mexico) 454

Follow the bouncing ball....

Carson is IRT's #1 now, but will he be at season's end?

Rocky Carson has again ascended to the top of the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) rankings that were released this week following Andree Parrilla’s win at the 2018 IRT Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois last weekend. Carson moves up to #1 from #2 despite losing in the quarterfinals to Parrilla in Illinois, as former #1 Kane Waselenchuk is still out with the knee injury he suffered in the semi-finals of the LA Open in January. Waselenchuk's now #2.

There are only two events left in the IRT season - the Mercedes-Benz of Ft. Mitchell Raising Some Racquet for Kids in Cincinnati and the Florida IRT Regional Championships in Sarasota - so can Waselenchuk still finish #1?

We think so. The rankings work on a 12 month basis, so whether Waselenchuk can make up the 350 point deficit he has to Carson will depend on both how he and Carson do in Cincinnati and Florida, and how that compares to how they did in those events last year. Waselenchuk didn’t play Cincinnati last year, so he has no points from that event, and he won the Florida event. Carson won in Cincinnati and finished 2nd in Florida a year ago.

Thus, Carson has more points to defend than Waselenchuk, so if Waselenchuk wins in Cincinnati and Florida, then he’ll have a good chance to finish #1, especially if Carson doesn’t match his 1st and 2nd finishes from a year ago.

The wild card in this scenario is Waselenchuk’s health. How severe is his knee injury? It's bad enough that he's missed three straight tournaments over a two month period. Waselenchuk’s missed the occasional tournament over his career, but he hasn't missed three tournaments in a row since he started playing the IRT full time in the 2001-02 season.

That has to be concerning for all racquetball fans.

IRT Rankings - March 22, 2018

Rank - Player - Country - Points

1 Rocky CARSON (USA) 3051.35
2 Kane WASELENCHUK (Canada) 2700.70
3 Daniel DE LA ROSA (Mexico) 2450.18
4 Alvaro BELTRAN (Mexico) 1986.02
5 Alejandro LANDA (Mexico) 1714.16

6 Samuel MURRAY (Canada) 1639.77
7 Jansen ALLEN (USA) 1631.75
8 Mario MERCADO (Colombia) 1498.01
9 Sebsatian FRANCO (Colombia) 1478.96
10 Andree PARRILLA (Mexico) 1191.94

11 David HORN (USA) 936.01
12 Felipe CAMACHO (Costa Rica) 825.04
13 Charles PRATT (USA) 822.14
14 Jose DIAZ (USA) 800.01
15 Jake BREDENBECK (USA) 756.00

16 Adam MANILLA (USA) 706.03
17 Robert COLLINS (USA) 649.82
18 Nicholas RIFFEL (USA) 521.02
19 Justus BENSON (USA) 520.81
20 Thomas CARTER (USA) 478.03

Throwback Thursday - Rankings version

We came across the IRT rankings from three years ago, and it’s interesting to compare it to the current rankings. First, Carson was #1 in March 2015, as he is now, yet Waselenchuk - then #2 - finished that season as #1. Also, Daniel De La Rosa and Alvaro Beltran were in the top four in 2015, as they are now, although they have flipped positions with De La Rosa 3rd and Beltran 4th now.

But of the rest of the top 10 only Jansen Allen is still there three years later, and - perhaps appropriately - Allen is 7th now just as he was in 2015.

Four of the other top 10 players in March 2015 - Ben Croft, Jose Rojas, Marco Rojas and Tony Carson - aren’t even in the top 20 now, while Charles Pratt, who was 9th in 2015, is only 13th now, although he won an IRT event this season. Given the choice between winning an event and being in the top 10 in March, Pratt would likely take the title over the ranking.

Of the players in the next 10 in 2015, Alejandro Landa has jumped up to be 5th now, but only two of the other players are still in the top 20. Jose Diaz was 13th two years ago and is 14th now, and Robert Collins was 16th two years ago and is now 17th.

IRT Rankings - March 23, 2015

Rank - Player - Country - Points

1 Rocky CARSON (USA) 3592
2 Kane WASELENCHUK (Canada) 3590
3 Alvaro BELTRAN (Mexico) 2862
4 Daniel DE LA ROSA (Mexico) 2226
5 Ben CROFT (USA) 2080

6 Jose ROJAS (USA) 2046
7 Jansen ALLEN (USA) 1594
8 Marco ROJAS (USA) 1411
9 Charlie PRATT (USA) 1344
10 Tony CARSON (USA) 1158

11 Chris CROWTHER (USA) 1010
12 Alejandro LANDA (Mexico) 950
13 Jose DIAZ (USA) 759
14 Matthew MAJXNER (USA) 689
15 Danny LAVELY (USA) 688

16 Robert COLLINS (USA) 595
17 Cliff SWAIN (USA) 543
18 Tim LANDERYOU (Canada) 503
19 Coby IWAASA (Canada) 458
20 Alejandro HERRERA (Colombia) 409

The 2017-18 IRT season will next be in action April 5-8 with the Mercedes-Benz of Ft. Mitchell Raising Some Racquet for Kids in Cincinnati, and the last singles Tier 1 event of the season will be April 26-29 at the Florida IRT Regional Championships in Sarasota.

But the season ends with a special event: the 2018 World Doubles Open Championships in Denver, May 2-6. This championship will be a combined IRT and Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event with doubles only, but also mixed doubles, so the best of the IRT will pair up with the best of LPRT, which should be a fun time.

Follow the bouncing ball....

Weekend round up - Horn wins in Wyoming & LPRT Rankings

There’s a bit of a lull in the racquetball schedule coming off the US Open in Minneapolis. However, there was a Tier 4 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event in Gillette, Wyoming on the weekend, which was won by David Horn, who defeated Jansen Allen in the final, 12-10, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8.

In the semi-finals, Horn beat Nicholas Riffel, 11-1, 11-8, 11-3, and Allen defeated Aaron Booker, 11-0, 11-4, 11-4.

LPRT Rankings

The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) updated its rankings after the US Open. Samantha Salas, who reached the US Open finals this year for the first time in her career, is back in the top five, as her good performance in Minneapolis has raised her up to 5th in the rankings.

US Open champion Paola Longoria remains the LPRT #1 player. Frédérique Lambert’s good start to the season has her at #2, with Rhonda Rajsich #3 and Jessica Parrilla #4.

Salas’s rise has been at the expense of Alexandra Herrera, who’s now 6th, and Maria Jose Vargas, 7th, and hasn’t played this season. It seems Vargas, who got married earlier this year, does not have plans to play racquetball in the near future, although that’s only a rumour.

Rounding out the top 10 are Cristina Amaya at #8, Susy Acosta #9, and Carla Muñoz at #10. Notable in the next 10 is Guatemalan teen sensation Gabriella Martinez who cracks the top 20 for the first time at #20. Thus, this is the first time there have been two Guatemala players in the top 20 of women’s pro racquetball, as Martinez’s countrywoman - and often doubles partner - Maria Renee Rodriguez is #15.

Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour Rankings
October 12, 2016

1. Paola Longoria (Mexico) - 2900
2. Frédérique Lambert (Canada) - 1538.5
3. Rhonda Rajsich (USA) - 1370
4. Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) - 829.5
5. Samantha Salas (Mexico) - 771

6. Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) - 740.25
7. Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) - 725
8. Cristina Amaya (Colombia) - 536
9. Susy Acosta (Mexico) - 510
10. Carla Muñoz (Chile) - 496.5

11. Sofia Rascon (Mexico) - 380.5
12. Adriana Riveros (Bolivia) - 355.59
13. Michelle Key (USA) - 323.5
14. Adrienne Haynes (USA) - 291.25
15. Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) - 269.75

16. Sheryl Lotts (USA) - 232
17. Monserrat Mejia (Mexico) - 220
18. Masiel Rivera (USA) - 205.88
19. Carolina Luque (Mexico) - 198.25
20. Gabriella Martinez (Guatemala) - 190

2016 Izzi Racquetball Open
Gillette, Wyoming - October 15, 2016

Final

David Horn d. Jansen Allen, 12-10, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8

Semi-finals

Jansen Allen d. Aaron Booker, 11-0, 11-4, 11-4
David Horn d. Nicholas Riffel, 11-1, 11-8, 11-3

Follow the bouncing ball….

2015-16 IRT First Half Season Review

The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) begins the second half of its 2015-16 season this weekend with the NYC Open on Long Island, New York, and will be followed immediately with the Lewis Drug Pro-Am next weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Thus, it's a good time to look back on the first half of the season.

With five wins over seven events, Kane Waselenchuk is clearly the #1 IRT player this season. The two events he didn't win are events he didn't play in, although the record has him as losing in Davison, that was a late withdrawal. Waselenchuk also won the US Open doubles event for the second year, as he and Ben Croft successfully defended their title from a year ago.

Similarly, Rocky Carson is a solid #2 with one win and five runner up finishes in the first half of the season. But after Carson, it's a muddy picture. Alvaro Beltran is the only other winner this season, but he's also lost in the Round of 16 three times. Daniel De La Rosa reached the US Open final for the first time in his career, but has also lost in the 16s twice and only been a semi-finalist twice. Jose Rojas only has one loss in the 16s and a runner up finish to Carson, so he's arguably ahead of Beltran and De La Rosa, although it's really splitting hairs between the three.

The first half of the season also saw some breakthrough results, as Felipe Camacho, Sebastian Franco, Mario Mercado and Brad Schopieray all reached the semi-finals for the first times in their careers. Franco was a semi-finalist twice. Those four players are from four different countries, giving the IRT a real international flavour. Camacho is Costa Rican, Franco Colombian, Mercado Bolivian and Schopieray is American.

At the other end of the spectrum, Cliff Swain reached the semi-finals for the 163rd time in his career, when he got the semis in Davison. In most of his semi-final appearances (110 times), the six time IRT #1 Swain advanced to the final, but this year the now 49 year old lost to Rocky Carson. Swain's 163 semi-final or better IRT appearances alone would tie him for 8th on the all time appearances list with Chris Crowther. Swain's 285 appearances overall is by far the most career IRT appearances. Ruben Gonzalez is a distant second at 216.

Schedule

What marked the first half of the IRT season was five Tier 1 events on consecutive weekends, which is a crazy schedule. Only 8 players played in all seven first half events: Carson, Jose Rojas, Beltran, Jansen Allen, Felipe Camacho, Robert Collins, Mauricio Zelada, and Mario Mercado. De La Rosa was technically in all seven events, but he was a late withdrawal from the Garden City event.

The second half schedule is more forgiving, as there are back to back events twice, with the first ones this weekend and next. Then there's two months until the IRT is in action again with back to back events in early March in Edinburg, Texas and Lombard, Illinois.

After that the IRT will be in Huber Heights, Ohio for the 2016 Raising Some Racquet for Kids, in Minneapolis, which will host the IRT Pro Nationals, in Sarasota for the Florida IRT Pro-Am, and then finishes up in Portland Oregon with the Pro Kennex Tournament of Champions.

Thus, there are 15 events on the IRT schedule this season, which will make for a good racquetball season.

2015-16 IRT Season - Event Summary
Event - Final - Semi-Finalists

Kansas City: Kane Waselenchuk d. Rocky Carson - SF: Jose Rojas & Felipe Camacho
US Open: Waselenchuk d. Daniel De La Rosa - SF: Alvaro Beltran & Carson
US Open Doubles: Waselenchuk & Ben Croft d. Jake Bredenbeck & Jose Diaz - SF: Jose Rojas & Marco Rojas and Jansen Allen & Charlie Pratt
San Marcos: Waselenchuk d. Carson - SF: Beltran & Sebastian Franco
Atlanta: Beltran d. Carson - SF: De La Rosa & J. Rojas
Davison: Carson d. J. Rojas - SF: Cliff Swain & Brad Schopieray
Garden City: Waselenchuk d. Carson - SF: Franco & Beltran
St Louis: Waselenchuk d. Carson - SF: De La Roas & Mario Mercado

Top 20 IRT rankings - January 12, 2016
Rank - Player - Country - Points

1) Kane Waselenchuk (Canada): 4440
2) Rocky Carson (USA): 3738
3) Alvaro Beltran (Mexico): 2486
4) Daniel De La Rosa (Mexico): 2346
5) Jose Rojas (USA): 2187
6) Jansen Allen (USA): 1833
7) Marco Rojas (USA): 1688
8) Felipe Camacho (Costa Rica): 1254
9) Charlie Pratt (USA): 1179
10) Robert Collins (USA): 1124
11) Ben Croft (USA): 933
12) Mauricio Zelada (USA): 838
13) Matthew Majxner (USA): 817
14) Sebastian Franco (Colombia): 769
15) Mario Mercado (Bolivia): 736
16) Jose Diaz (USA): 582
17) Scott McClellan (USA): 580
18) Brad Schopieray (USA): 494
19) Filip Vesely (USA): 432
20) Tim Landeryou (Canada): 362

The 2015-16 IRT Statistical Abstract (first half of season)

Total matches played: 210

Percentage of 3 game matches: 60.5 (127 of 210)
Percentage of 4 game matches: 22.4 (47)
Percentage of 5 game matches: 14.3 (30)
Percentage of matches that were defaults or data was incomplete: 2.9 (6)

Most 5 game matches played: 7 - Daniel De La Rosa (4 wins, 3 losses)
2nd most 5 game matches played: 6 - Alvaro Beltran (4 wins, 2 losses)

Most points for in a victory: 53 - Thomas Fuhrmann d. Mario Mercado, 11-2, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 14-12, at the US Open

Most points scored in a loss: 50 - Rocky Carson loses to Daniel De La Rosa, 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, at the US Open

Most points in a 5 game match: 102 - Daniel De La Rosa d. Rocky Carson, 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, at the US Open
Most points in a 4 game match: 80 - Andree Parrilla d. Mario Mercado, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 in San Marcos
Most points in a 3 game match: 72 - Matthew Majxner d. Brian Simpson, 11-9, 13-11, 15-13, in St Louis

Largest margin of victory 5 game match: 19 - Matthew Majxner d. Jonathan Justice, 11-4, 11-3, 10-12, 8-11, 11-2, in Atlanta
Largest margin of victory 4 game match: 24 - Kane Waselenchuk d. Rocky Carson, 11-5, 11-0, 11-13, 11-2, in Kansas City
Largest margin of victory 3 game match: 32 - Rocky Carson d. Jeremy Best, 11-1, 11-0, 11-0, in Atlanta

Smallest margin of victory 5 game match: -9 - Teobaldo Fumero d. Fernando Rios, 11-9, 1-11, 3-11, 11-6, 11-9, at the US Open
Smallest margin of victory 4 game match: 3 - Mauricio Zelada d. Dylan Reid, 13-11, 2-11, 11-6, 11-6, in St Louis
Smallest margin of victory 3 game match: 6 - Matthew Majxner d. Brian Simpson, 11-9, 13-11, 15-13, in St Louis

Follow the bouncing ball....

Carson wins The Fall Brawl & is IRT's new #1

Rocky Carson won The Fall Brawl, a Tier 3 event on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) in Lombard, Illinois. Carson defeated Jose Rojas in the final, 11-4, 11-8, 11-10 [sic]. In the semi-finals, Carson beat Marco Rojas, Jose’s younger brother, 11-2, 11-4, 11-4, and Jose Rojas defeated Sebastian Franco, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4.

There were two tie-breakers in the quarterfinals, as Franco upset Jansen Allen, 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-7, and Jose Rojas needed five games to fend off Jake Bredenbeck, 11-2, 5-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-4.

US Open & New #1

Carson’s win comes ahead of this week’s US Open - the true Grand Slam event on the pro racquetball calendar, as both the IRT and Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) will be competing in Minneapolis.

Carson will be the #1 seed in Minneapolis, as he has risen back into the top spot on the IRT rankings, ahead of Kane Waselenchuk, who’ll be trying to win his 11th US Open title this year. Waselenchuk is undefeated at the US Open since 2003.

Carson’s rise in the rankings, in spite of their being no Tier 1 event since last month’s Ghost of Georgetown event, is due to the fact that there were two Tier 1 events before last year’s US Open, which were both won by Waselenchuk, but this year there was only one. Thus, Waselenchuk’s points have decreased by more than Carson’s, and they are close in points (78 point difference currently).

The principal effect this will have in Minnesota is in the seedings and who play who when. Carson will now be on track to meet IRT #4 Daniel De La Rosa in the semi-finals, while Waselenchuk could face #3 Alvaro Beltran in the semis.

The 2015 US Open is the 20th edition of the event, so it will be a special anniversary of an event that began in 1996 in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Fall Brawl, Lombard, Illinois (IRT Tier 3)

Final

Rocky Carson d. Jose Rojas, 11-4, 11-8, 11-10 [sic]

Semi-finals

Rocky Carson d. Marco Rojas, 11-2, 11-4, 11-4
Jose Rojas d. Sebastian Franco, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4

Quarterfinals

Rocky Carson d. Mario Mercado, 11-3, 11-3, 11-3
Marco Rojas d. Mauricio Zelada, 11-2, 11-7, 11-6

Sebastian Franco d. Jansen Allen, 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-7
Jose Rojas d. Jake Bredenbeck, 11-2, 5-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-4

Men’s Open

Final

Jake Bredenbeck d. Mario Mercado, 15-14, 12-15, 11-9

Semi-finals

Jake Bredenbeck d. Troy Warigon, 15-3, 15-1
Mario Mercado d. Sebastian Franco, 15-8, 15-8

IRT Rankings - October 1, 2015

1) Rocky Carson (USA) - 3668
2) Kane Waselenchuk (Canada) - 3590
3) Alvaro Beltran (Mexico) - 2780
4) Daniel De La Rosa (Mexico) - 2350
5) Jose Rojas (USA) - 1972

6) Ben Croft (USA) - 1860
7) Jansen Allen (USA) - 1712
8) Marco Rojas (USA) - 1424
9) Charlie Pratt (USA) - 1372
10) Jose Diaz (USA) - 865

11) Tony Carson (USA) - 862
12) Robert Collins (USA) - 787
13) Felipe Camacho (Costa Rica) - 717
14) Alejandro Landa (Mexico) - 690
15) Tim Landeryou (Canada) - 650

16) Matthew Majxner (USA) - 649
17) Chris Crowther (USA) - 516
18) Coby Iwaasa (Canada) - 458
19) Danny Lavely (USA) - 426
20) Alejandro Herrera (Colombia) - 409

Follow the bouncing ball….

Waselenchuk IRT #1 for 6th straight season, 10th time overall

Kane Waselenchuk did it again. Indeed, did it for the 6th straight time, as he has finished #1 on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) for a sixth consecutive season, and tenth overall, as he overtook Rocky Carson, who was #1 for much of the second half of the season, with a win on the weekend in Fresno, California.

Waselenchuk won ten IRT tournaments this season, but he missed three due to a recurrence of his inner ear condition that also caused him to default out of another event in the quarterfinals. Thus, there was some doubt as to whether he could finish #1, as Carson's been an Iron Man on tour, and excellent in all his appearances.

But the doubt has been removed.

This season's top ten is very similar to last season's, when Carson was also #2. Alvaro Beltran is again #3. But Jose Rojas and Daniel De La Rosa have flip flopped with De La Rosa 4th and Rojas 5th this season.

Ben Croft finished 6th, up one from last season, although he was higher during the season, but a shoulder injury has caused him to miss the last few tournaments.

Jansen Allen is 7th, Marco Rojas 8th, both are up from last season, when Allen was 8th and Rojas 10th. After a two season absence, Charlie Pratt is back in the top 10 at #9, which matches a career high. Tony Carson rounds out the top 10, which is his fourth consecutive season in the top 10.

For their careers, Rocky Carson now has the second most top 10 finishes with 16 behind only Cliff Swain with 20. Carson's finish this season broke a tie he had with Jason Mannino at 15. Also, Beltran is fourth on the list with 13 top 10s and Waselenchuk now has 12, tied with Mike Ray for fifth most all time.

IRT Final Rankings for 2014-15 IRT season
June 1, 2015

Rank - Player - Country - Points

1 Kane WASELENCHUK (Canada) 3990
2 Rocky CARSON (USA) 3968
3 Alvaro BELTRAN (Mexico) 3002
4 Daniel DE LA ROSA (Mexico) 2444
5 Jose ROJAS (USA) 2126

6 Ben CROFT (USA) 2082
7 Jansen ALLEN (USA) 1746
8 Marco ROJAS (USA) 1689
9 Charlie PRATT (USA) 1554
10 Tony CARSON (USA) 1104

11 Alejandro LANDA (Mexico) 910
12 Chris CROWTHER (USA) 820
13 Robert COLLINS (USA) 762
14 Jose DIAZ (USA) 757
15 Matthew MAJXNER (USA) 739

16 Tim LANDERYOU (Canada) 660
17 Danny LAVELY (USA) 626
18 Coby IWAASA (Canada) 592
19 Felipe CAMACHO (Costa Rica) 497
20 Alejandro HERRERA (Colombia) 409

Other Ways to Count

Prior to the season ending rankings, there was a great deal of discussion along the line of "How can Waselenchuk be #2 when he's won more tournaments than Carson?" And that discussion could have continued had Carson (or anyone really) defeated Waselenchuk even once during the season, as only 22 points separated them in the end.

But the IRT rankings reward players for an overall record of performance, rather than individual performances. To take an extreme case, if someone played only one tournament (say, the US Open), but won it, should that be enough to be the #1 player for the season? Most people would probably think that would not be enough.

The IRT want the players to play in as many tournaments as possible, so it wasn't to reward those players who do so. The ranking system is set up to do that. Moreover, each individual tournament director wants all the top players to participate in THEIR tournament, so having a ranking system that rewards participation means players are more likely to play in each tournament rather than just playing a selection of the tournaments.

The Racquetball Blog staff tracks all the IRT players during the season, recording how many tournaments they play and how they finish in each event. We can create an alternate ranking by awarding points to players based on what round they reached. Finishing first would be one, second two, semi-final loss is four, quarterfinals is eight, etc.

Alternate IRT Rankings

Rank - Player - Country - Mean (Tournaments played)

1 Kane WASELENCHUK (Canada) 1.80 (10)
2 Rocky CARSON (USA) 2.21 (14)
3 Alvaro BELTRAN (Mexico) 4.92 (13)
4 Alejandro LANDA (Mexico) 6.00 (4)
5 Daniel DE LA ROSA (Mexico) 6.08 (13)

6 Ben CROFT (USA) 7.09 (11)
7 Jose ROJAS (USA) 7.71 (14)
8 Tony CARSON (USA) 8.57 (7)
9 Chris CROWTHER (USA) 9.60 (5)
10 Marco ROJAS (USA) 10.15 (13)

11 Jansen ALLEN (USA) 10.57 (14)
12 Charlie PRATT (USA) 12.85 (14)
13 Jose DIAZ (USA) 17.00 (8)
14 Felipe CAMACHO (Costa Rica) 18.67 (6)
15 Matthew MAJXNER (USA) 19.20 (10)

16 Coby IWAASA (Canada) 19.43 (7)
17 Alejandro HERRERA (Colombia) 20.00 (4)
18 Danny LAVELY (USA) 20.57 (7)
19 Robert COLLINS (USA) 24.00 (12)
20 Tim LANDERYOU (Canada) 24.00 (12)

This is the same 20 players, but the order is different. Note, this includes only players that were in at least four tournaments. If we lower that to three, then Andree Parrilla comes in with 21.33. Lowering it to two appearances gets in Cliff Swain (12) and Jacob Matthews (16), who reached the Round of 16 in two tournaments, and those tournaments - Davison, Michigan and Garden City, Kansas - weren't close to each other. Several players got to the 16s in only one appearance on tour.

The major difference, of course, is that Landa is in the top 4 here, as he was in two quarterfinals and two semi-finals, including a US Open semi, in four appearances on tour this season. Also, veterans Tony Carson and Chris Crowther are in the top 10 despite playing reduced schedules.

Is this fairer? No, not necessarily. It's just a different way of looking at the players' performance over the length of the season.

But perhaps the main point is that outside of Waselenchuk, Rocky Carson and Beltran, who in that order, are clearly the top three players, where everyone else falls is up for grabs.

Ideally, we'd see everyone play all the events, and see what happens. And there are other players we'd like to see play all the IRT events, such as the Bolivians - Conrado Moscoso and Carlos Keller - who beat Beltran and De La Rosa at the Pan American Championships in April, as well as guys who are playing the World Racquetball Tour (WRT).

It's interesting to consider the IRT rankings compared to the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) rankings in terms of where the players are from. Someone looking at the IRT rankings could think the USA still dominates, but while no one looking at the LPRT rankings would think that. USA has several high quality men's players, but as a whole, they aren't that far ahead of the rest of the countries, as they have been in the past.

Rankings can be debated almost endlessly, but one thing is undebatable: Kane Waselenchuk is the #1 IRT player.

Follow the bouncing ball....

Longoria top LPRT rankings for 6th time

Several changes in the top 20 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season ending rankings from 2013-14 to 2014-15, including changes in the top five. But for the 4th season in a row - and 6th in the last 7 seasons - Paola Longoria is the #1 women's professional racquetball player. Her six season ending #1 titles tie her for 2nd all time with Lynn Adams and put her one behind Michelle Gould with seven.

But the LPRT's #2 player has changed, as Maria Jose Vargas passed Rhonda Rajsich this season for the second spot, which is a career best finish for Vargas. Rajsich is #3.

Also on a career high is Frédérique Lambert, who finished 4th ahead of Samantha Salas in 5th and Cristina Amaya in 6th. Lambert was 6th last year.

New to the top 10 are Michelle Key and Sofia Rascon, who came in 7th and 8th, respectively, both career highs for them. Da'monique Davis rounds out the top 10 at #10.

But notably, Cheryl Gudinas finished 9th this season, up from 11th last season, and it's her 21st top 10 finish on the women's pro tour, which is far more than any other woman. Jackie Paraiso is 2nd with 16 top ten finishes and Rajsich is 3rd with 15.

Four new players in the next 10, as Alexandra Herrera is 12th, Jessica Parrilla 14th, Kim Thomas 18th, and Lucia Gonzalez 20th.

Those four players replaced Aubrey Kirch, who was 7th last season, Sharon Jackson (16th), Jennifer Saunders (17th), and Hailey Miller (18th).

LPRT Rankings - May 25, 2015
2014-15 SEASON ENDING RANKINGS

Rank - Name - Country - Points

1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) 2689.00
2 Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia) 1980.00
3 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) 1565.48
4 Frédérique Lambert (Canada) 897.00
5 Samantha Salas (Mexico) 733.00

6 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) 704.50
7 Michelle Key (USA) 549.97
8 Sofia Rascon (Mexico) 499.00
9 Cheryl Gudinas (USA) 485.50
10 Da'monique Davis (USA) 481.75

11 Susana Acosta (Mexico) 453.50
12 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) 430.00
13 Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) 346.50
14 Sheryl Lotts (USA) 345.54
15 Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) 295.44

16 Adrienne Haynes (USA) 257.25
17 Carla Muñoz (Chile) 250.50
18 Kim Thomas (USA) 236.54
19 Maria Paz Muñoz (Ecuador) 212.50
20 Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) 166.50

Follow the bouncing ball....

Waselenchuk defeats De La Rosa to win IRT Tournament of Champions

Kane Waselenchuk defeated Daniel De La Rosa decisively, 11-4, 11-1, 11-2, to win the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Pro Kennex Tournament of Champions in Portland, Oregon Saturday night.

Although the win was decisive, it looked like it would be close early in game one, as they were tied at 4-4. However, Waselenchuk scored 13 straight points to win game one, 11-4, and lead in game two, 6-0.

De La Rosa then got his only point of game two, and Waselenchuk went on another scoring streak, getting 12 in a row. De La Rosa got his first point of game three after Waselenchuk already had seven, and didn't get his second point until Waselenchuk had ten.

As we said, Waselechuk's victory was decisive.

So, Kane's going to be #1 right?

Was it enough to get Waselenchuk back in the #1 spot in the IRT rankings? Rocky Carson, who lost to De La Rosa in the semi-finals, is currently #1, 78 points ahead of Waselenchuk. However, we understand from Jason Mannino, IRT President, that the Tournament of Champions was only worth Tier 2 points,

Winning a Tier 2 event is worth 120 points, according to the IRT website, while finishing in the semi-finals is worth 60 points. Sixty is less than 78, so unofficially we have Carson as still the #1 player and Waselenchuk #2, despite the fact that Waselenchuk won his 9th tournament of the season in Portland and Carson has won three tournaments this season.

"These rankings suck!"

Understand that the rankings reflect a body of work: a record of a player's performances in a 12 month period. The ranking system rewards players who have played tournaments over those who have not. There are players who have not played many tournaments, but done better in those events than those players who have entered more tournaments, yet the better performing players are ranked lower than those who played more frequently.

If a player played a quarter or a third of the events but won those events, would it be fair to rank that player ahead of another who played all of the events finishing in the semis or better each time?

You can argue about whether the system should be changed, including whether there should be Tier 1 money events that are less than Tier 1 points. But recognize that questions of appropriate rankings is a situation arising in other sports also.

For example, arguably, Serena Williams has been the best women's tennis player for the past 15 or more years. However, she's not been the #1 player for all or perhaps even most of that period, because (a) she's sometimes been injured during that period (just as Waselenchuk was physically impaired in the fall) and (b) she didn't play as many events as some other players during that period. Thus, other players were able to gain the #1 women's tennis ranking over Williams. Does that mean they were better players than Williams? Not necessarily.

When he has played this season, Waselenchuk's results have been impeccable, as he hasn't lost. But the key is "when he has played," because Waselenchuk had an unfortunate recurrence of the inner ear issue he suffered early in his career, which led to him missing some events and defaulting out of another in the quarterfinals.

Thus, Carson - racquetball's Iron Man - has been able to gain the #1 ranking with a body of work that - according to the current IRT ranking system - is better than anyone else's.

However, there is one more Tier 1 event to go on the 2014-15 IRT schedule: the Fresno IRT Summer Kickoff in Fresno, California May 28-31. A win there, and Waselenchuk should be #1 at season's end.

2015 Pro Kennex Tournament of Champions
Portland, Oregon

Final

Kane Waselenchuk d. Daniel De La Rosa, 11-4, 11-1, 11-2

Follow the bouncing ball....

LPRT Rankings & Mile High Pro Am Preview

Ahead of this weekend's Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event in Denver - the Mile High Pro/Am, we're reviewing the latest LPRT rankings. Paola Longoria continues to be the #1 player followed by Maria Jose Vargas at #2 and Rhonda Rajsich at #3.

But Frédérique Lambert has moved ahead of Samantha Salas into 4th. Salas is 5th, and she's missed some events this season with injuries.

Cristina Amaya remains 6th, but Michelle Key is 7th, Da'monique Davis 8th, and Sofia Rascon is 9th. Key and Rascon are at career highs. Cheryl Gudinas rounds out the top 10.

A few other players are at career highs in the 10-20 positions. Alexandra Herrera is 14th, Kim Thomas 18th, Maria Renee Rodriguez 19th, and Lucia Gonzalez 20th. All career highs.

The Mile High Pro-Am in Denver begins Friday, and it has a very strong field, as 18 of the top 21 LPRT players, with the top 14 players inclusive, competing at the Denver Athletic Club, one of the finer facilities on the tour.

The battle for 4th spot in the rankings is close, with Lambert narrowly ahead of Salas. They will be on track to meet in the quarterfinals, and although Lambert is one of only two players (with Rajsich) to defeat Longoria in the last four seasons, she has yet to defeat Salas on tour.

A Round of 16 match up to look out for will be Cristina Amaya and Veronica Sotomayor, as Amaya is the higher ranked player, but Sotomayor defeated her earlier this month in the semi-finals of the Pan American Championships. Thus, Amaya will want to win for revenge, and Sotomayor will want to show that win wasn't a fluke.

With the world's top racquetball players in Denver, there are sure to be excellent matches all weekend long. If you're not there, you can watch the action via the LPRT Network.

LPRT Rankings - March 24, 2015

Rank - Name - Country - Points

1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) 2529.00
2 Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) 1881.00
3 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) 1529.48
4 Frédérique Lambert (Canada) 729.00
5 Samantha Salas (Mexico) 717.00

6 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) 689.50
7 Michelle Key (USA) 471.05
8 Da'monique Davis (USA) 468.75
9 Sofia Rascon (Mexico) 442.50
10 Cheryl Gudinas (USA) 436.50

11 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) 413.00
12 Susana Acosta (Mexico) 400.50
13 Sheryl Lotts (USA) 348.54
14 Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) 315.50
15 Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) 297.44

16 Carla Muñoz (Chile) 250.50
17 Adrienne Haynes (USA) 231.75
18 Kim Thomas (USA) 199.04
19 Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) 183.25
20 Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) 181.00

Mile High Pro-Am Participants (with seeding)
Denver, Colorado

1 Paola Longoria (Mexico)
2 Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina)
3 Rhonda Rajsich (USA)
4 Frédérique Lambert (Canada)

5 Samantha Salas (Mexico)
6 Cristina Amaya (Colombia)
7 Michelle Key (USA)
8 Da'monique Davis (USA)

9 Sofia Rascon (Mexico)
10 Cheryl Gudinas (USA)
11 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador)
12 Susana Acosta (Mexico)

13 Sheryl Lotts (USA)
14 Alexandra Herrera (Mexico)
15 Adrienne Haynes (USA)
16 Kim Thomas (USA)

17 Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
18 Maria Paz Muñoz (Ecuador)
19 T. J. Baumbaugh (USA)
20 Gabriella Martinez (Guatemala)

NR Jordan Cooperrider (USA)
NR Erika Manilla (USA)
NR Andrea Martinez Gonzalez (Guatemala)

Follow the bouncing ball....

Carson remains IRT's #1 player

The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) released its latest rankings this week, and Rocky Carson remains the #1 IRT player, holding a slim lead of two points over #2 Kane Waselenchuk. But those two points aren’t really two points.

Why?

Because the IRT rankings work on 12 month cycles, so they totals currently include last year’s Stockton event, which Waselenchuk won and Carson finished in the semi-finals. But word is that event won’t happen this year. If it doesn’t, then Waselenchuk’s point total drops significantly more than Carson’s.

Race for #1

The IRT rankings situation is a complex this season, so spoke to Jason Mannino, President of the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), regarding the rankings and race for the #1 spot at season’s end. Carson is still the #1 IRT player, although Waselenchuk’s won seven tournments this season compared to Carson’s three.

Waselenchuk remains #2, because he’s had health issues this season that have caused him to miss three events and forfeit in the quarterfinals of another. Carson, on the other hand, has been in at least the semi-finals of all 11 events this season with six runner up finishes to go with his three wins.

Players can drop performances from their record, but how many they can drop depends on the number of events in the season. There have been eleven events this season, and with the Stockton event unlikely to happen, only Portland’s Tournament of Champions remains on the IRT 2014-15 calendar (the next event in Long Beach, Calif. is doubles only, so won’t effect the rankings). When there are 12 or fewer Tier 1 events, players can only drop one event. Thus, Waselenchuk can only drop one of the events that he missed, while Carson can drop one of his semi-final finishes. Advantage Carson.

The number of points players earn from IRT events can vary substantially. The Grand Slam events have the most points, but there was only one of those this season: the US Open. Of the Tier 1 events, there are three types based on the prize money of the event.

For events that happen outside of the USA, the prize money is higher so as to cover the players’ costs better, and those events are worth more points. There have not been any such events this season, but Mannino suggested there could be as many as three of them next season.

There are also two events this season that are Tier 1 prize money, but Tier 2 points, as agreed by the tournament directors and players. Those events are the Sioux Falls stop and the Portland stop. As Portland is only Tier 2 points, a win there would not be enough to move Waselenchuk ahead of Carson.

Winning a Tier 1 event is worth 400 points, while winning a Tier 2 event is only 120 points. Perhaps more importantly, the difference between winning a Tier 1 event and finishing second is 96-100 points while the difference between winning a Tier 2 event and finishing second is 30 points (1st vs. semi-final finish is 60 points).

The system’s more complicated than Mannino would like, and he’s going to try to make it simpler for next season.

There are rumours of other Tier 1 events happening this season, although it seems unlikely at this late date. Mannino couldn’t confirm whether this would happen, but agreed that if it did, they would have to be announced by the end of the month.

If there were one or two more Tier 1 events, then Waselenchuk would have a chance to surpass Carson for the #1 season ending ranking. Of course, he would have to be healthy for them, and win them, or at least do better than Carson. But when healthy, Waselenchuk’s only lost twice in the last seven IRT seasons.

The situation should become clear by early April, at which point we’ll know whether Carson will be IRT #1 for this season or whether the #1 ranking is still up for grabs.

Rest of the field

There was little movement in the top 20, and none in the top 10. Danny Lavely has moved up to 15th, and Coby Iwaasa moved up one position to 19th. Also, Alejandro Herrera is back in the top 20 at #20.

The next IRT event is a doubles only event: the Long Beach Open Doubles goes April 9-11 in Long Beach, California.

IRT Rankings - March 23, 2015

Rank - Player - Country - Points

1 Rocky CARSON (USA) 3592
2 Kane WASELENCHUK (Canada) 3590
3 Alvaro BELTRAN (Mexico) 2862
4 Daniel DE LA ROSA (Mexico) 2226
5 Ben CROFT (USA) 2080

6 Jose ROJAS (USA) 2046
7 Jansen ALLEN (USA) 1594
8 Marco ROJAS (USA) 1411
9 Charlie PRATT (USA) 1344
10 Tony CARSON (USA) 1158

11 Chris CROWTHER (USA) 1010
12 Alejandro LANDA (Mexico) 950
13 Jose DIAZ (USA) 759
14 Matthew MAJXNER (USA) 689
15 Danny LAVELY (USA) 688

16 Robert COLLINS (USA) 595
17 Cliff SWAIN (USA) 543
18 Tim LANDERYOU (Canada) 503
19 Coby IWAASA (Canada) 458
20 Alejandro HERRERA (Colombia) 409

Follow the bouncing ball....

LPRT Rankings - March 9, 2015 - Sotomayor 7th

There's only one change of note in the latest Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) rankings, and that's the rise of Veronica Sotomayor to 7th. She was 9th in the previous rankings, but has moved up two spots ahead of Cheryl Gudinas and Da'monique Davis, who are now 8th & 9th, respectively.

At the top, Paola Longoria remains #1, despite losing in the semi-finals of the New Jersey Open, and the New Jersey Open winner - Maria Jose Vargas continues to be #2.

Rhonda Rajsich, Samantha Salas, and Frédérique Lambert, who beat Longoria in New Jersey, round out the top five, at 3, 4 and 5, respectively.

US Team Qualification

The LPRT rankings are also a determining factor for US National Team qualification. Specifically, the top three Americans on the LPRT are given one year appointments to the team.

The top three Americans in the season to date are Rajsich, Michelle Key and Da'monique Davis. Notably, Cheryl Gudinas is not one of them, which means she is in danger of not making the US Team for the 2015 Pan American Games in July in Toronto.

Gudinas has been a member of every US Pan Am Games team going back to 1995, and has medalled on each occasion (racquetball was not in the 2007 Pan Am Games). She was a gold medalist in 1999 in Winnipeg, 2003 in Santo Domingo, silver medalist in Mar del Plata, Argentina in 1995 and bronze medalist four years ago in Guadalajara. That streak is in jeopardy this year.

The LPRT plays this weekend in Fountain Valley, California beginning March 20.

LPRT Rankings - March 9, 2015

Rank - Name - Country - Points

1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) 2729.00
2 Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) 1960.00
3 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) 1696.48
4 Samantha Salas (Mexico) 792.00
5 Frédérique Lambert (Canada) 749.50

6 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) 710.50
7 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) 493.00
8 Cheryl Gudinas (USA) 490.50
9 Da'monique Davis (USA) 482.25
10 Michelle Key (USA) 473.05

11 Susana Acosta (Mexico) 433.50
12 Sofia Rascon (Mexico) 430.00
13 Sheryl Lotts (USA) 365.04
14 Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) 328.00
15 Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) 299.44

16 Adrienne Haynes (USA) 260.75
17 Carla Muñoz (Chile) 250.50
18 Maria Paz Muñoz (Ecuador) 208.50
19 Kim Thomas (USA) 199.04
20 Aubrey Kirch (USA) 190.00

Follow the bouncing ball....

IRT Rankings - Carson at #1

What a difference a week can make. Kane Waselenchuk, winner of six International Racquetball Tour (IRT) events this season, was the #1 IRT player last week, but this week, he’s #2.

How?

The Florida IRT event concluded March 9 last year, but this year it ended February 28. Thus, Waselenchuk, who won last year’s Florida IRT event, had one more tournament victory in the twelve months ending last Monday than he has in the 12 months ending this past Monday.

The change puts Rocky Carson back into the #1 position. They are that close at the top. The main difference this means for this weekend’s Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois is that Carson will be on the top of the draw, along with IRT #4 Daniel De La Rosa, while Waselenchuk will be on the bottom of the draw with IRT #3 Alvaro Beltran, one of the two men to have defeated Waselenchuk in a completed match over the last seven seasons.

Waselenchuk would probably prefer to be on the top of the draw than the bottom. He’s certainly prefer to be the #1 player than the #2 player, and another win this weekend should put him back on top.

The other change in the top 10 is that Jansen Allen has moved up to 7th ahead of Marco Rojas. The only other changes in the top 20 are in the final six players, as Robert Collins moves into 15th ahead of Danny Lavely, who’s now 16th.

Also, Dauyong Kwon is up to 19th with Coby Iwaasa at #20, which is his first time in the top 20.

The next IRT event - the Shamrock Shootout - begins Thursday in Lombard, Illinois.

IRT Rankings - March 9, 2015

Rank - Player - Country - Points

1 Rocky CARSON (USA) 3742
2 Kane WASELENCHUK (Canada) 3670
3 Alvaro BELTRAN (Mexico) 2871
4 Daniel DE LA ROSA (Mexico) 2273
5 Ben CROFT (USA) 2232

6 Jose ROJAS (USA) 2154
7 Jansen ALLEN (USA) 1579
8 Marco ROJAS (USA) 1488
9 Charlie PRATT (USA) 1389
10 Tony CARSON (USA) 1158

11 Alejandro LANDA (Mexico) 1135
12 Chris CROWTHER (USA) 1010
13 Jose DIAZ (USA) 871
14 Matthew MAJXNER (USA) 799
15 Robert COLLINS (USA) 615

16 Danny LAVELY (USA) 594
17 Tim LANDERYOU (Canada) 527
18 Cliff SWAIN (USA) 513
19 Dauyong KWON (South Korea) 374
20 Coby IWAASA (Canada) 364

Follow the bouncing ball....

Waselenchuk back at #1 in latest IRT rankings

Kane Waselenchuk, winner of six International Racquetball Tour (IRT) events this season, has regained the #1 position in the latest IRT rankings, moving ahead of previous #1 Rocky Carson, a three time winner on tour this season. Waselenchuk had dropped out of the #1 position as a result of missing some events due to injury late last year. He’s occasionally had vestibular issues during his career, and was beset with them late in 2014.

But Waselenchuk’s fully fit now, and has won the last three IRT events. There are three more singles events on the schedule - the Shamrock Shootout (March 12-15), Stockton Pro-Am (April 30-May 3) and ProKennex Tournament of Champions (May 14-17) - along with a doubles event in Long Beach April 9-11.

The rest of the top 10 rankings remain the same. In fact, there isn’t a change until the 17th position, which Tim Landeryou has moved into ahead of Cliff Swain. Also different is Alejandro Herrera’s appearance in the top 20, as he’s now 19th.

The next IRT event is the Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois March 12-15.

IRT Rankings - March 2, 2015

Rank - Player - Country - Points

1 Kane WASELENCHUK (Canada) 4070
2 Rocky CARSON (USA) 3820
3 Alvaro BELTRAN (Mexico) 2903
4 Daniel DE LA ROSA (Mexico) 2367
5 Ben CROFT (USA) 2232

6 Jose ROJAS (USA) 2158
7 Marco ROJAS (USA) 1593
8 Jansen ALLEN (USA) 1581
9 Charlie PRATT (USA) 1519
10 Tony CARSON (USA) 1378

11 Alejandro LANDA (Mexico) 1135
12 Chris CROWTHER (USA) 1104
13 Jose DIAZ (USA) 871
14 Matthew MAJXNER (USA) 799
15 Danny LAVELY (USA) 654

16 Robert COLLINS (USA) 635
17 Tim LANDERYOU (Canada) 527
18 Cliff SWAIN (USA) 513
19 Alejandro HERRERA (Colombia) 409
20 Dauyong KWON (South Korea) 374

Follow the bouncing ball....