Medal summary for 2025 IRF World Junior Championships

Several players were multiple medalists last week at the 36th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and two players won three gold medals.

In Girls U18, Mexican Yanna Salazar won gold in singles, doubles and mixed doubles, while in Boys U16 Bolivian Alfredo Santiago Borja Arevalo also won gold all three divisions. No one did so in U21, suggesting that competition increases as players get older, as it should.

Three other players won three medals. Mexican Andrea Perez Picon was the silver medalist in Girls U16 singles, and bronze medalist in both doubles, mixed doubles. Costa Rican Alvaro Guillen was silver medalist in both Boys U16 doubles and mixed doubles and a bronze medalist in singles. Finally, Guatemalan Isabella Wer was a bronze medalist in Girls U16 singles and doubles and bronze medalist in U18 mixed doubles.

Here’s a rundown of all the multiple medalists.

Multiple Medalists - U21

Camila Rivero (Bolivia), Gold singles, Silver mixed doubles
Rebecca Amaya Ardaya (Bolivia), Gold doubles, Silver singles
Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico), Gold doubles, Bronze singles
Sebastian Hernández (Mexico), Gold doubles, Bronze singles
Naomi Ros (USA), Gold mixed doubles, Bronze doubles
DJ Mendoza (USA), Gold mixed doubles, Bronze doubles
Angela Veronica Ortega Sabido (Mexico), Silver doubles, Bronze singles

Multiple Medalists - U18

Yanna Salazar (Mexico), Gold singles, Gold doubles, Gold mixed doubles
Mariafernanda Trujillo (Mexico), Gold doubles, Bronze singles
Marco Mamani Aguilar (Bolivia), Gold singles, Silver mixed doubles
Eder Renteria (Mexico), Gold doubles, Silver singles
Diego Romano (Mexico), Gold doubles, Bronze singles
Natalia Mendez Veizaga (Bolivia), Silver doubles, Silver mixed doubles
Leyton Gouldie (Canada), Bronze doubles, Bronze mixed doubles
Chloe Jauvin (Canada), Bronze doubles, Bronze mixed doubles

Multiple Medalists - U16

Alfredo Santiago Borja Arevalo (Bolivia) - Gold singles, Gold doubles, Gold mixed doubles
Luciana Illanes Quenta (Bolivia) - Gold singles, Silver doubles
Larissa Faeth (Costa Rica), Gold doubles, Silver mixed doubles
Suszel Andrea Pairo Galileo (Bolivia), Gold mixed doubles, Silver doubles
Sebastian Terrazas (Bolivia) - Gold doubles, Bronze singles (U18)
Andrea Perez Picon (Mexico), Silver singles, Bronze doubles, Bronze mixed doubles
Santiago Castillo (Mexico), Silver singles, Bronze doubles
Alvaro Guillen (Costa Rica), Silver doubles, Silver mixed doubles, Bronze singles
Isabella Wer (Guatemala), Bronze singles, Bronze doubles, Bronze mixed doubles (U18)
Axel Sanchez (Mexico), Bronze doubles, Bronze mixed doubles

Here are the overall medal totals by country.

Bolivia - 8 Gold, 7 Silver, 6 Bronze
Mexico - 5 Gold, 4 Silver, 8 Bronze
USA - 1 Gold, 5 Bronze
Costa Rica - 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
Guatemala - 1 Silver, 4 Bronze
Ecuador - 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Canada - 3 Bronze
Chile - 2 Bronze

While Bolivia went home with more medals than Mexico (21 to 17), Mexico had more multiple medalists than Bolivia: 10 to 8, which suggests that Mexico’s success was concentrated in fewer players than Bolivia’s.

Four other countries had multiple medalists. Canada, Costa Rica and the USA had two each, while Guatemala had one.

Future international competitions

2026 is a IRF World Championship year, and Canada was to be the host. However, issues with the proposed venue have put that into jeopardy. Thus, there isn’t a confirmed host country presently. Nor is there any dates listed for the Worlds on the IRF website.

There also isn’t a venue listed for either the 2026 Pan American Championships or the 2026 IRF World Junior Championships on the IRF website. But there are dates for the Pan Am Championships: March 27 to April 4, as that competition is held during the week before Easter.

The 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games - a quadrennial multi-sport games that includes racquetball - will be July 24 to August 8 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. World Juniors was probably a trial event for those games, although many events have been held in Santo Domingo since they built the facility used for these events for the 2003 Pan American Games.

Those dates will limit when Worlds can be scheduled, because they wouldn’t want to conflict with those games.

Thus, there’s some uncertainty about upcoming IRF events, which isn’t ideal, but this has happened before, and things have worked out, so we trust that they will again. However, it would be better to have things decided sooner than later.

XXXVI IRF World Junior Championships 

December 6-13 - Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Girls U21 Singles - Medalists

Gold: Camila Rivero (Bolivia)
Silver: Rebecca Amaya Ardaya (Bolivia)
Bronze: Andrea Gabriela Reyes Perez (Guatemala) and Angela Veronica Ortega Sabido (Mexico)

Girls U21 Doubles - Medalists

Gold: Valeria Miranda Martinez & Rebecca Amaya Ardaya (Bolivia)
Silver: Angela Veronica Ortega Sabido & Ivanna Balderrama (Mexico)
Bronze: Sinai Diseth Risso Cortes & Paula Mansilla (Chile) and Ella Boaz & Naomi Ros (USA)

Boys U21 Singles - Medalists

Gold: Jonathan Fernando Flores Vega (Bolivia)
Silver: Nicolas Ramiro Iglesias Rivera (Bolivia)
Bronze: Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico) and Sebastian Hernández (Mexico)

Boys U21 Doubles - Medalists

Gold: Jorge Gutierrez & Sebastian Hernández (Mexico)
Silver: Hector Sierra Mansilla & Jose Caceres (Guatemala)
Bronze: Luis Aguilar & Ezequiel Subieta (Bolivia) and DJ Mendoza & Cole Sendrey (USA)

Mixed Doubles U21 - Medalists

Gold: DJ Mendoza & Naomi Ros (USA)
Silver: Jhoel Alexis Acha Portugal & Camila Rivero (Bolivia)
Bronze: Martin Carchi & Maria Angela Villacreses (Ecuador) and Jaime Mansilla & Paula Mansilla (Chile)

Girls U18 Singles - Medalists

Gold: Yanna Salazar (Mexico)
Silver: Nicol Abril Mansilla Tambo (Bolivia)
Bronze: Mariel Montecinos (Bolivia) and Mariafernanda Trujillo (Mexico)

Girls U18 Doubles - Medalists

Gold: Yanna Salazar & Mariafernanda Trujillo (Mexico)
Silver: Natalia Mendez Veizaga & Adriana Noelia Blacutt Conde (Bolivia)
Bronze: Lahni Buller & Chloe Jauvin (Canada) and Rebecca Christopher & Montserrat Torres (USA)

Boys U18 Singles - Medalists

Gold: Marco Mamani Aguilar (Bolivia)
Silver: Eder Renteria (Mexico)
Bronze: Diego Romano (Mexico) and Sebastian Terrazas (Bolivia)

Boys U18 Doubles - Medalists

Gold: Eder Renteria & Diego Romano (Mexico)
Silver: Martin Carchi & Juan David Sea Cueva (Ecuador)
Bronze: Leyton Gouldie & Raphaël Guillemette (Canada) and Josue Farfan Enriquez & Marco Mamani Aguilar (Bolivia)

Mixed Doubles U18 - Medalists

Gold: Nicolas Galindo & Yanna Salazar (Mexico)
Silver: Marco Mamani Aguilar & Natalia Mendez Veizaga (Bolivia)
Bronze: Christian Aldana & Isabella Wer (Guatemala) and Leyton Gouldie & Chloe Jauvin (Canada)

Girls U16 Singles - Medalists

Gold: Luciana Illanes Quenta (Bolivia)
Silver: Andrea Perez Picon (Mexico)
Bronze: Isabella Wer (Guatemala) and Nicol Abril Mansilla Tambo (Bolivia)

Girls U16 Doubles - Medalists

Gold: Giuliana Faeth & Larissa Faeth (Costa Rica)
Silver: Luciana Illanes Quenta & Suszel Andrea Pairo Galileo (Bolivia)
Bronze: Paula Aldana & Isabella Wer (Guatemala) and Lily Farias & Andrea Perez Picon (Mexico)

Boys U16 Singles - Medalists

Gold: Alfredo Santiago Borja Arevalo (Bolivia)
Silver: Santiago Castillo (Mexico)
Bronze: Alvaro Guillen (Costa Rica) and Sebastian Ruiz Michel (Bolivia)

Boys U16 Doubles - Medalists

Gold: Sebastian Terrazas & Alfredo Santiago Borja Arevalo (Bolivia)
Silver: Alvaro Guillen & Marcelo García Sanchez (Costa Rica)
Bronze: Santiago Castillo & Axel Sanchez (Mexico) and Evan Whitley & Grant Williams (USA)

Mixed Doubles U16 - Medalists

Gold: Alfredo Santiago Borja Arevalo & Suszel Andrea Pairo Galileo (Bolivia)
Silver: Larissa Faeth & Alvaro Guillen (Costa Rica)
Bronze: Vaishant Mangalampalli & Aanshi Thakur (USA) and Andrea Perez Picon & Axel Sanchez (Mexico)

Follow the bouncing ball....

The conclusion of the LPRT 2024-25 season

The 2024-25 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season wrapped up over the past two weekends with events in Virginia and North Carolina. Montserrat Mejia won the Northern Virginia Invitational in Herndon, Virginia - the penultimate event of the season - and Maria Jose Vargas won the Sweet Caroline Open in Charlotte, North Carolina - the season’s last event.

Those wins were the second for both Mejia and Vargas this season. Paola Longoria also won twice this season with Gabriela Martinez winning the first event of the season last August.

2024-25 is the first women’s pro season with three multiple event winners since 2005-06, when Christie Huczek (née Van Hees) won three times and Cheryl Gudinas and Rhonda Rajsich won twice each. This was only the fifth season with three multiple event winners since 1980.

Four different winners is also relatively rare on tour, although it did happen two seasons ago, when Mejia won five times, Longoria three, and one win each by Martinez and Alexandra Herrera. Overall, only four women’s pro seasons have had four different winners.

Longoria, Martinez, Mejia and Vargas were the semi-finalists in both of the last two tournaments, although they flipped winners. There were two close semi-finals in Virginia, where Longoria defeated Martinez, 15-13, 15-14, and Mejia beat Vargas, 15-5, 12-15, 11-4. Then in North Carolina, Martinez beat Longoria, 15-3, 15-12, and Vargas defeated Mejia, 15-6, 3-15, 11-1.

In the finals, Mejia defeated Longoria, 15-13, 15-5, in Virginia, while Vargas beat Martinez, 15-8, 15-5, in North Carolina.

Here’s a rundown of the results - winners, finalists, semi-finalists and quarterfinalists - from this season.

Results summary for 2024-25 LPRT season (singles)

Paola Longoria - 2 Wins - 4 Finals - 1 Semi-final
Montserrat Mejia - 2 W - 1 F - 3 SF - 1 Quarterfinal
Maria Jose Vargas - 2 W - 1 F - 3 SF - 1 QF
Gabriela Martinez - 1 W - 1 F - 3 SF - 1 QF

Alexandra Herrera - 2 SF - 3 QF
Brenda Laime - 2 SF - 3 QF

Natalia Mendez - 7 QF
Kelani Lawrence - 6 QF
Jessica Parrilla - 2 QF
Samantha Salas - 2 QF

Cristina Amaya - 1 QF
Carla Muñoz - 1 QF

Doubles

Vargas and Valeria Centellas were in both of the doubles finals the last two weeks. In Virginia, they defeated Longoria and Samantha Salas, 15-12, 15-7, while in North Carolina, they lost to Brenda Laime and Natalia Mendez, 15-11, 15-13.

Over the season, Vargas was in six of the seven doubles finals, twice with Mendez and three times with Centellas, but she only won once. Laime was in four doubles finals, and won all of them with three different partners: Mejia twice, and once each with Mendez and Michelle Key. Mejia was also a multiple doubles winner this season, taking three titles out of the three finals she played in, and did so with two different partners: twice with Laime and once with Herrera.

Here’s a rundown of this season’s doubles results: winners, finalists and semi-finalists.

Results summary for 2024-25 LPRT season (doubles)

Brenda Laime - 4 Wins - 1 Semi-final
Montserrat Mejia - 3 W - 4 SF

Maria Jose Vargas - 1 W - 5 Finals
Valeria Centellas - 1 W - 3 F - 1 SF
Natalia Mendez - 1 W - 2 F - 2 SF

Samantha Salas - 1 W - 1 F - 3 SF
Paola Longoria - 1 W - 1 F - 2 SF
Michelle Key - 1 W - 1 F - 1 SF

Alexandra Herrera - 1 W - 4 SF

Erika Manilla - 1 F

Kelani Lawrence - 3 SF
Carla Muñoz - 2 SF

Angelica Barrios - 1 SF
Sheryl Lotts - 1 SF
Jessica Parrilla - 1 SF
Maria Renee Rodriguez - 1 SF
Lexi York - 1 SF

The LPRT’s 2025-26 season will begin in September with the “World Singles and Doubles Championships” in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, September 4-7. In the meantime, check out the LPRT YouTube channel for some great racquetball matches.

2025 LPRT Sweet Caroline Open
Charlotte, North Carolina - June 20-22, 2025

Singles Final

3) Maria José Vargas d. 4) Gabriela Martinez, 15-8, 15-5

Singles Semi-finals

4) Gabriela Martinez d. 1) Paola Longoria, 15-3, 15-12
3) Maria José Vargas d. 2) Montserrat Mejia, 15-6, 3-15, 11-1

Singles Quarterfinals

1) Paola Longoria d. 5) Alexandra Herrera, 15-6, 9-15, 11-2
4) Gabriela Martinez d. 5) Natalia Mendez, 15-13, 15-5

2) Maria José Vargas d. 6) Brenda Laime, 15-6, 15-2

3) Montserrat Mejia d. 8) Kelani Lawrence, 15-7, 15-6

Singles Round of 16

1) Paola Longoria d. 17) Naomi Ros, 15-11, 15-0
8) Alexandra Herrera d. 9) Jessica Parrilla, 15-11, 15-7

5) Natalia Mendez d. 12) Valeria Centellas, 15-11, 15-8
4) Gabriela Martinez d. 13) Lexi York, 15-8, 15-0

3) Maria José Vargas d. 14) Sheryl Lotts, 15-4, 15-4
6) Brenda Laime d. 11) Samantha Salas, 15-3, 15-11

7) Kelani Lawrence d. 10) Cristina Amaya, 15-9, 10-15, 11-8
2) Montserrat Mejia d. 18) Camila Rivero, 15-4, 15-14

Singles Round of 32

1) Paola Longoria - BYE
17) Naomi Ros d. 16) Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-12, 15-3

9) Jessica Parrilla - BYE
8) Alexandra Herrera - BYE

5) Natalia Mendez - BYE
12) Valeria Centellas - BYE

13) Lexi York - BYE
4) Gabriela Martinez - BYE

3) Maria José Vargas - BYE
14) Sheryl Lotts - BYE

11) Samantha Salas - BYE
6) Brenda Laime - BYE

7) Kelani Lawrence - BYE
10) Cristina Amaya - BYE

18) Camila Rivero d. 15) Stephanie Synhorst, 15-4, 15-5
2) Montserrat Mejia - BYE

Doubles - Final

1) Brenda Laime & Natalia Mendez d. 2) Valeria Centellas & Maria Jose Vargas, 15-11, 15-13

Doubles - Semi-finals

1) Brenda Laime & Natalia Mendez d. 5) Kelani Lawrence & Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-9, 15-7
2) Valeria Centellas & Maria Jose Vargas d. 3) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia, 15-14, 15-13

Doubles - Quarterfinals

1) Brenda Laime & Natalia Mendez - BYE
5) Kelani Lawrence & Maria Renee Rodriguez d. 4) Cristina Amaya & Jessica Parrilla, 14-15, 15-9, 11-8

3) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 6) Sheryl Lotts & Lexi York, 15-5, 15-5
2) Valeria Centellas & Maria Jose Vargas d. 7) Camila Rivero & Naomi Ros, 15-10, 15-8

2025 LPRT Northern Virginia Invitational
Herndon, Virginia - June 13-15, 2025

Singles Final

3) Montserrat Mejia d. 1) Paola Longoria, 15-13, 15-5

Singles Semi-finals

1) Paola Longoria d. 4) Gabriela Martinez, 15-13, 15-14
3) Montserrat Mejia d. 2) Maria José Vargas, 15-5, 12-15, 11-4

Singles Quarterfinals

1) Paola Longoria d. 8) Kelani Lawrence, 15-7, 15-9
4) Gabriela Martinez d. 5) Alexandra Herrera, 15-5, 15-9

3) Montserrat Mejia d. 6) Jessica Parrilla, 15-8, 15-7
2) Maria José Vargas d. 8) Natalia Mendez, 15-2, 15-11

Singles Round of 16

1) Paola Longoria d. 17) Annie Sanchez, 15-1, 15-6
8) Kelani Lawrence d. 9) Cristina Amaya, 15-4, 15-4

5) Alexandra Herrera d. 12) Lexi York, 15-4, 12-15, 11-1
4) Gabriela Martinez d. 13) Sheryl Lotts, 15-3, 15-2

3) Montserrat Mejia d. 14) Stephanie Synhorst, 15-2, 15-0
11) Jessica Parrilla d. 6) Brenda Laime, 12-15, 15-10, 11-7

7) Natalia Mendez d. 10) Samantha Salas, 15-12, 15-9
2) Maria José Vargas d. 15) Valeria Centellas, 15-6, 15-2

Singles Round of 32

1) Paola Longoria - BYE
17) Annie Sanchez d. 16) Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-14, 15-6

9) Cristina Amaya - BYE
8) Kelani Lawrence - BYE

5) Alexandra Herrera - BYE
12) Lexi York - BYE

13) Sheryl Lotts d. 20) Laura Brandt, 15-4, 15-1
4) Gabriela Martinez - BYE

3) Montserrat Mejia - BYE
14) Stephanie Synhorst d. 19) Susana Acosta, 15-4, 15-10

11) Jessica Parrilla - BYE
6) Brenda Laime - BYE

7) Natalia Mendez - BYE
10) Samantha Salas - BYE

15) Valeria Centellas d. 18) Chanis Leon, 15-6, 15-2
2) Maria José Vargas - BYE

Doubles - Final

3) Valeria Centellas & Maria Jose Vargas d. 4) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas, 15-12, 15-7

Doubles - Semi-finals

4) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas d. 1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia, 15-8, 15-14
3) Valeria Centellas & Maria Jose Vargas d. 7) Sheryl Lotts & Lexi York, 15-11, 15-4

Doubles - Quarterfinals

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 9) Yurisleidis All & Chanis Leon, 15-1, 15-3
4) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas d. 5) Kelani Lawrence & Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-13, 15-9

3) Valeria Centellas & Maria Jose Vargas d. 6) Cristina Amaya & Jessica Parrilla, 15-7, 15-5
7) Sheryl Lotts & Lexi York d. 2) Brenda Laime & Natalia Mendez, 15-14, 15-6

Doubles - Round of 16

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia - BYE
9) Yurisleidis All & Chanis Leon d. 8) Susana Acosta & Stephanie Synhorst, 15-14, 15-5

5) Kelani Lawrence & Maria Renee Rodriguez - BYE
4) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas - BYE

3) Valeria Centellas & Maria Jose Vargas - BYE
6) Cristina Amaya & Jessica Parrilla - BYE

7) Sheryl Lotts & Lexi York - BYE
2) Brenda Laime & Natalia Mendez - BYE

Follow the bouncing ball….

2025 Pan American Racquetball Championships - Medal Summary

The XXXVI Pan American Racquetball Championships wrapped up last weekend in Guatemala City, so it’s time for a review of what happened. Players from four countries took home gold medals. There were two to Argentina, Bolivia and Mexico, and one to Chile.

Carla Muñoz and Alan Natera won Chile’s gold medal in Mixed Doubles. It was the veteran Muñoz’s first gold medal, and the first won by Chile at the Pan American Championships.

Argentina’s Natalia Mendez also won gold in Guatemala, as well as three other medals. A whole set plus one. She won gold in Women’s Doubles with Valeria Centellas, and they were silver medalists in the Women’s Team event, and Mendez was also runner up to Mexican Montserrat Mejia in Women’s Singles. Finally, she got bronze in Mixed Doubles with Gerson Miranda Martinez.

Two athletes won three medals. Conrrado Moscoso of Bolivia won gold in Men’s Doubles with Kadim Carrasco and gold in the Men’s Team event (with Carrasco and Carlos Keller), as well as bronze in Men’s Singles. Alexandra Herrera took home gold in the Women’s Team event (with Mejia and Samantha Salas), as well as silver in Women’s Doubles (with Salas) and bronze in Women’s Singles.

If there were any surprise medalists they might be the Costa Ricans Larissa Faeth and Jimena Gomez, got earned bronze in Women’s Doubles. They defeated Chileans Muñoz and Paula Mansilla in the quarterfinals to get on the podium, losing to Mexican veterans Herrera and Salas in the semi-finals. It’s an impressive result for two teenagers.

Upcoming international events

Racquetball will be contested at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China this August. Racquetball will be played in the second part of the games with play beginning on August 13 and finishing on the last day of the games, August 17.

The World Games will have Men’s and Women’s Singles as well as Mixed Doubles, which is a first. There was doubles racquetball at the first World Games in 1981, but since then only singles has been offered in the games.

The XX Bolivarian Games will be held in Lima, Peru, November 22 to December 7, and the 2025 World Junior Racquetball Championships will be in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in December. The dates haven’t been set for World Juniors yet, and may be influenced by the Bolivarian Games, as some countries may want to send junior athletes to Lima (especially as juniors go up the U21 now), so not want any time conflict with World Juniors.

If you missed any of the action from Guatemala last week, and there were several good matches, check out the International Racquetball Federation YouTube channel for matches.

XXXVI Pan American Racquetball Championships
Guatemala City, Guatemala - April 12-19, 2025

Women's Singles Medalists

Gold: Montserrat Mejia (Mexico)
Silver: Natalia Mendez (Argentina)
Bronze: Lexi York (USA) & Alexandra Herrera (Mexico)

Men's Singles Medalists

Gold: Diego Garcia (Argentina)
Silver: Javier Mar (Mexico)
Bronze: Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia) & Samuel Murray (Canada)

Women's Doubles - Medalists

Gold: Valeria Centellas & Natalia Mendez (Argentina)
Silver: Alexandra Herrera & Samantha Salas (Mexico)
Bronze: Michelle Key & Lexi York (USA) and Larissa Faeth & Jimena Gomez (Costa Rica)

Men's Doubles - Medalists

Gold: Kadim Carrasco & Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia)
Silver: Diego Garcia & Gerson Miranda Martinez (Argentina)
Bronze: Jake Bredenbeck & Sam Bredenbeck (USA) and Andrés Acuña & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica)

Mixed Doubles - Medalists

Gold: Carla Muñoz & Alan Natera (Chile)
Silver: Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala)
Bronze: Rodrigo Montoya & Samantha Salas (Mexico) and Gerson Miranda Martinez & Natalia Mendez (Argentina)

Women's Team - Medalists

Gold: Mexico - Alexandra Herrera, Montserrat Mejia & Samantha Salas
Silver: Argentina - Valeria Centellas & Natalia Mendez
Bronze: Canada - Chloe Jauvin, Frédérique Lambert, Juliette Parent & Ofelia Wilscam
Bronze: USA - Michelle Key & Lexi York

Men's Team - Medalists

Gold: Bolivia - Kadim Carrasco, Carlos Keller & Conrrado Moscoso
Silver: USA - Jake Bredenbeck, Sam Bredenbeck & Thomas Carter
Bronze: Mexico - Sebastian Hernández, Javier Mar, Rodrigo Montoya & Erick Trujillo
Bronze: Costa Rica - Andrés Acuña, Felipe Camacho & Gabriel Garcia

Follow the bouncing ball….

35th IRF World Junior Championships - Medal Summary

Players from seven countries won World Cup medals at the 35th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala last week. Mexican players won medals in all 15 World Cup divisions (Boys & Girls, U21, U18, U16, singles, doubles & mixed doubles).

Bolivia was close behind, as Bolivians won medals in 13 of the 15 World Cup divisions. The two divisions they didn’t medal in were Girls U18 Singles, when the two Bolivians played the two Mexicans in the quarterfinals and Mexico won both matches, and Girls U16 Doubles, which didn’t feature a Bolivian team.

The other countries with medalists were the USA, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Chile and Ecuador.

Medal summary by country

Mexico - 8 gold, 6 silver, 7 bronze
Bolivia - 7 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze
USA - 3 silver, 7 bronze
Costa Rica - 1 silver, 3 bronze
Guatemala - 6 bronze
Chile - 3 bronze
Ecuador - 1 bronze

Multiple medalists

Twenty eight players won multiple medals in Guatemala: 15 girls and 13 boys. Twelve Mexicans won multiple medals, as did six Bolivians, five USA players, three Guatemalans, and one Chilean and one Costa Rican.

Ten players won three medals, so one in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. In U21, Camila Rivero (Bolivia) won two gold and one silver, Ivanna Balderrama (Mexico), won one gold and two bronze, and Erick Trujillo (Mexico), won two gold and one bronze. In U18, Yanna Salazar (Mexico), won one gold, one silver, and one bronze, Naomi Ros (USA) won one silver and two bronze, and Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico), won one gold and two bronze. In U16, Sebastian Ruelas (Mexico) won two gold and one silver, Sebastian Terrazas Tapia (Bolivia) won one gold, one silver and one bronze, and Alvaro Guillen (Costa Rica) won one silver and two bronze. Finally, Adriana Noelia Blacutt Conde (Bolivia) won one gold in U18 and two bronze in U16.

Girls U21
Camila Rivero (Bolivia), gold singles, gold doubles, silver mixed doubles
Ivanna Balderrama (Mexico), bronze singles, bronze doubles, gold mixed doubles
Natalia Mendez Veizaga (Bolivia), gold doubles (& gold U18 doubles)
Angela Veronica Ortega Sabido (Mexico), silver singles, bronze doubles
Annie Sanchez (USA), bronze singles, bronze mixed doubles

Boys U21

Joel Alexis Acha Portugal (Bolivia), gold singles, silver mixed doubles
Sebastian Hernández (Mexico), gold doubles, silver singles
Erick Trujillo (Mexico), gold doubles, gold mixed doubles, bronze singles
Jaime Mansilla (Chile), bronze doubles, bronze mixed doubles

Girls U18

Yanna Salazar (Mexico), gold singles, silver doubles, bronze mixed doubles

Adriana Noelia Blacutt Conde (Bolivia), gold doubles (U16 bronze singles, bronze mixed doubles)
Cynthia Gutierrez (Mexico), silver singles, silver doubles
Naomi Ros (USA), silver mixed doubles, bronze singles, bronze doubles
Paula Aguilar (Guatemala), bronze singles, bronze doubles
Andrea Reyes (Guatemala), bronze doubles, bronze mixed doubles

Boys U18
Nicolas Ramiro Iglesias Rivera (Bolivia), silver singles, gold mixed doubles
Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico), gold doubles, bronze singles, bronze mixed doubles
Eder Renteria (Mexico), gold doubles, bronze singles
Cole Sendrey (USA), silver doubles, silver mixed doubles

Girls U16

Miranda Barraza (Mexico), gold singles, gold doubles
Andrea Perez Picon (Mexico), gold doubles, gold mixed doubles, silver singles
Victoria Rodriguez (USA), silver doubles, bronze mixed doubles
Jamileth Sipac (Guatemala), bronze singles, bronze doubles

Boys U16

Sebastian Ruelas (Mexico), gold doubles, gold mixed doubles, silver singles
Sebastian Terrazas Tapia (Bolivia), gold singles, silver doubles, bronze mixed doubles
Nicolas Galindo (Mexico), gold doubles, bronze singles
Alvaro Guillen (Costa Rica), silver mixed doubles, bronze singles, bronze doubles
Eshan Ali (USA), bronze doubles, bronze mixed doubles

XXXV IRF World Junior Championships 

December 7-14 - Guatemala City, Guatemala

Girls U21 Singles - Medals

GOLD: Camila Rivero (Bolivia)
SILVER: Angela Veronica Ortega Sabido (Mexico)
BRONZE: Ivanna Balderrama (Mexico) & Annie Sanchez (USA)

Girls U21 Doubles - Medals

GOLD: Camila Rivero & Natalia Mendez Veizaga (Bolivia)
SILVER: Fabiana Landy & Maria Angela Villacreses (Ecuador)
BRONZE: Ella Boaz & Annika Fiedler (USA) & Angela Veronica Ortega Sabido & Ivanna Balderrama (Mexico)

Boys U21 Singles - Medals

GOLD: Joel Alexis Acha Portugal (Bolivia)
SILVER: Sebastian Hernández (Mexico)
BRONZE: Erick Trujillo (Mexico) & Hector Barrios (Bolivia)

Boys U21 Doubles - Medals

GOLD: Sebastian Hernández & Erick Trujillo (Mexico)
SILVER: Luis Aguilar & Adrian Jaldin Lobo (Bolivia)
BRONZE: Oscar Montejo & Antonio Sanchez (Costa Rica) & Diego Gatica & Jaime Mansilla (Chile)

Mixed Doubles U21 - Medals

GOLD: Ivanna Balderrama & Erick Trujillo (Mexico)
SILVER: Jhoel Alexis Acha Portugal & Camila Rivero (Bolivia)
BRONZE: Jaime Mansilla & Paula Mansilla (Chile) & Iain Dunn & Annie Sanchez (USA)

Girls U18 Singles - Medals

GOLD: Yanna Salazar (Mexico)
SILVER: Cynthia Gutierrez (Mexico)
BRONZE: Naomi Ros (USA) & Paula Aguilar (Guatemala)

Girls U18 Doubles - Medals

GOLD: Natalia Mendez Veizaga & Adriana Noelia Blacutt Conde (Bolivia)
SILVER: Cynthia Gutierrez & Yanna Salazar (Mexico)
BRONZE: Ava Kaiser & Naomi Ros (USA) & Andrea Reyes & Paula Aguilar (Guatemala)

Boys U18 Singles - Medals

GOLD: Jhonatan Flores (Bolivia)
SILVER: Nicolas Ramiro Iglesias Rivera (Bolivia)
BRONZE: Eder Renteria (Mexico) & Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico)

Boys U18 Doubles - Medals

GOLD: Jorge Gutierrez & Eder Renteria (Mexico)
SILVER: DJ Mendoza & Cole Sendrey (USA)
BRONZE: Miguel Anduari Segundo Ramos & Matias Arnez (Bolivia) & Christian Aldana & Jose Caceras (Guatemala)

Mixed Doubles U18 - Medals

GOLD: Nicolás Iglesias & Florencia Villain Chalco (Bolivia)
SILVER: Naomi Ros & Cole Sendrey (USA)
BRONZE: Jose Caceres & Andreas Reyes (Guatemala) & Jorge Gutierrez & Yanna Salazar (Mexico)

Girls U16 Singles - Medals

GOLD: Miranda Barraza (Mexico)
SILVER: Andrea Perez Picon (Mexico)
BRONZE: Jamileth Sipac (Guatemala) & Adriana Noella Blacutt Conde (Bolivia)

Girls U16 Doubles - Medals

GOLD: Miranda Barraza & Andrea Perez Picon (Mexico)
SILVER: Victoria Rodriguez & Montserrat Torres (USA)
BRONZE: Jamileth Sipac & Isabella Wer (Guatemala) & Catalina Guzman & Clarita Vivar (Chile)

Boys U16 Singles - Medals

GOLD: Sebastian Terrazas Tapia (Bolivia)
SILVER: Sebastian Ruelas (Mexico)
BRONZE: Nicolas Galindo (Mexico) & Alvaro Guillen (Costa Rica)

Boys U16 Doubles - Medals

GOLD: Nicolas Galindo & Sebastian Ruelas (Mexico)
SILVER: Bismarck Pereira & Sebastian Terrazas Tapia (Bolivia)
BRONZE: Alvaro Guillen & Marcelo García Sanchez (Costa Rica) & Eshan Ali & Nathan Rykhus (USA)

Mixed Doubles U16 - Medals

GOLD: Andrea Perez Picon & Sebastian Ruelas (Mexico)
SILVER: Larissa Faeth & Alvaro Guillen (Costa Rica)
BRONZE: Eshan Ali & Victoria Rodriguez (USA) & Adriana Noella Blacutt Conde & Sebastian Terrazas Tapia (Bolivia)

Follow the bouncing ball....

A review of the 2024 IRF World Championships

Let’s review what went down last week at the 22nd International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in San Antonio, Texas. It was the first World Championships in the USA since 1996, when they were held in Phoenix. That year American players swept the individual events, but Canada won the Men’s Team event with the USA taking the Women’s event, as well as the overall team title.

This year Canada almost won the Men’s Team event also, except the USA - their long time rival - pipped them in the final. And Mexico won the Women’s Team event, which was their 7th consecutive women’s title.

Five players won three medals at Worlds. American Daniel De La Rosa won three gold medals: singles, mixed doubles and the men's team event. Mexican Montserrat Mejia won gold in doubles and the women's team event, and silver in mixed doubles. Maria Jose Vargas of Argentina got silver in doubles and the women's team event, and bronze in singles. Mexican Eduardo Portillo got silver in doubles, and bronze in singles and the men's team event. Finally, Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala got silver in singles, and bronze in doubles and the women's team event.

Ten players won two medals at Worlds highlighted by Mexicans Paola Longoria and Alexandra Herrera, who won gold in singles and doubles, respectively, as well as the women’s team event.

Overall, players from eight countries won medals with six countries winning more than one. Surprisingly, Bolivia, which has become one of the top racquetball countries, didn’t have a player reach a final in San Antonio, and went home with four bronze medals in mixed doubles, the women’s team event, as well as men’s singles and men’s doubles, so every Bolivian did earn a medal with Angélica Barrios and Conrrado Moscoso getting two.

Notably, Chilean Carla Muñoz won her first medal at Worlds in a decade, as she took bronze in singles, which was her first singles medal. Her previous two medals at Worlds came in doubles in 2014 and 2012.

The next IRF event is the World Junior Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala, December 6-14, 2024. The 2025 Pan American Championships will be April 12-19, although the location has yet to be announced.

22nd IRF World Championships
August 24-31, 2024 - San Antonio, Texas, United States

Men's Singles

GOLD: Daniel De La Rosa (USA)
SILVER: Jake Bredenbeck (USA)
BRONZE: Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) / Carlos Keller (Bolivia)

Women's Singles

GOLD: Paola Longoria (Mexico)
SILVER: Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala)
BRONZE: Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) / Carla Muñoz (Chile)

Men's Doubles

GOLD: Coby Iwaasa & Samuel Murray (Canada)
SILVER: Andree Parrilla & Eduardo Portillo (Mexico)
BRONZE: Kadim Carrasco & Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia) / Sebastian Fernandez & Adam Manilla (USA)

Women's Doubles

GOLD: Monserrat Mejia & Alexandra Herrera (Mexico)
SILVER: Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina)
BRONZE: Maria Renee Rodriguez & Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) / Frédérique Lambert & Juliette Parent (Canada)

Mixed Doubles

GOLD: Daniel De La Rosa & Hollie Scott (USA)
SILVER: Javier Mar & Monserrat Mejia (Mexico)
BRONZE: Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) / Angelica Barrios & Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia)

Men's Team

GOLD: USA - Jake Bredenbeck, Daniel De La Rosa, Sebastian Fernandez & Adam Manilla
SILVER: Canada - Kurtis Cullen, Coby Iwaasa, Samuel Murray & Trevor Webb
BRONZE: Mexico - Javier Mar, Andree Parrilla & Eduardo Portillo
BRONZE: Costa Rica - Andrés Acuña & Gabriel Garcia

Women's Team

GOLD: Mexico - Alexandra Herrera, Paola Longoria & Monserrat Mejia
SILVER: Argentina - Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas
BRONZE: USA - Michelle Key, Kelani Lawrence & Hollie Scott
BRONZE: Bolivia - Angelica Barrios, Jenny Daza & Camila Rivero

Overall Team

GOLD: Mexico - Alexandra Herrera, Paola Longoria, Javier Mar, Monserrat Mejia, Andree Parrilla & Eduardo Portillo
SILVER: USA - Jake Bredenbeck, Daniel De La Rosa, Sebastian Fernandez, Michelle Key, Kelani Lawrence, Adam Manilla, & Hollie Scott
BRONZE: Canada - Kurtis Cullen, Coby Iwaasa, Frédérique Lambert, Samuel Murray, Juliette Parent, Danielle Ramsay & Trevor Webb
4th: Argentina - Diego Garcia, Gerson Miranda Martinez, Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas

Follow the bouncing ball....

Medal summary for 2023 IRF World Junior Championships

The 34th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championships wrapped up on Saturday in Tarija, Bolivia, and we have a summary of all the players who reached the podium in Tarija.

Several players were on the podium multiple times, so left Tarija with more than one medal. Nine players earned three medals: four Mexicans, two Americans, two Ecuadorans and one Bolivian. None of the nine was a triple gold medalist, and only Mexican Diego Gastelum two gold medals of his three.

Seventeen players earned two medals: seven Bolivians, five Mexicans, one Argentine, one American, one Chilean, one Costa Rican, and one Ecuadoran. Five of those Bolivians were double gold medalists.

Triple medalists

Diego Gastelum (MEX): Gold - Boys U21 Singles, Gold - Boys U21 Doubles, Silver - Mixed Doubles U21
Luis Aguilar (BOL): Silver - Boys U21 Singles, Silver - Boys U21 Doubles, Gold - Mixed Doubles U21
Eder Renteria (MEX): Silver - Boys U16 Singles, Silver - Boys U16 Doubles, Gold - Mixed Doubles U16
Jorge Gutierrez Ortiz (MEX): Bronze - Boys U18 Singles, Gold - Boys U18 Doubles, Silver - Mixed Doubles U18
Yanna Salazar (MEX): Silver - Girls U16 Singles, Bronze - Girls U16 Doubles, Gold - Mixed Doubles U16
Sonya Shetty (USA): Bronze - Girls U16 Singles, Silver - Girls U16 Doubles, Bronze - Mixed Doubles U16
Martin Carchi (ECU): Bronze - Boys U16 Singles, Bronze - Boys U16 Doubles, Bronze - Mixed Doubles U18
Naomi Ros (USA): Bronze - Girls U18 Singles, Bronze - Girls U18 Doubles, Bronze - Mixed Doubles U18
Ana Lucia Sarmiento (ECU): Bronze - Girls U21 Singles, Bronze - Girls U21 Doubles, Bronze - Mixed Doubles U21

Double medalists

Camila Rivero (BOL): Gold - Girls U21 Singles, Gold - Girls U18 Singles
Marco Mamani Aguilar (BOL): Gold - Boys U16 Singles, Gold - Boys U16 Doubles
Natalia Mendez Veizaga (BOL): Gold - Girls U16 Singles, Gold - Girls U16 Doubles
Micaela Meneses (BOL): Gold - Girls U21 Doubles, Gold - Mixed Doubles U21
Valeria Miranda Martinez (BOL): Gold - Girls U18 Doubles, Gold - Mixed Doubles U18

Luis Renteria (MEX): Silver - Boys U18 Singles, Gold Boys U18 Doubles
Kristin Salinas (BOL): Gold - Girls U21 Doubles, Silver - Girls U18 Singles

Nicolás Iglesias (BOL): Bronze - Boys U18 Doubles, Gold - Mixed Doubles U18

Maria Gutierrez (MEX): Silver - Girls U21 Doubles, Silver - Mixed Doubles U21

Nicolas Galindo (MEX): Bronze - Boys U16 Singles, Silver - Boys U16 Doubles
Martina Katz (ARG): Silver - Girls U21 Singles, Bronze - Girls U21 Doubles
Leonela Osorio (MEX): Bronze - Girls U21 Singles, Silver - Girls U21 Doubles
Ivanna Balderrama (MEX): Bronze - Girls U18 Doubles, Silver - Mixed Doubles U18
Cole Sendrey (USA): Silver - Boys U18 Doubles, Bronze - Mixed Doubles U18

Esteban De Janon (ECU): Bronze: Boys U21 Doubles, Bronze - Mixed Doubles U21
Jaime Mansilla (CHI): Bronze: Boys U21 Singles, Bronze - Mixed Doubles U21
Antonio Sanchez (CRC): Bronze - Boys U18 Singles, Bronze Boys U18 Doubles

If you missed any of the action from Tarija, check out the matches that were streamed live from Bolivia via the IRF YouTube channel.

34rd IRF World Junior Championships 

November 11-18, 2023 - Tarija, Bolivia

Girls U21 Singles

Gold: Camila Rivero (Bolivia)
Silver: Martina Katz (Argentina)
Bronze: Leonela Osorio (Mexico), Ana Lucia Sarmiento (Ecuador)

Girls U21 Doubles

Gold: Micaela Meneses & Kristin Salinas (Bolivia)
Silver: Maria Gutierrez & Leonela Osorio (Mexico)
Bronze: Fabiana Landy & Ana Lucia Sarmiento (Ecuador), Sabrina Flores & Martina Katz (Argentina)

Boys U21 Singles

Gold: Diego Gastelum (Mexico)
Silver: Luis Aguilar (Bolivia)
Bronze: Jhoel Alexis Acha Portugal (Bolivia), Jaime Mansilla (Chile)

Boys U21 Doubles

Gold: Oscar Elias Nieto Validez & Diego Gastelum (Mexico)
Silver: Luis Aguilar & Adrian Jaldin Lobo (Bolivia)
Bronze: Josue Bermeo & Esteban De Janon (Ecuador), Iain Dunn & Paul Saraceno (USA)

Mixed Doubles U21

Gold: Luis Aguilar & Micaela Meneses (Bolivia)
Silver: Maria Gutierrez & Diego Gastelum (Mexico)
Bronze: Esteban De Janon & Ana Lucia Sarmiento (Ecuador), Jaime Nicolas Mansilla & Paula Javiera Mansilla (Chile)

Girls U18 Singles

Gold: Camila Rivero (Bolivia)
Silver: Kristin Salinas (Bolivia)
Naomi Ros (USA), Angela Ortega (Mexico)

Girls U18 Doubles

Gold: Rebecca Amaya & Valeria Miranda Martinez (Bolivia)
Silver: Heather Mahoney & Naomi Ros (USA)
Bronze: Andrea Reyes Perez & Anna Paula Aguilar Salvatierra (Guatemala), Cynthia Gutierrez & Ivanna Balderrama (Mexico)

Boys U18 Singles

Gold: Jhonatan Flores (Bolivia)
Silver: Luis Renteria (Mexico)
Bronze: Jorge Gutierrez Ortiz (Mexico), Antonio Sanchez (Costa Rica)

Boys U18 Doubles

Gold: Jorge Gutierrez Ortiz & Luis Renteria (Mexico)
Silver: Vedant Chauhan & Cole Sendrey (USA)
Bronze: Hernán Ruiz Michel & Nicolás Iglesias (Bolivia), Oscar Montejo & Antonio Sanchez (Costa Rica)

Mixed Doubles U18

Gold: Nicolás Iglesias & Valeria Miranda Martinez (Bolivia)
Silver: Ivanna Balderrama & Jorge Gutierrez Ortiz (Mexico)
Bronze: Naomi Ros & Cole Sendrey (USA), Martin Carchi & Maria Angela Villacreses (Ecuador)

Girls U16 Singles

Gold: Natalia Mendez Veizaga (Bolivia)
Silver: Yanna Salazar (Mexico)
Bronze: Sonya Shetty (USA), Sofia Verónica Argandoña Moscoso (Bolivia)

Girls U16 Doubles

Gold: Adriana Noelia Blacutt Conde & Natalia Mendez Veizaga (Bolivia)
Silver: Victoria Rodriguez & Sonya Shetty (USA)
Bronze: Andrea Marquez & Yanna Salazar (Mexico)

Boys U16 Singles

Gold: Marco Mamani Aguilar (Bolivia)
Silver: Eder Renteria (Mexico)
Bronze: Nicolas Galindo (Mexico), Martin Carchi (Ecuador)

Boys U16 Doubles

Gold: Marco Mamani Aguilar & Bismarck Pereira (Bolivia)
Silver: Nicolas Galindo & Eder Renteria (Mexico)
Bronze: Martin Carchi & Juan David Zea Cueva (Ecuador), Benjamin Andre Aguirre Fuentes & Ruben Igor (Chile)

Mixed Doubles U16

Gold: Eder Renteria & Yanna Salazar (Mexico)
Silver: Gabriela Diaz Fernández & Marco Antonio Vedia Rosales (Bolivia)
Bronze: Eshan Ali & Sonya Shetty (USA), Raphël Guillemette & Chloé Jauvin (Canada)

Follow the bouncing ball....

Medal summary for 2023 Pan American Games

The racquetball competition of the 2023 Pan American Games concluded two weeks ago in Santiago, Chile, so it’s way past time for us to summarize what all happened in Chile. Four nations took home gold medals, which was twice as many as in the last games. The addition of Mixed Doubles meant there was one more racquetball event than at any other games, so there were more medals to win. Nonetheless, the overall results show how competitive racquetball has become. It’s a long way from the 1990s Pan American Games, when the USA swept gold and Canada took most of the silver.

Bolivia won two gold medals in Santiago, which was one better than they did four years ago in Lima, Peru, where they won gold in the Men’s Team event. They successfully defended that medal, and added another when Conrrado Moscoso defeated his team-mate Carlos Keller in the Men’s Singles final.

Bolivia got three other medals: Keller got silver in Men’s Singles, Moscoso and Angelica Barrios got bronze in Mixed Doubles and Barrios also got bronze in Women’s Doubles. Those five medals were all the medals that Team Bolivia, as a whole, took home from Santiago.

Mexico topped the medal table for the fourth consecutive games, getting three gold, one silver and five bronze medals. Also for the fourth consecutive games, Paola Longoria won gold in Women’s Singles defeating her team-mate, and perhaps heir apparent, Montserrat Mejia. Longoria, 34, was quoted as saying she was uncertain whether she would play in another Pan Am Games, but her record at the games has been impeccable.

Mexicans Javier Mar and Rodrigo Montoya successfully defended their Men’s Doubles gold medal from four years ago, beating Canadians Coby Iwaasa and Samuel Murray in the final. That was Canada’s first Pan Am Games final since 2003, when Mike Green was in the Men’s Singles final.

Mexico’s third gold medal was in the Women’s Team event, which they have won each time since team events were re-introduced at Pan Am Games in 2011. The final against Argentina came down to the third match, which was doubles with Alexandra Herrera and Mejia defeating Natalia Mendez and Maria Jose Vargas.

Vargas looked distraught on the podium during the Women’s Team event medal ceremony. However, it was her 4th medal from the games - two silver and two bronze, which were more than anyone else earned. But none of them were gold.

At international events, when closely matched players or doubles teams play each other in the individual events and then again in the team event often the matches will be split. Mendez and Vargas beat Herrera and Mejia in the Women’s Doubles semi-final, but lost in the re-match in the team event. Similarly, Mexicans Mar and Montoya beat Canadians Iwaasa and Murray in the Men’s Doubles final, but in the Men’s Team event semi-finals, the Canadians won.

Finally, the first Pan American Games Mixed Doubles gold medal went to American siblings Adam Manilla and Erika Manilla, but it wasn’t the first time siblings had won gold at the Pan Ams. American twin sisters Joy MacKenzie and Jackie Paraiso won Women’s Doubles gold twice: in 1995, the first time racquetball was in the games, and again in 1999.

Matches on replay

You can watch some of the finals from Santiago via the Pan Am Sports Channel. The production was very good, although the commentary not always so good. Still it’s worth watching.

The 2027 Pan American Games will be Barranquilla, Colombia. Barranquilla was the site of the 2019 Pan American Championships, so there are racquetball courts there. Thus, we are hopeful that racquetball will once again be included in the Pan American Games.

2023 Pan American Games - Medal Summary
Santiago, Chile

Country - Gold - Silver - Bronze - Total

1. Mexico - 3 - 1 - 5 = 9
2. Bolivia - 2 - 1 - 2 = 5
3. Independent Athletes - 1 - 0 - 2 = 3
3. USA - 1 - 0 - 2 = 3
5. Argentina - 0 - 3 - 1 = 3
6. Canada - 0 - 2 - 0 = 2
7. Costa Rica - 0 - 0 - 2 = 2

Men’s Singles

GOLD - Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia)
SILVER - Carlos Keller (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Eduardo Portillo (Mexico), Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)

Women’s Singles

GOLD - Paola Longoria (Mexico)
SILVER - Montserrat Mejia (Mexico)
BRONZE - Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica), Maria José Vargas (Argentina)

Men’s Doubles

GOLD - Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
SILVER - Coby Iwaasa & Samuel Murray (Canada)
BRONZE - Andrés Acuña & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica), Edwin Galicia & Juan Salvatierra (EAI)

Women’s Doubles

GOLD - Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (EAI)

SILVER - Natalia Mendez & Maria José Vargas (Argentina)
BRONZE - Angelica Barrios & Jenny Daza (Bolivia), Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia (Mexico)

Mixed Doubles

GOLD - Adam Manilla & Erica Manilla (USA)
SILVER - Diego Garcia & Maria José Vargas (Argentina)
BRONZE - Paola Longoria & Eduardo Portillo (Mexico), Angelica Barrios & Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia)

Men’s Team

GOLD - Bolivia - Carlos Keller, Conrrado Moscoso, Kadim Carrasco
SILVER - Canada - Coby Iwaasa, Samuel Murray
BRONZE - Mexico - Javier Mar, Rodrigo Montoya, Edurardo Portillo
BRONZE - USA - Daniel De La Rosa, Alejandro Landa, Adam Manilla

Women’s Team

GOLD - Mexico - Montserrat Mejia, Paola Longoria, Alexandra Herrera
SILVER - Argentina - Maria José Vargas, Natalia Mendez
BRONZE - USA - Michelle Key, Erika Manilla
BRONZE - Independent Athletes - Gabriela Martinez, Maria Renee Rodriguez

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….

Bolivia tops team standings at 2019 IRF World Junior Champinoships

Bolivia topped both the Boy’s and Girl’s Team standings, so the Overall Team standings as well at the 2019 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships last week in San José, Costa Rica. Mexico was 2nd and the USA 3rd in both Boy’s and Girl’s and Overall standings.

Costa Rica came 4th overall with their highest point total (1136) since 2014 (1092), and maybe their highest ever, which perhaps proves it helps to play at home. It certainly helped Pablo Freer and Tomas Sanchez, who won Boy’s U18 Doubles, and Maricruz Ortiz, who won Girl’s U16 Singles.

Bolivians Angelica Barrios and Gerson Miranda ended their junior years on a high, winning Girl’s and Boy’s U18 Singles, respectively. Barrios also won Girl’s U18 Doubles with Valeria Centellas, who was runner up to Barrios in her first year of 18 singles play.

Hector Barrios of Bolivia was the only boy to win gold in both singles and doubles. He beat Mexican Sebastian Longoria in the Boy’s U16 Singles final and with Adrian Jaldin defeated the USA’s Nikhill Prasad and Timothy Hansen in the Boy’s U16 Doubles final.

Shout out to the Cubans Suniaris Rodriguez and Loraine Felipe, who earned bronze medals in Girl’s U16 Doubles. Those are the first medals for Cuba at World Juniors as far as we know.

Also a shout out to Ireland’s Daniel Hanrahan and Keelan O’Gorman, who were the first Irish players in an IRF World Junior final in over 20 years, when they played for gold in Boy’s U14 Doubles. They lost to Mexico’s Luis Renteria and Jorge Gutierrez, but it’s a big achievement nonetheless.

The IRF streamed several of the matches from San José, so if you want see them, check out their Facebook page). The next international event will be the Pan American Championships April 4-12, 2020, but the site is still to be determined. Bolivia was mentioned as a possibility during one of the matches from San José, but given the domestic unrest there right now, we’re not sure if that will be the host nation.

31st IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
San José, Costa Rica - November 9-16, 2019

Boy’s Team Standings

1. Bolivia - 1080
2. Mexico - 872
3. USA - 654
4. Costa Rica - 636
5. Ecuador - 492
6. Guatemala - 318
7. Colombia - 270
8. Chile - 254
9. Canada - 242
10. Argentina - 238
11. Ireland - 192
12. Korea - 114

Girl’s Team Standings

1. Bolivia - 1220
2. Mexico - 896
3. USA - 800
4. Costa Rica - 500
5. Ecuador - 324
6. Canada - 286
7. Guatemala - 256
8. Cuba - 188
9. Argentina - 168
10. Chile - 96
11. Ireland - 88

Overall Team Standings

1. Bolivia - 2300
2. Mexico - 1768
3. USA - 1454
4. Costa Rica - 1136
5. Ecuador - 816
6. Guatemala - 574
7. Canada - 528
8. Argentina - 406
9. Chile - 350
10. Ireland - 280
11. Chile - 270
12. Cuba - 188
13. Korea - 114

U18 Girl's Singles

GOLD: Angelica Barrios (Bolivia)
SILVER: Valeria Centellas (Bolivia)
BRONZE: Martina Katz (Argentina) & Ana Sarmiento (Ecuador)

U16 Girl's Singles

GOLD: Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica)
SILVER: Micaela Meneses (Bolivia)
BRONZE: Annie Roberts (USA) & Ximena Martinez (Mexico)

U14 Girl's Singles

GOLD: Heather Mahoney (USA)
SILVER: Angela Ortega (Mexico)
BRONZE: Camila Rivero (Bolivia) & Ava Kaiser (USA)

U18 Boy's Singles

GOLD: Gerson Miranda (Bolivia)
SILVER: Tomas Sanchez (Costa Rica)
BRONZE: Diego Garcia (Argentina) & Jose Ramos (Mexico)

U16 Boy's Singles

GOLD: Hector Barrios (Bolivia)
SILVER: Sebastian Longoria (Mexico)
BRONZE: Timothy Hansen (USA) & Adrian Jaldin (Bolivia)

U14 Boy's Singles

GOLD: Jhonatan Flores (Bolivia)
SILVER: Nikhil Prasad (USA)
BRONZE: Hector Sierra (Guatemala) & Juan Rodriguez (Colombia)

U18 Boy's Doubles

GOLD: Pablo Freer & Tomas Sanchez (Costa Rica)
SILVER: Esteban De Janon & Juan Flores (Ecuador)
BRONZE: Diego Garcia & Tomas Oyhanart (Argentina) and Emir Martinez & Jose Ramos (Mexico)

U16 Boy's Doubles

GOLD: Hector Barrios & Adrian Jaldin (Bolivia)
SILVER: Nikhill Prasad & Timothy Hansen (USA)
BRONZE: Josue Bermeo & Pablo Vera (Ecuador) and Sebastian Longoria & Erick Trujillo (Mexico)

U14 Boy's Doubles

GOLD: Luis Renteria & Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico)
SILVER: Daniel Hanrahan & Keelan O’Gorman (Ireland)
BRONZE: Juan Rodriguez & Duvan Torres (Colombia) and Jhonatan Flores & Ezequiel Subieta (Bolivia)

U18 Girl's Doubles

GOLD: Angelica Barrios & Valeria Centellas (Bolivia)
SILVER: Marifer Gutierrez & Anna Rivera (Mexico)
BRONZE: Fabiana Landy & Ana Sarmiento (Ecuador) and Nikita Chauhan & Erin Slutzky (USA)

U16 Girl's Doubles

GOLD: Micaela Meneses & Camila Rivero (Bolivia)
SILVER: Guadalupe Griffin & Ximena Martinez (Mexico)
BRONZE: Sofia Freer & Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica) and Suniaris Rodriguez & Loraine Felipe (Cuba)

U14 Girl's Doubles

GOLD: Valeria Miranda & Krystin Salinas (Bolivia)
SILVER: Gisele Nieto & Angela Ortega (Mexico)
BRONZE: Anna Aguilar & Andrea Reyes (Guatemala) and Ava Kaiser & Kareena Mathew (USA)

Follow the bouncing ball….