The Pan American Racquetball Championships are held annually in the spring with play ending on the day before Easter. Originally called the Tournament of the Americas, the Pan American Championships are hosted by the Pan American Racquetball Confederation. [1]
The 2024 Pan American Championships were held in Guatemala City, Guatemala, March 23 to March 30, 2024. Mexican Rodrigo Montoya won men's singles, and Argentina's Maria Jose Vargas won women's singles. Costa Ricans Andrés Acuña and Gabriel Garica won men's doubles while Vargas and Natalia Mendez won women's doubles. The 2024 championships also had a team event, which was won by Mexico on the men's side and Argentina on the women's side.
The 2022 Pan American Championships were the first to use rally scoring, which was adopted by the International Racquetball Federation in early 2022. [2] Also, mixed doubles and men's and Women's Team competitions were implemented for the first time. In the team competitions, countries compete head-to-head over three matches: two singles matches and a doubles match. Argentina and Bolivia were the first team champions: Argentina winning the women's team competition and Bolivia the men's team competition. Mexicans Rodrigo Montoya and Samantha Salas were the first mixed doubles Pan American Champions.
The 2022 competition was the first in three years, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 tournaments. [3] The competition was not held in two years previously. In 1995, the Pan Am Games were held in the spring, so that year's Tournament of the Americas (as the competition was then known) was not held. In 2000, the competition was cancelled due to the civil unrest in Bolivia, which was to host the event.
| Country | Men's singles | Women's singles | Men's doubles | Women's doubles | Mixed doubles | Total |
 United States | 13 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 67 |
 Mexico | 8 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 39 |
 Canada | 8 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
 Bolivia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
 Argentina | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Year | Men's Team | Women's Team |
| 2024 | Mexico [27] | Argentina [28] |
| 2022 | Bolivia [29] | Argentina [30] |
| Champion | Singles Titles | Doubles Titles | Total |
| Álvaro Beltrán | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Bill Sell | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Javier Moreno | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Conrrado Moscoso | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Polo Gutierrez | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Rodrigo Montoya | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Sherman Greenfeld | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Mike Green | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Daniel de la Rosa | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Alejandro Landa | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Adam Karp | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Mike Guidry | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Carlos Keller | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Chris Cole | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Ruben Gonzalez | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Jack Huczek | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Doug Ganim | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ricardo Monroy | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Todd O'Neil | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Champion | Singles Titles | Doubles Titles | Total |
| Paola Longoria | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| Jackie Paraiso | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| Samantha Salas | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Rhonda Rajsich | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Michelle Gould | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Cheryl Gudinas Holmes | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| María José Vargas | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Susana Acosta | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Laura Fenton | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Aimee Ruiz | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Robin Levine | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Kim Russell | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Joy MacKenzie | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Angélica Barrios | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Alexandra Herrera | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Natalia Mendez | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Lori-Jane Powell | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Malia Kamahoahoa Bailey | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Rosy Torres | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Rhonda Rajsich is an American racquetball player. She has been World Champion in Women's Singles twice, and Pan American Champion 6 times, as well as US Open champion four times. Rajsich was the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour season ending rankings four times – three straight seasons from 2005–06 to 2007-08 and then again in 2010–11. She is of Serbian descent.
Paola Michelle Longoria López is a Mexican racquetball player. She is the current Women's World Champion in both Singles and Doubles, winning both divisions at the 2022 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in San Luis Potosi. Longoria is the winningest player in IRF World Championship history, and she is the only woman to win both singles and doubles at Worlds. Longoria is also the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) tour, and was the first Mexican woman to attain the #1 pro ranking, doing so at the end of the 2008–09 season. She repeated the feat at the end of 2009–2010 season, and has been #1 for ten consecutive seasons. Longoria's style is characterized by a semi-western grip of the racquet, which is unusual for racquetball; Longoria is the only pro player using this grip style.
Samantha Salas Solís is a Mexican racquetball player. Salas is the current World Champion in both Women's Doubles - winning that title for a fifth time with Paola Longoria at the 2022 World Championships in San Luis Potosí, Mexico - and Mixed Doubles with Rodrigo Montoya. She is also the current Pan American Games Champion in Women's Doubles, winning that title with Longoria for a third consecutive time in 2019 in Lima. Salas was the second Mexican woman to finish in the top 10 rankings on the women's pro tour, doing so at the end of the 2006–07 season. Salas was ranked 3rd at the end of the 2019-20 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season, which was her tenth season in the top 10.
Jose Rojas is a professional racquetball player. Rojas's highest ranking is #3 on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), which he was at the end of the 2011–12 season. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Rojas was #6, which was his sixth time in the IRT top 10 at season's end. Rojas has represented the USA several times in international competition, and been a gold medalist three times.
María José Vargas is a Bolivian-born Argentine racquetball player. She is the current Pan American Champion in Women's Singles, as well as the Women's Team event. Vargas is also the current South American Racquetball Champion in Women's Singles and Doubles. Vargas has eight wins on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT), and has finished in the top 10 seven times - five of those were within the top three with her career best coming in 2014-15, when she finished #2.
The International Racquetball Federation's 17th Racquetball World Championships were held in Burlington, Ontario, Canada from June 14 to 21, 2014. This was the second time Worlds were in Canada. Previously, they were in Montreal in 1992.
Frédérique Lambert is a Canadian racquetball player. Lambert is the current Canadian Champion in Women's Singles and Women's Doubles, and has won nine Canadian Championships: five in Women's Singles and four in Women's Doubles. She has been a member of the Canadian National Team since 2008, and has won several medals in international competitions, including a silver medal in Mixed Doubles at the 2022 World Championships. Lambert was the #2 ranked player in back to back Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) seasons: 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Gabriela Martinez is a Guatemalan racquetball player. Martinez is the current Pan American Games Champion in women's doubles. She is a former International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in the women's singles, winning the title at the 2018 World Championships. Martinez has competed on the Guatemala National Team at international tournaments since 2012, garnering many medals across her career.
Natalia Mendez is a Bolivian-born Argentine racquetball player. She is the current South American Champion in Women's Doubles and the current Pan American Champion in Women's Doubles and the Women's Team event, winning those titles with Maria Jose Vargas. Mendez has also medaled at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships as well as the Pan American Games.
Conrrado Moscoso is a Bolivian racquetball player. He is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) Men's Singles World Champion, which he won at the 2022 Racquetball World Championships in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Moscoso is the first Bolivian and first South American man to win an IRF World Championship in singles. Moscoso is also the current two time Pan American Champion in Men's Singles as well as the Pan American Champion in Mixed Doubles. He also won gold in Men's Singles at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, as well as helping Bolivia to successfully defend the Men's Team gold medal they first won at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, which was the first gold medal won by Bolivia in any sport at the Pan American Games. Moscoso has also won multiple times on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), including the 2022 US Open, and been in the IRT top 10 for four seasons beginning in 2019–20.
Carlos Keller is a Bolivian racquetball player. Keller was on the Bolivian Men's Team that won back to back gold medals at the Pan American Games in 2019 and 2023. Their first gold medal at the 2019 games in Lima, Peru was Bolivia's first racquetball gold medal at the Pan Am Games, and they successfully defended that gold at the 2023 Games in Santiago, Chile. He was also part of the Bolivian men's team that won gold at the 2022 Pan American Racquetball Championships, which was Keller's third gold medal at Pan Am Championships to go with his two Men's Singles titles, won in 2018 and 2019.
Mario Mercado is a Bolivian-born Colombian racquetball player. He has won several medals for Colombia, highlighted by a silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in the men's team event. He has also won on the International Racquetball Tour.
Rodrigo Montoya is a Mexican racquetball player. He is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in both the Men's Team competition and Mixed Doubles, winning those titles at the 2022 Championships in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. That was his 4th IRF World Championship, as he won the 2018 Men's Singles in Costa Rica and the 2021 Men's Doubles with Javier Mar in Guatemala City, so Montoya is the first player to win singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Worlds. He is also the current Pan American Games champion in both Men's Singles and Doubles with Mar, winning those events at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima. Montoya is also the current Pan American Champion in Men's Singles and the Men's Team event, winning those titles at the 2024 Pan American Racquetball Championships in Guatemala City.
The 2022 Pan American Championships were held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, April 9-16. Bolivian Angélica Barrios won Women's Singles and fellow Bolivian Conrrado Moscoso won Men's Singles, and both Barrios and Moscoso won for the first time. Barrios's victory was the first for a Bolivian woman at Pan Am Championships, while Moscoso's win was the third consecutive Bolivian gold in Men's Singles, as Carlos Keller won the previous two events.
Angélica Barrios is a Bolivian racquetball player. Barrios is the current Pan American Champion in Mixed Doubles, winning the title at the 2023 Pan American Racquetball Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and a former Pan Am Champion in Women's Singles. She is also the first Bolivian to win a medal at the World Games, as she won bronze at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama.
The International Racquetball Federation's 21st Racquetball World Championships were held at the La Loma Centro Deportivo in San Luis Potosí, Mexico from August 20–27, 2022.
The 2023 Pan American Championships were held in Guatemala City, Guatemala, April 1–8. Bolivian Conrrado Moscoso won Men's Singles for the second consecutive year, and Montserrat Mejia won Women's Singles for the first time. Moscoso's win was the fourth consecutive Bolivian gold in Men's Singles, as Carlos Keller won the two events prior to Moscoso. Mejia is the second Mexican woman to win Women's Singles after Paola Longoria.
Montserrat Mejía is a Mexican racquetball player. She finished #1 on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour in 2022–23, becoming the second Mexican to do so after Paola Longoria. Mejía is the current Pan American Champion in both Women's Singles and Doubles.
Alexandra Herrera is a Mexican racquetball player. She is the current Pan American Champion in Women's Doubles. A left-handed player, Herrera has been the #2 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour in 2020-21 and again in 2021–22, two of her eight seasons in the LPRT top 10.
Erika Manilla is an American racquetball player. Manilla is the current Pan American Games Champion in Mixed Doubles, winning gold with her brother Adam at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. She also won doubles at the 2022 US Open Racquetball Championships with Natalia Mendez, and has won six USA Racquetball (USAR) National titles.
