Racquetball at the Pan American Games | |
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No. of events | 7 (men: 3; women: 3; mixed: 1) |
Racquetball has been part of the Pan American Games since 1995 Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina, although it was not included in the 2007 Games. Racquetball was again included in the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Ontario, 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, and the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. The United States dominated the racquetball events in the first three games, but Mexico has been the dominant country in the last four games, winning 11 of 12 gold medals in the women's events and 6 of the 12 gold medals in the men's events. In 2023, for the first time four countries split the gold from the 7 events (men's & women's singles & doubles, mixed doubles & men's & women's team events), and that's the most countries to win a gold in racquetball at a single Pan Am Games.
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mexico | 19 | 4 | 15 | 38 |
2 | United States | 16 | 12 | 12 | 40 |
3 | Bolivia | 3 | 3 | 9 | 15 |
4 | Independent Athletes Team | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
5 | Canada | 0 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
6 | Argentina | 0 | 7 | 4 | 11 |
7 | Colombia | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
8 | Venezuela | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
9 | Guatemala | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10 | Ecuador | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
11 | Chile | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Costa Rica | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
13 | Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Totals (13 entries) | 39 | 39 | 70 | 148 |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
2023 Santiago | United States Adam Manilla Erika Manilla | Argentina Diego García María José Vargas | Bolivia Conrrado Moscoso Angélica Barrios |
Mexico Eduardo Portillo Paola Longoria |
Event | 1995 | 1999 | 2003 | 2011 | 2015 | 2019 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men's singles | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Men's doubles | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Men's team | • | • | • | • | • | ||
Women's singles | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Women's doubles | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Women's team | • | • | • | • | • | ||
Mixed doubles | • | ||||||
Events | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
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 Singles and the Team event, winning both divisions at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) 2024 World Championships in San Antonio, Texas. 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.
Álvaro Beltrán, is a Mexican professional racquetball player. Beltrán is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in Men's Doubles with Daniel De La Rosa, winning the title in 2022 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. He was the second man to win both Men's Singles and Men's Doubles at the Racquetball World Championships. His six world titles tie him for 3rd most in IRF history. Beltran has been a top 10 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) for 18 seasons.
Susana Acosta is a Mexican racquetball player. A left handed player, Acosta has won several gold medals for Mexico, including at the 2003 Pan American Games. She's also played on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and been ranked as high as 4th.
María José Vargas is a Bolivian-born Argentine racquetball player. She is the current Pan American Champion in Women's Singles, Women's Doubles, 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 ten wins on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT), and was the LPRT's #1 player in 2023-24.
Frédérique Lambert is a Canadian racquetball player. Lambert is the current Canadian Champion in Women's Singles and Women's Doubles, and has won eleven Canadian Championships: six in Women's Singles and five 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.
Daniel de la Rosa is a Mexican-born American Professional racquetball and Professional pickleball player. De La Rosa is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in both Men's Singles and Mixed Doubles, winning the titles in 2024 in San Antonio, Texas, where he was also part of the US team that won the Men's Team title.
Carla Muñoz Montesinos is a Chilean professional racquetball player. She has won multiple medals, including the three consecutive gold medals in the USA Racquetball National Intercollegiate Championships in 2016, 2017, and 2018. In 2014, Munoz was awarded Best Racquetball Player of the Year by the Chilean Journalist Association. She plays on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour and has been ranked as high as 8th.
Sebastian Franco is a Colombian racquetball player. Franco is a former International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in Men's Doubles, winning the title in 2014 with Alejandro Herrera. In 2018, Franco became the first South American to win a tournament on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), when he won the March Madness event in San Antonio. He finished the IRT's Top 10 four straight seasons – from 2015–16 to 2018–19 – with a career high ranking of 6th in 2017–18.
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Coby Iwaasa is a Canadian racquetball player. He is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in Men's Doubles, winning the title with Samuel Murray in 2024. Previously, Iwaasa and Murray won the 2022 Pan American Championships Men's Doubles title, and he won two silver medals at the Racquetball at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago.
The 2019 Pan American Racquetball Championships took place in Barranquilla, Colombia from April 12–20 at the Parque de Racquetas La Castellana, which was used for the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. Bolivia won both Men's Singles and Doubles for the 1st time in tournament history, while Mexico won both Women's Singles and Doubles for the 5th time.
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 a former 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.
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