Updated WPRO Rankings

The updated WPRO rankings following the Stockton Superbowl Open have been posted to the WPRO website.  The ranking scheme utilized by the ladies seems to be much more simplistic than the men’s; with the event winners getting a big chunk of points, followed by the runner up, semifinalists, quarterfinalists, etc.

Rhonda was able to recapture the #1 spot by a narrow margin with her win, and it will undoubtedly need to be defended at every single stop remaining this season.  With ~200 points going to the winner of each Tier 1 event, it would not impossible for any player in the top 7 or 8 to claim the year end title.  This would of course depend on MANY factors (like Rhonda not making the quarters at another event this year), but would not be *impossible*

January 28th, 2007 by Geoff Thomsen

Ektelon WPRO Fireball

Thanks again to Brenda Kyzer, for sending me some pictures of the new official ball of the WPRO – the Ektelon Fireball.  I thought it was a VERY professional touch to add the tour logo to the specific balls used by the pros.  The only way to get one of these babies is to attend a WPRO event!  Maybe you’ll get lucky enough to get a few autographs on there as well .. I’ve personally been playing with these alot lately (well, the non-WPRO version anyway ), and I really like the extra speed and visibility.  They are very reminiscent to the old Ektelon gold label balls, which were VERY fast.

January 26th, 2007 by Geoff Thomsen

WPRO – Stockton Update, Courtesy of Brenda Kyzer

Stockton Update, by Brenda Kyzer (all post content copyright 2007 Brenda Kyzer)

Hey everyone.  I haven’t done an update in a while so while I had a couple of minutes, thought I would put my thoughts down and pass them along to you. 

The WPRO was in Stockton, California this past weekend.  The tournament director was IRT Pro, John Ellis.  John and his entire staff did an excellent job throughout the entire weekend.  Hospitality was 2nd to none as all meals were home cooked and really delicious!  I believe I heard that John’s Mom, Pat was the organizer and main cook.  Great job Pat!  I basically threw my diet right out the door on Saturday night with two helpings of the rice & chicken with some sort of Mexican sauce over the top.  I almost hurt myself with how much I ate (if the guys at my table read this, they will probably write in to tell you just how much of a pig I was).  It was delicious! 

This was John’s first stab at making this a Racquet for the Cure event with proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  I believe it was a success with a number of about $800 raised floating around on Saturday night (not sure of a final number yet).  The primary reason for the success came from the Saturday night raffle.  The array of items available was unbelievable as Ektelon and Wilson donated some very nice items.  John solicited the help of his many junior players to help sell raffle tickets and not only did they do a great job, they had fun!  They probably raised 80% of that money by pursuing players throughout the club on Saturday.  It was hard to say no to them.

I was unable to make the Thursday night doubles due to flight problems (17 hours to fly from North Carolina to California), but heard the event was good.  Bill George and Aubrey O’Brien (filling in for me) won the event.  I was so sad when I realized on Thursday that I wasn’t going to make the event because I was going to be letting Bill down, but felt relieved when him and Aubrey ended up winning.  Good job to you both.  Speaking of Aubrey….I played this 14 year old US Junior National team member in the round of 16’s.  Talk about an up and comer!!!  She is the real deal.  I think I was dealing with serious jet lag as I was not at my best playing against her, but even if I had been 100% I still would have had to play extremely hard to beat her.  She played with confidence and poise.  She never gave up and it’s a good thing because two of her games were won in come from behind fashion, including the 4th game when I was up 10-3.  Still not sure how I won, but I did and I was thankful.  Aubrey is definitely on the list of young players to watch.

The round of 16’s also saw former WPRO regular player Amy Foster play against Kristen Walsh.  It was a nicely played match with games alternating between players.  Kristen won the first 12-10 and the 3rd game 11-3.  Amy won the 2nd game 11-4 and the 4th game 11-6.  It was all Kristen in the 5th as she won the match 11-1.   I think that Kristen playing on the tour full time had something to do with mental toughness in the 5th game.  But…it sure was nice seeing Amy back at an event.  Maybe she will catch the bug. 

Probably one of the most pre-tournament hyped up matches was between Adrienne Fisher and Samantha Salas.  Samantha has been on fire lately and Adrienne seems to have a little more spunk in her shots as well.  Both have great power and really wooed the crowd, but it ended up being all Samantha as she dominated the front court and won 0, 9 & 7.

Jo Shattuck had a very nice win over Mexican junior Paola Longoria.  Jo played smart and confident.  I wish I had been the commentator on racquetballonline.tv for this match as Jo is normally behind the mic for all my matches.  I would have loved to provide the same good commentating as she normally provides. 

The Quarters had good match ups.  Samantha gave Cheryl Gudinas a run for her money as the two went 5 games.  Cheryl won the first 2 and looked like she was going to close it out, but Samantha fought back and won the next 2.  Cheryl however showed the kid from Mexico that she still has what it takes to win a 5 game match.  11-6 Cheryl in the 5th. 

Kristen Walsh and Kerri Wachtel were matched up again for the 3rd time in a row this season.  Kerri had prevailed the last two meetings but this time Kristen won in a tough 5 gamer.  Kristen lost the 1st and 4th games and was close to winning in the 3rd when she finally gave the game to Kerri 15-13. In the 5th game, Kristen pretty much rolled everything out.  Kerri seemed to struggle with her normally easy shots. If rankings hold true, it looks like Kerri and Kristen will play each other again in Denver in 3 weeks.

I played Angela Grisar in the Quarters.  It was our 3rd meeting in the last 3 tournaments as well.  The previous two meetings have resulted in one win for Angela in 5 games and one win for me in 5 games.  I swear, there is nothing worse than thinking about playing a 5 gamer with Angela.  She is so tough and seems to get to everything.  Just when you think you have a little bit of a lead, she fights her way back.  But….this was to be my day as I played extremely smart and won in 3 games.  It was a good feeling to win in 3 because obviously I would not be as worn out for my semi’s and actually left more time to rest. 

Jo Shattuck played Rhonda in the bottom half of the quarters.  Jo didn’t have enough to put Rhonda down (and neither did anyone else as Rhonda ended up winning the tournament).  The scores were respectable (8,2,7) and I believe overall, Jo was happy with her performance.

I faced Rhonda in the first semi of the afternoon.  I felt ready and was excited to finally get to play Rhonda after not having played against her in about 4 or 5 years.  The court was set to sub-zero temperatures and it was very hard to warm up.  But I finally got going after Rhonda jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the first game.  I worked my way back to 9-9.  Serving at 9-9, Rhonda won a rather long rally and when she went to serve, I never returned to the box.  Rhonda took game one 11-9.  I left the court, went to get something to drink, sat down and rested a minute.  Upon returning to the court for the 2nd game, I quickly realized that doing that was the wrong thing as I had become cold again.  I had not taken my long sleeve shirt off yet for the match and in fact never did.  Rhonda quickly went up 7-0 and I never really got warm.  I only scored 2 points and was rather disappointed at that point with my performance.  Game three went a little better with my serves and shot selection.  The score was pretty even until 7 and Rhonda put it away there.  I’m still very excited about my 5th semi this year.  Still looking for a final.

In the other semi, Kristen Walsh played Cheryl Gudinas.  It was all Cheryl as Kristen did not play her top game that she had earlier against Kerri.  The scores were 7, 5 & 4.  Cheryl looked as though she found more of a groove that had been missing from her earlier match with Samantha.

I cannot write about the finals as I was not there, but understand that Rhonda continued to play well and ended up beating Cheryl in 4 games.  This now moves Rhonda back to the number 1 ranking position. 

Next up is Denver on February 8-11th.  We are anticipating a big draw there with the return of Diane Moore, Vivian Gomez, Christie Van Hees, Doreen Fowler and Candi Hostovich.  This is another Racquet for the Cure event put on by Jean Gallagher and Marcia Richards.  A very successful event that the WPRO is excited to be partnered.

That’s about all for now.  Hope you enjoy my commentary of the event. 

Brenda Kyzer

January 22nd, 2007 by Geoff Thomsen

WPRO – Superbowl Open Racquetball Championships

While the men’s professionals on the IRT are battling it out on the East Coast, the women of the WPRO will be having a showdown of their own in Stockton, CA at the Super Bowl Open Racquetball Championships. The top women’s players in the world will compete for precious ranking points as the season passes its halfway mark. Rhonda Rajsich started the season in the number one spot, but now trails Cheryl Gudinas by a narrow margin. Also to note is the race for number three, as Kerri Wachtel continues to climb the ladder with exceptional play and her eye on Angela Grisar’s 8-point third place lead. Also charging up the list is Brenda Kyzer, and after several semifinals appearance this year, trails number five player Kristen Walsh by just 36 points.

The draws have been posted for the Super Bowl Open, and if the top eight players advance to the quarterfinals, the matchups will be:

• Q1: Cheryl Gudinas vs. Samantha Salas
• Q2: Kerri Wachtel vs. Kristen Walsh
• Q3: Angela Grisar vs. Brenda Kyzer
• Q4: Rhonda Rajsich vs. Jo Shattuck

The bottom half of the draw should be very interesting, as the 2006 Pan American Women’s Singles Champion Paola Longoria plays Jo Shattuck in the 16’s. Also to note is the absence of Christie Van Hees in the draw for this event. There was a rumor that she was going to finish the season with appearances at each remaining stop, but that appears not to be the case.

• 2007 Stockton Super Bowl Open Info
• Draws

Rankings as of January 7th, 2007:

January 18th, 2007 by Geoff Thomsen

WPRO – Tour Schedule / Poster

The Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization has developed a new poster to help remind fans about upcoming tour stops.   Looks like it might make a good addition to the racquetball bulletin board at your club!  Free video streaming for all of the stops is provided by www.racquetballonline.tv, so use the poster to remember when the action is happening!

January 7th, 2007 by Geoff Thomsen

WPRO – New Official Ball .. And Brenda Kyzer?

As many people watching the live internet feed from the Emerald City Open, the WPRO is playing with a new ball at its events.  The Ektelon Fireball is the new official ball of the Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization.  There had been some speculation on the internet that the faster ball would be harder to see.  While the increased speed didn’t seem to make much difference, the red color did.  As the floors on the court were an orange/yellow finish (typical light hardwood stain), the red ball seemed to blend in pretty easily.  Overall, I don’t think there is a huge difference between the other colors as the online streaming makes seeing the ball difficult anyway.

Also making an appearance at the bottom of the press release is some news about Ektelon signing top women’s player, Brenda Kyzer.  Brenda has come out of nowhere this year making several semifinal appearances, and is a great addition to Ektelon’s crew.  I’m not sure why she didn’t get her own press release (.. ?).  Congrats Brenda!

Official Press Release:

Bordentown, NJ – Ektelon and the Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) have recently announced a multi-year agreement that establishes the Ektelon Fireball as the ‘Official Ball’ of the WPRO. This agreement is not limited to the Ektelon Fireball being used in all WPRO sanctioned events. Ektelon will be taking a very active partnership role in promoting the WPRO through a variety of marketing efforts.

“The WPRO is excited about our new agreement with Prince Sports/Ektelon to use the Fireball as the Tour’s official ball through 2009,” said Shannon Feaster, WPRO Commissioner. “The Fireball will enable the WPRO and its players to command a distinct presence by having a ball that is unique to the Tour. The Fireball is ideal for the fast action play fans can expect from the WPRO and its bright red hue enhances visibility making the game easier and more fun to watch.”

When asked about the new ‘Official Ball’ status with the WPRO, Scott Winters, General Manager Indoor Court Sports for Prince said, “The women’s organization is as strong as I can ever remember with Shannon Feaster now as Commissioner. We’re excited to be able to develop a partnership to help grow the women’s game and promote the WPRO.”

Ektelon has also announced the signing of Brenda Kyzer to Team Ektelon. Kyzer, a veteran player on the WPRO tour, will be the face of Ektelon at all WPRO events. She will be leading Ektelon’s marketing exposure at WPRO events and will also take on a leadership role on Ektelon’s Women’s Council.

“Brenda is a fantastic clinician and will be a great resource for us at Ektelon,” stated Andy Roberts, Ektelon Promotions Manager. “Her exposure on tour is icing on the cake for us. Since Brenda signed with Ektelon, her ranking has jumped to # 6 on the WPRO tour and she has won 2 National amateur titles this year as well.”

About the Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization

The Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) is the governing body of a growing membership of the top female racquetball players in the world. The WPRO is currently comprised of elite athletes representing over a dozen countries, including the United States, Mexico, Chile, Canada, and Japan. The WPRO’s mission is to promote health and fitness through racquetball among women and girls around the world.

About Ektelon

Based in Bordentown, New Jersey, Ektelon is a division of Prince Sports, Inc. Ektelon has enjoyed the longest, most successful reign of leadership in the sport of racquetball. Ektelon’s heritage includes the introduction of more revolutionary technologies and programs to the sport of racquetball than any other company. Ektelon innovations include oversized racquetball racquets, the Racquet Taper System (RTS) and Power Ring® racquets, among others. For more information please contact us at 800-283-2635 or log onto our website at www.Ektelon.com.

1 comment January 7th, 2007 by Geoff Thomsen

WPRO – Van Hees Claims Seattle

Another weekend of exciting women’s pro racquetball as the WPRO concludes their stop in Seattle, WA at the Emerald City Open.  Congratulations to Christie Van Hees who had a replay of her final rounds at the 2006 US OPEN Racquetball Championships, and again took first place.  Secondly, a HUGE thank you to www.racquetballonline.tv who provided FREE live video streaming for all the pro matches on the stadium court.

On Court Re-Cap

All of the top eight seeds made their way into the quarterfinals, but from there, it was anyone’s game.  Starting in quarterfinal #1, Cheryl Gudinas (1) squared off against Diane Moore (8).  Cheryl made pretty quick work of this match, winning in three straight.  Quarterfinal #2 saw Kristen Walsh (5) take on Kerri Wachtel (4), who has been storming the tour this year.  Kristen jumped out to a hard-fought two game lead, but it was all Kerri the three final games, who would then go on to meet Cheryl in the semifinals.  In quarterfinal #3, Brenda Kyzer (6) pulled a huge upset over Angela Grisar (3).  This was a see-saw battle with scores of (10 ), 0, (3), 1, and 8.  In quarterfinal #4, Rhonda Rajsich (2) is once again seeded to play Christie Van Hees (7).  Christie gets off to a quick start, and claims a semifinal berth in three games.

The semifinal rounds turn out to a be an exact replay of the 2006 US OPEN racquetball championships, with Gudinas facing Wachtel; and Kyzer facing Van Hees.  At the OPEN, Cheryl squeaked out a narrow win over Kerri in game 5, but Kerri had different plans for this weekend.  She came out firing, and took game one 11-0.  Cheryl made a run in game three, but Kerri was playing very consistently and aggressively, and won the match in four.  In semifinal #2, Brenda Kyzer once again faced Christie Van Hees.  Brenda started to hit a run in the third, but Christie eventually took the game 17-15 (!!, win by two) and the match to face Wachtel in the finals.

The finals were pretty much all Christie Van Hees, and after a reffing change in the third game, she was able to finish off Kerri in four.  This is yet another incredible finals appearance by Wachtel, who has been steadily climbing the rankings this season.  Another rumor heard during the event, was that Christie Van Hees was going to play out the rest of the WPRO season this year.  It looks like the door is wide open for the season-end number one ranking, with Rajsich, Gudinas, Wachtel, and Van Hees all gunning for the top spot.  It was also interesting to see Christie back in her Wilson gear after playing with Head equipment at the US OPEN.

Live Broadcast Re-Cap

Once again, www.racquetballonline.tv provides us with free, live video for the event.  This is a huge step in the right direction for racquetball, and was a treat to be able to see the top women players in the world battling it out.  Also in need of a THANK YOU is Jo Shattuk from www.racquetballacademy.com who was providing the commentary for the video feed.  While watching, I did notice a few things that could be improved upon for future productions.  First of all, it has become very apparent that the AUDIO for the feed is probably the most important feature.  Even on my 5MB/s cable internet connection, I experienced video freezes at least every other rally.  The audio would continue to go strong, and I could still the shots being hit as well as the commentary.  I would say that it would be VERY helpful if shot-by-shot commentary was happening.  That way, the action wouldn’t necessarily stop every time the feed did.  Also, it would be very helpful to continually mention the players names, what game in the match was currently being played, as well as who won the previous games.  A few times between games and rallies, Jo would give some insight as to strategy of each player, what they might be thinking, and what they should do to win.  It would be great if this was done between EVERY game and during every timeout.  Having the scores for each game overlaid on the screen would be a double bonus.

January 7th, 2007 by Geoff Thomsen

WPRO Back in Action – Seattle

The Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization is back in action after the winter break with a stop in Seattle at the Emerald City Open at Washington Athletic Club.  Cheryl Gudinas is back in the number one spot, with Rhonda taking a close second.  This is another killer seed for Rhonda, as she faces #7 Christie Van Hees once again in the quarterfinals (as she did at the 2006 US Open Racquetball Championships).  Cheryl has no cake walk on the top half however, as she’ll likely face Kerri Wachtel who has been taking the WPRO by storm this season.  Cheryl had a very narrow five-game win over Kerri at the US Open, so I know Kerri is looking for a chance to redeem herself.

Also of SIGNIFICANT note, is that www.racquetballonline.tv is providing FREE, LIVE, VIDEO coverage of this event.  Just log into their website with your FREE account, and you can watch the action all weekend long.  In my experience, the video does tend to get a little choppy at times, but the audio is generally of EXCELLENT quality.  These live feeds are HIGHLY recommended!!

• Tournament info
• Draws

January 6th, 2007 by Geoff Thomsen

2006 US OPEN Broadcast on The Tennis Channel – Coming Soon!

The broadcast schedule for the 2006 US OPEN Racquetball Championships on The Tennis Channel has been announced.  Matches will begin airing in January, with one round broadcasted per week.  The matches will appear as follows:

• January 17, 2007 – Men’s Quarter – SWAIN v. MANNINO
• January 24, 2007 – Men’s Quarter – BELTRAN v. VANDERSON
• February 7, 2007 – Men’s Quarter – CARSON v. HAWTHORNE
• February 14, 2007 – Men’s Quarter – HUCZEK v. WILLIAMS
• February 21, 2007 – Men’s Semi – VANDERSON v. CARSON
• March 7, 2007 – Men’s Semi – HUCZEK v. MANNINO
• March 14, 2007 – Men’s Final – MANNINO v. CARSON
• March 21, 2007 – Women’s Final – GUDINAS v. VAN HEES

**Each show will start at 9:00 PM EST.

To check your local availability of The Tennis Channel, visit their website and input your zipcode. In my area, The Tennis Channel is available through Comcast (digital package, I believe), DISH, and Direct TV.

December 15th, 2006 by Geoff Thomsen

Kerri Wachtel Claims Another Title in Virginia

Kerri Wachtel continues to storm the Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization this season with another win in Arlington, Virginia.  Kerri upset number four seed Kristen Walsh to earn a spot in the finals, where she was able to beat Angela Grisar in three straight games.  There were several upset in this event including:  Doreen Fowler over Jo Shattuck (16’s); Samantha Salas over Diane Moore (16’s); Doreen Fowler over Cheryl Gudinas (quarters); Kerri Wachtel over Kristen Walsh (quarters); Samantha Salas over Rhonda Rajsich (quarters); and Kerri Wachtel over Angela Grisar (finals).  The rankings should start to get VERY intersting with many of the top seeds falling early!

• Tournament info
• Draw

December 11th, 2006 by Geoff Thomsen

2006 US OPEN Coverage – Women’s Semifinals & Finals

Super Saturday lived up to its name at the 2006 US OPEN Racquetball Championships with some incredible matches from the WPRO.  Brenda Kyzer made her semifinal debut on the stadium court, but Christie Van Hees was successful at keeping her in the back court and rolling everything in sight.  The bottom half semifinal was a tense five gamer between Cheryl Gudinas and Kerri Wachtel.  Kerri has been charging up the ranks of the WPRO this year, and won the pro stop right before the US OPEN.  She jumped to early leads in all the games against Cheryl, but Gudinas was able to dig deep and finish the games she needed for a spot in the finals.

The finals was all Christie Van Hees, as she rolled to a quick victory over Cheryl.  Christie only lost a single game on her way to the title, which was to Rhonda in the quarterfinals.

WF – Christie Van Hees def. Cheryl Gudinas (3,2,2)
WS1 – Christie Van Hees def. Brenda Kyzer (3, 3, 9)
WS2 – Cheryl Gudinas def. Kerri Wachtel (0,(5),10,(2),9)

Double Donut Gallery Link for 2006 US OPEN

December 8th, 2006 by Geoff Thomsen

2006 US OPEN Coverage – Women’s Quarterfinals & Round of 16/32

There were some truly great women’s matches in the early rounds of the 2006 US OPEN Racquetball Championships.  The first thing I can say about the women’s matches, is that they really seemed to get the short end of the stick as far as stadium court time went.  Very few early rounds made it in front of the grand stands, as well as a single quarterfinal match.  End of rant.  Angela Grisar battled her way to the quarterfinals, with TOUGH five-game matches against Adrienne Fisher and Toshiko Sakamoto.  The number one seed, Rhonda Rajsich, faced long time opponent Christie Van Hees in her quarterfinal.  Christie proved she still had the game (even after missing most of the recent WPRO stops), and was able to take Rhonda in four games.

Coverage included:

W16 – Angela Grisar def. Adrienne Fisher ((10), 9, (11), 6, 1)
W16 – Cheryl Gudinas def. Paola Longoria (4, 5, 2)
W32 – Angela Grisar def. Toshiko Sakamoto ((10), 12, (1), 4, 6)
WQ1 – Christie Van Hees def. Rhonda Rajsich (10, (7), 3, 6)

Double Donut Gallery Link for 2006 US OPEN

December 8th, 2006 by Geoff Thomsen

Quarterfinal Draws for the US Open

If the top eight seeds advance in the IRT draw, the quarterfinals will be:

• Q1: Jack Huczek vs. Mitch Williams
• Q2: Cliff Swain vs. Jason Mannino
• Q3: Alvaro Beltran vs. Shane Vanderson
• Q4: Rocky Carson vs. Jason Thoerner

Without Kane in the draw this year, things are really shaken up.  Jack starts out with a match against Mitch Williams, and then meets either Cliff Swain or Jason Mannino (what a tough quarter for those two!).  Alvaro is set to face Shane Vanderson, but will have to get past tour new-comer Sudsy Monchik in the 16’s first (!!!).  I’m hoping Alvaro has been training hard, as he may have a few five-gamers on his hands.  Rocky Carson hits the quarters against Jason Thoerner; and I hope Jason puts his game back together after playing Rocky at National Singles.  Jason was totally out of it, and Rocky finished him off quickly.

If the top eight seeds advance in the WPRO draw, the quarterfinals will be:

• Q1: Rhonda Rajsich vs. Christie Van Hees (!!!)
• Q2: Brenda Kyzer vs. Kristen Walsh
• Q3: Angela Grisar vs. Kerri Wachtel
• Q4: Cheryl Gudinas vs. Diane Moore

Wow!  There are going to be some incredible early round matchups.  Things start off with a bang as last year’s finalists meet in the first quarterfinal.  Rhonda is going to have her hands full defending her number one ranking against tour powerhouse Christie Van Hees.  Brenda Kyzer just came off a five-game upset over Kristen Walsh at the Long Island Open, and I bet Kristen is aching for a rematch.  Angela Grisar and Kerri Wachtel met in the finals of the Long Island Open, with Kerri upsetting Rhonda Rajsich, and Angela upsetting Cheryl Gudinas.  This should be another great showdown between these top athletes.  Diane Moore has been stepping up her game, and you can bet she won’t let Cheryl off with an easy match.

Can’t wait to get into Memphis!!!!

November 14th, 2006 by Geoff Thomsen

Memphis to Host Choice Hotels U.S. Open Racquetball Championships

Here we go!  The press releases have started coming out of Memphis to signal the start of the 2006 U.S. Open Racquetball Championships.  This is racquetball’s premiere event, and definitely my favorite from a photography standpoint.  The stadium court is specially designed for optimum light and clarity, and the video / photos speak for themselves.  Double Donut Studios will arrive Thursday morning to immediately start covering the action in the early rounds of the Men’s and Women’s pro draws.

Official Release:

Memphis, Tenn. – November 9, 2006 – Memphis is set to host the 2006 Choice Hotels US OPEN Racquetball Championships, November 15-19, at The Racquet Club of Memphis. The tournament is racquetball’s premier event and the sport’s original “grand slam” competition.

Now in its 11th year, the US OPEN is in its second decade of bringing racquetball’s best to Memphis. Aside from the world’s best racquetball, the US OPEN will once again support St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Since its inception in 1996, the tournament has raised more than $130,000 for the Memphis hospital.

“We are once again thrilled to call Memphis home for the world’s largest and most prestigious racquetball tournament,” said Doug Ganim, US OPEN Event Director. “The Memphis community, at all levels has been extremely supportive of our event including strong corporate sponsorship, excellent media coverage, and brisk ticket sales from the area.”

The US OPEN has received commitments from all of the top professional players on the men’s International Racquetball Tour (IRT) and the Women’s Professional Racquetball Association (WPRO) including current No. 1 ranked players Jack Huczek (Rochester Hills, Mich.) and Rhonda Rajsich (Phoenix, Ariz). The US OPEN features more than 100 of the sport’s top professional athletes battling it out for a stake of a prize purse of more than $51,000.

All feature matches will be played on the “made-for-TV” portable racquetball court that provides a great view of the game for the audience and the media. The unique construction of the court allows stadium seating for more than 1,000 spectators, in addition to courtside luxury boxes for sponsors and VIPs. The Tennis Channel will also take advantage of the court by taping the tournament from the quarterfinals through the finals to be broadcast at a later date.

In addition to the professional draws, the US OPEN features over 80 USA Racquetball (USAR) sanctioned divisions. The tournament is expected to draw nearly 800 players from across the country to compete in the USAR divisions played at WellWorx Sportsplex, University of Memphis Recreation Center and Ridgeway Baptist Recreation Center.

The US OPEN “Kick-Off Press Conference” will be held Tuesday, November 14, at 1:30 p.m. at The Racquet Club of Memphis in front of the “made-for-tv” portable racquetball court. Speakers will include the event’s top players, commissioners of the professional tours and local Memphis dignitaries.

For more information contact Choice Hotels U.S. OPEN Media Staff, Jeff Oliver (541.543.7775), Leo Vasquez (817.791.4948), or via e-mail at usopenmedia@gmail.com.

For more information on the internet, visit www.choicehotelsusopen.com

November 9th, 2006 by Geoff Thomsen

Kerri Wachtel Storms New York

Kerri Wachtel strolled through the draws this past weekend in Long Island, NY capturing her first title of the season at the 30th annual Long Island Open racquetball championships. Kerri only dropped a single game during the entire event to Angela Grisar in the finals, and upset the number one seed Rhonda Rajsich and number five seed Brenda Kyzer. Number three ranked Grisar pulled an awesome upset herself, taking out number two ranked Cheryl Gudinas in the semifinals. With the US Open starting in one week, it looks like there are going to be some awesome battles for this year’s title.

Also to note was the GREAT job www.racquetballonline.tv did providing live streaming of all of the matches this weekend. The quality of the broadcasts gets better with every event; these guys are truly setting a standard for live internet event coverage.

• Final Draws

November 8th, 2006 by Geoff Thomsen