Author: internationalracquetballfederation

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RACQUETBALL CONFIRMED ON THE LIMA 2027 SPORTS PROGRAM

During the upcoming Pan American Games to be held in Lima in 2027, bowling and racquetball will be part of the competition program, following approval by the Panam Sports General Assembly that is currently taking place in Asuncion, as part of the activities leading up to the II Junior Pan American Games, which will begin on Saturday, August 9.

With these two sports, there will be 38 sports in the continent’s premier sport event, to be held in Lima, the capital of Peru, in 2027.

The ratification of these sports was announced at the LXIII Panam Sports General Assembly in Asuncion, Paraguay, an event attended by the president of the country, Santiago Peña Palacios, IOC vice president Gerardo Werthein, Panam Sports President Neven Ilic, and the continent’s top sports authorities.

“At the request of many National Olympic Committees and because of what these sports represent for our continent, the Panam Sports Executive Board, with the approval of the General Assembly, has decided to include bowling and racquetball in the Lima 2027 sports program. With this, there are now 38 sports that will be held at our Games in the capital of Peru,” said Panam Sports President Neven Ilic.

It should be noted that both bowling and racquetball will be part of the program for the fifth consecutive time since the Guadalajara Games in 2011.

Racquetball has been part of the Pan American Games since the Mar del Plata Games in Argentina in 1995, although it was not included in the Rio 2007 Games.

Bowling was admitted to the Pan American Games since the eleventh edition held in Havana, Cuba in 1991. This sport was first held at the Pan American Games in Caracas in 1983, as an exhibition sport only.

The chosen sports are the following:

  1. Aquatics – Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Artistic Swimming, Open Water
  2. Athletics
  3. Badminton
  4. Handball
  5. Baseball (men) / Softball (women)
  6. Boxing
  7. Canoe – Sprint, Slalom
  8. Cycling – Track, Road, Mountain, BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle
  9. Cricket
  10. Equestrian – Jumping, Dressage, Eventing
  11. Sport Climbing
  12. Fencing
  13. Water Skiing
  14. Football
  15. Gymnastics – Artistic, Rhythmic, Trampoline
  16. Golf
  17. Judo
  18. Hockey
  19. Karate
  20. Weightlifting
  21. Wrestling
  22. Skating – Artistic, Speed, Skateboarding
  23. Pelota
  24. Modern Pentathlon
  25. Rowing
  26. Rugby 7
  27. Squash
  28. Surf
  29. Archery
  30. Shooting
  31. Taekwondo
  32. Tennis
  33. Table Tennis
  34. Triathlon
  35. Sailing
  36. Volleyball – Indoor and Beach
  37. Racquetball
  38. Bowling 

The Panam Sports General Assembly continues on Friday, August 8, with presentations by the Organizing Committee of the host city for the next Pan American Games in Lima in 2027 and the candidate cities for the 2031 Pan American Games, Asuncion and Rio-Niteroi.

From www.panamsports.org/en/news-sport/bowling-and-racquetball-enter-the-lima-2027-sports-program/

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III Basque Racquetball Championship Singles 2025

Last wednesday, july 30th, the Basque Beach Tennis and Minority Sports Association organized the 3rd Basque Racquetball Championship (Singles). We met as usual at the San Ignacio municipal sports center (Bilbao). At the moment, we can’t play on a regulation racquetball court, but we’ll try to build one in the future. Six players gathered that afternoon, similar to last year at this time.

We played three rounds. In the first round, we divided the six players into two groups, and they played against each other. Then we played the match for 3rd and 4th place, and the final. Egoitz and Jon were the best in their groups and went on to play in the final. In the final, Egoitz won by a fairly wide margin. In the match for 3rd and 4th place, Joseba Zubiaurre could have beaten Lander, but Lander played very well.

If all goes well, we’ll meet again in December to play the 3rd Bilbao Tournament, possibly in doubles.

Here are the results:

 

Group A

Egoitz Campo 2-0 Lander Campo (11-2, 11-4)

Lander Campo 2-1 Joseba Fernández (11-8, 9-11, 11-10)

Egoitz Campo 2-0 Joseba Fernández (11-3, 11-4)

Group B

Joseba Zubiaurre 2-0 Daniel Barrientos (11-3, 11-5)

Jon Proaño 2-1 Joseba Zubiaurre (11-6, 7-11, 11-8)

Jon Proaño 2-0 Daniel Barrientos (11-1, 11-2)

Match for the 3º and 4º position match

Joseba Zubiaurre 2-0  Lander Campo (11-4, 8-11, 11-2)

Final

Egoitz Campo 2-0 Jon Proaño (11-4, 11-2)

 

Classification of the III. Basque Racquetball Championship (Individual) 2025

1-Egoitz Campo (Basque Country)

2-Jon Proaño (Basque Country)

3-Joseba Zubiaurre (Basque Country)

4-Lander Campo (Basque Country)

5-Joseba Fernández (Basque Country)

6-Daniel Barrientos (Basque Country)

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III Basque Racquetball Championship Doubles 2025

On April 11th, the Basque Beach Tennis and Minority Sports Association, the Racquetball section, organized the 3rd Basque Racquetball Championship (Doubles). This time, the following players were playing: Daniel Barrientos, Mikel Torde, Egoitz Campo, Joseba Zubiaurre, Jon Ander, and Jon Proaño.

We met again at the San Ignacio Municipal Sports Center in Bilbao. Until we find a court to play racquetball, or even build one, we will meet at San Ignacio. In this tournament, since there are three pairs, we play all against each other.

Egoitz and Mikel Torde won both matches and won the tournament; they proved they were the best pair. Jon Proaño and Jon Ander finished in second place after defeating the pairing of Joseba Zubiaurre and Daniel Barrientos in a very close match. It was a fun and intense afternoon. We had a great time and were sweating profusely. We love racquetball and will try to make progress. In July or August, if all goes well, we will compete in the 3rd Basque Racquetball Championship, but this time in the singles category.

Here are the results of the 3rd Basque Racquetball Championship (Doubles):

Results

 Egoitz Campo/Mikel Torde 2-0 Jon Ander Gil/ Jon Proaño (11-5, 11-6)

Egoitz Campo/Mikel Torde 2-0 Joseba Zubiaurre/Daniel Barrientos (11-7, 11-8)

Jon Ander Gil/ Jon Proaño 2-1 Joseba Zubiaurre/Daniel Barrientos (7-11, 11-8, 11-9)

Classification of the III. Basque Racquetball Championship (Doubles) 2025

1-Egoitz Campo (Basque Country) / Mikel Torde (Basque Country)

2-Jon Ander Gil (Basque Country) / Jon Proaño (Basque Country)

3-Joseba Zubiaurre (Basque Country) / Daniel Barrientos (Basque Country)

 

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Racquetball Growing in India

March 24, 2025

From Alok Mehta, President, Racquetball Association of India (RAI)

Racquetball Growing in India

Racquetball is starting to grow in India, with recent events in Sirsa, Haryana marking an important step forward for the sport.

First Court in Northern India

The first racquetball court in Northern India was built at The Mount School in Sirsa, Haryana. This facility now serves as a foundation for training, development, and promotion of racquetball in the region.

Exhibition Match and Training Camp

IRT professional Thomas Carter and I, Alok Mehta, captain of Team India, played an exhibition match to demonstrate how racquetball is played. Following that, we led a two-day training camp to introduce the sport and coach players in fundamentals and technique.

India’s First National Tournament

We also hosted India’s first annual racquetball tournament, with 32 players from 14 states competing across four divisions: Men, Women, Under-19, and Under-16. The event saw high energy and commitment from players, showing that the sport has strong potential in India.

Local and Institutional Support

The event received strong backing from local authorities and the Indian Olympic Committee, both of whom are interested in growing the sport further. Leaders including Gurubeant Singh, Nand Singh, Mahendra Kamboj, and Yogesh Kalra were instrumental in organizing the event and supporting court construction.

Local authorities who helped build the court and supported the training camp have expressed interest in working with the Indian government to expand racquetball across the country.

Global Contributions

We are thankful for the support from international organizations and individuals who provided gear and assistance, especially to India Racquetball Association (IRA) and it’s authorities:

• IRT (International Racquetball Tour)

• IRF (International Racquetball Federation)

• ISRA (Illinois State Racquetball Association)

• Gearbox Racquetball

• Along with many dedicated individual contributors

Call for Support

We invite the global racquetball community to help us continue this momentum. You can contribute by:

• Coaching or mentoring players

• Donating equipment

• Assisting with tournaments and events

• Partnering to develop new courts

With continued support, racquetball can become a widely played sport in India.

Alok Mehta

President

Racquetball Association of India

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IRF has confirmed the qualified teams for The World Games Chengdu 2025.

The International Racquetball Federation – IRF has confirmed the qualified teams for The World Games Chengdu 2025. The World Games will take place in Chengdu, China, between August 7 and August 17, 2025. The Racquetball competition will be held at the High Tech Zone Sport Center in Southern Chengdu from August 13th to August 17th.

For the first time in history, the International World Games Association (IWGA) has approved the addition of Mixed Doubles. Therefore, Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, and Mixed Doubles divisions will be offered. Thirty-two Racquetball athletes –16 men and 16 women– will form 16 National Teams, i.e. one man and one woman who will each play singles and also compete together in Mixed Doubles.

With a global representation including the best athletes in the world, the Racquetball Competition promises to be one of the greatest sports of these increadebles Games.

Follow the action on the social media

instagram.com/twg2025/
instagram.com/theworldgames/
instagram.com/international_racquetball/

# ABOUT #

International Racquetball Federation: The International Racquetball Federation is the governing body for all internationally sanctioned racquetball events. Racquetball is an extremely fast sport where balls can travel in excess of 150 mph in a 40 ft. long, 20 ft. wide, and 20 ft. high court.

International World Games Association: The International World Games Association (IWGA) is a non-profit-making international sports organisation recognised and supported by the International Olympic Committee. The IWGA comprises 40 International Member Sports Federations. It administers and promotes The World Games (TWG), a multi-sport event held every four years that features around 35 sports on its programme.

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The World Games Athlete of the Year 2024 – VOTE EVERY DAY FOR ALEXANDRA AND MONTSERRAT

The Racquetball Candidates, Alexandra Herrera and Montserrat Mejía 🇲🇽 won the women’s doubles World Racquetball Championships in 2024. Furthermore, they helped Team Mexico win the Women’s Team title with a doubles victory and two victories in singles for Mejía.

Will they become The World Games Athlete of the Year 2024?

VOTE EVERY DAY ON:
www.theworldgames.org/awards/Athlete-of-the-Year-2024-136

➡️Note that you need to give votes to TWO athletes: 2 votes to your first choice and 1 vote to your second choice.⬅️

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II. Bilbao Tournament of Racquetball (Doubles)

 

On December 14 of 2024, the Basque Association of Beach Tennis and Minority Sports, the Racquetball section, organized the II Bilbao Tournament of Racquetball (Doubles). We played the first edition last year. This time 6 players met to play: Jon Ander Gil, Joseba Zubiaurre, Daniel Barrientos, David Bilbao, Egoitz Campo and Galder Etxebarria.

We have not yet been able to build a racquetball court with official dimensions. In the future we will continue trying. Until then we will continue playing our Basque tournaments at the Polideportivo de San Ignacio or somewhere similar.

So we met again at the San Ignacio Municipal Sports Center in Bilbao, and we made three couples. This time we played in doubles. We played all couples agaisnt all. Three matches in total.

If everything goes well and there are no setbacks in april we will compete in the III Basque CountryRacquetball Championship (Individual) and in august of next year the III Basque Country Championship but in doubles.

Here are the results of the II. Bilbao Racquetball Tournament (Doubles):

Matches

Egoitz Campo/Daniel Barrientos 2-0 Jon Ander Gil/ Galder Etxebarria (11-3, 11-4)

David Bilbao/Joseba Zubiaurre 2-1 Jon Ander Gil/Galder Etxebarria (11-8, 9-11, 11-6)

Egoitz Campo/Daniel Barrientos 2-1 David Bilbao/ Joseba Zubiaurre (11-6, 8-11, 11-8)

 

Classification of the II. Bilbao Tournament of Racquetball (Doubles)

1-Egoitz Campo (Basque Country) / Daniel Barrientos (Basque Country)

2-David Bilbao (Basque Country) / Joseba Zubiaurre (Basque Country)

3-Jon Ander Gil (Basque Country) / Galder Etxebarria (Basque Country)

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​Rehabilitation Racquetball Program hosted by the Asian Racquetball Federation

October 5, 2024 ​Rehabilitation Racquetball Program hosted by the Asian Racquetball Federation

Participants: 15

Guardians: 14

Guardians: 1

Total: 30 ​

All the information, pictures and videos: https://blog.naver.com/racquetballkorea/223608165431

Today’s Training

1. Spatial awareness training using frontcourt three-wall shot

2. Understanding the direction of rotation and keeping the turn by continuing with a quick pattern from the center of the backcourt

3. Spatial awareness training using backcourt three-wall shot and concentration training with a quick pattern

4. Training to understand and acquire a new training method in chaos through complex and difficult position changes

5. Training to measure the bounce height and distance by looking at the ball with a wide field of view through backwall shot

6. Concentration training using no-bound shot and impact sense training through quick pattern shot

7. Training that requires understanding of the game and quick judgment and quick movement through training to hit with one bounce and no bounce​

8. Basic racketball posture forehand swing establishment training

9. Training to control distance and determine ball hitting point by jumping back and forth

10. Basic racketball posture backhand swing establishment training

11. Ball control and sense training by hitting the ball up and down with the racket

12. Strength control and control training to bounce the ball up continuously by aiming the racket toward the ceiling.

13. Strength control and control training to bounce the ball up continuously by aiming the racket toward the floor.

14. Sense and control training to turn the racket face up and down.

15. Quickly hitting from the center of the service box to the left and right toward the front to expand reflexes and spatial prediction ability. ​

◇ Coach: President of the Asian Racquetball Federation, Jo Wang-gi

◇ Coach: Chairman of the Asian Disabled Racquetball Committee, Han Byeong-gu

◇ Coaching practice: Park Young-jae. Yoo Jun

 Inquiry: 010-7406-9191

[Source] Asian Racquetball Federation Rehabilitation Racquetball Program

Written by Racquetball Korea

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II. Basque Racquetball Championship (Individual) 2024

On Thursday, August 7th, the Basque Association of Beach Tennis and Minority Sports organized the II. Basque Racquetball Championship (Individual). We met, as always, in the Municipal Sports Center of San Ignacio (Bilbao). Until we build a court with the official dimensions, we have to play on courts like the one in San Ignacio.
We basically played two rounds; the semi-finals and the final. We included Luis in the first round, but the important thing happened later. David and Egoitz won their semi-final match easily and the final was a very close match. David, a new player, athlete and paddle and tennis player (as an amateur) with good physical condition defeated Egoitz in three games. Nice match where both of them put themselves to the maximum. David finally won and became the Basque Champion of the Basque Championships 2024. Joseba came after beating Mikel.
In December we met again for the II. Bilbao Tournament, and maybe this time it will be in doubles.

Here are the results:

1st round

David Cea 2-0 Lander Campo (11-2, 11-1)

Egoitz Campo 2-0 Luis Getxo (11-0, 11-0)

Semifinals

Egoitz Campo 2-0 Mikel Torde (11-3, 11-4)

David Cea 2-0 Joseba Fernández (11-2, 11-5)

Match for 3rd and 4th place

Joseba Fernández 2-1 Mikel Torde (11-5, 9-11, 11-4)

Final

David Cea 2-1 Egoitz Campo (9-11, 11-7, 11-5)

Classification of the II. BasqueRacquetball Championship (Singles)

1-David Cea (Basque Country)

2-Egoitz Campo (Basque Country)

3-Joseba Fernández (Basque Country)

4-Mikel Torde (Basque Country)

5-Lander Campo (Basque Country)

6-Luis Getxo (Basque Country)

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Mexican racquetball stars Herrera and Mejía named Athletes of the Month for August 2024

Mexican racquetball stars Alexandra Herrera and Montserrat Mejía have been honoured as The World Games Athletes of the Month for August 2024 following their incredible performance at the Racquetball World Championships in San Antonio, Texas. The duo’s victory marks a significant milestone in their careers, and both athletes are filled with pride and excitement about what the future holds.

“I feel very happy to win this World Championship. The competition was difficult, but we did it,” said Herrera, reflecting on their hard-fought win. Her partner, Mejía, echoed the sentiment: “I feel very happy to win this World Championship, the competition was difficult, but we did it.”

Their road to success was not without challenges. Herrera overcame a serious injury just weeks before the event. “The hardest thing was that I broke my middle finger on 3rd July and the Championship started on 22nd August. I thought I wouldn’t recover in time, but I did, and Montse and I have a strong connection after playing together for nine years,” Herrera explained.

Their longstanding partnership has been key in navigating the challenges of the tournament. Herrera is known for her calm and precise shots, while Mejía is recognised for her speed and intensity. Herrera said, “Montse and I complement each other very well. She’s very fast and has a strong character, while I am a player with precise shots and a calmer approach. We are the perfect couple.”

Both athletes recall significant moments throughout the World Championship. “There were several moments. It’s the World Championship, everyone wants to win and gives their best game,” Mejía shared. “In some games, I get nervous or desperate, wanting to finish the game. But I worked a lot with sports psychology to face those situations.”

Looking ahead to 2025, the duo is eager for the chance to represent Mexico at The World Games in Chengdu, China. However, only one spot is available for female players, and they remain uncertain about who will represent the country. “We still don’t know who will represent Mexico at The World Games,” Herrera said. Mejía added, “Whoever goes, I know will give their all to put Mexico on the top of the podium.”

Mejía and Herrera are also considering their preparation strategies. Mejía noted, “If I get to go to TWG in Chengdu, my preparation would have to change. There are many things to improve, although I have improved a lot, there is always more to improve.”

In terms of competition, both athletes recognise the calibre of opponents they may face at The World Games.

“There are many good countries like Argentina, Guatemala, USA, and Bolivia. The matches in The World Games will be intense,” Herrera confessed.

 

Balancing the pressures of elite sport with personal life is also essential for both athletes. Herrera shared her approach: “My parents always taught me to be competitive on the court, but off the court, it’s another thing. I have very good friends from other countries, and when they beat me, I congratulate them. Obviously, I don’t like to lose, but sometimes it’s my turn. I accept it and try to improve on what I failed at.”

As role models, both athletes hope to inspire the next generation of racquetball players.

“I would tell them to never give up, always fight for their dreams,” Herrera said. Mejía reinforced this message, saying, “Sometimes things don’t go the way we want, but we must keep working to achieve our goals and objectives.”

With their eyes set on the future, Alexandra Herrera and Montserray Mejía continue to lead by example, showing the world what Mexican racquetball is capable of achieving.

The International World Games Association (IWGA) is a non-profit-making international sports organisation recognised and supported by the International Olympic Committee. The IWGA comprises 40 International Member Sports Federations. It administers and promotes The World Games (TWG), a multi-sport event held every four years that features around 35 sports on its programme. The next edition of TWG will be in Chengdu (CHN) from 7-17 August 2025. 5,000 participants from more than 100 countries are expected to take part in this 12th edition. The latest Games were hosted by Birmingham, Alabama (USA).

For more information, please contact the IWGA Media and Communication team: press@iwga.sport, Tel: +41 21 311 12 97, or visit our website.

Post from https://www.theworldgames.org/news/Athletes-26/Mexican-racquetball-stars-Herrera-and-Mejia-named-Athletes-of-the-Month-for-August-2024-2561