2018 Racquetball World Championships

The International Racquetball Federation's 19th Racquetball World Championships were held in San José, Costa Rica from August 10–18, 2018. Originally, the event was to be held in Haining, China,[1] but on March 17, 2018, the IRT announced via its Facebook page that the venue will be changed due to complications.[2] Cali, Colombia was the first alternative choice, but there were complications there as well, so on June 16, 2018, the IRF announced via Facebook that San José, Costa Rica will host Worlds.[3]

XIX Racquetball World Championships
2018
Host San José, Costa Rica
Dates August 10–18, 2018
Men's singles
Gold Mexico Rodrigo Montoya
Silver United States Charlie Pratt
Bronze United States David Horn
Colombia Sebastian Franco
Women's singles
Gold Guatemala Gabriela Martínez
Silver Mexico Paola Longoria
Bronze Argentina María José Vargas
Argentina Natalia Mendez
Men's doubles
Gold Mexico Álvaro Beltrán & Daniel de la Rosa
Silver United States Rocky Carson & Sudsy Monchik
Bronze Bolivia Roland Keller & Conrrado Moscoso
Canada Tim Landeryou & Samuel Murray
Women's doubles
Gold Bolivia Valeria Centellas & Yazmine Sabja
Silver Mexico Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejía
Bronze Guatemala Gabriela Martínez & Maria Renee Rodriguez
Colombia Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros

Rodrigo Montoya of Mexico won men's singles for the first time, defeating the USA's Charlie Pratt in the final. In Women's singles, Gabriela Martínez of Guatemala upset the three-time defending champion Mexican Paola Longoria to win gold. In doubles, Álvaro Beltrán and Daniel de la Rosa won men's doubles in three games over Rocky Carson and Sudsy Monchik of the US, and Bolivians Valeria Centellas and Yasmine Sabja became the first women from South America to win Women's doubles after defeating Mexicans Alexandra Herrera and Monserrat Mejia in a three-game final.

2018 was the first year the USA did not win a gold medal at Worlds. On five occasions the USA swept the gold medals in men's and women's singles and doubles: 1981, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2008. Also, 2018 was the third time that three countries won a gold medal at Worlds; that first happened in 2006 and 2014.

Tournament format

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The 2018 World Championships used a two-stage format to determine the World Champions. Initially, players competed in separate groups over three days. The results were used to seed players for an elimination round. Thus, there was no team competition. Team standings were based on points earned from the singles and doubles competitions.

Medal table

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Mexico (MEX)2204
2  Bolivia (BOL)1012
  Guatemala (GUA)1012
4  United States (USA)0213
5  Argentina (ARG)0022
  Colombia (COL)0022
7  Canada (CAN)0011
Totals (7 entries)44816

Events

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Men's singles

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Semifinals Final
          
  David Horn 9 8
  Rodrigo Montoya 15 15
  Charlie Pratt 14 9
  Rodrigo Montoya 15 15
  Charlie Pratt 15 15
  Sebastian Franco 8 13

Women's singles

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Semifinals Final
          
  Paola Longoria 6 15 11
  María José Vargas 15 2 7
  Paola Longoria 15 6 6
  Gabriela Martínez 8 15 11
  Gabriela Martínez 15 15
  Natalia Mendez 8 3

Men's doubles

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Semifinals Final
          
  Álvaro Beltrán & Daniel de la Rosa 15 15
  Roland Keller & Conrrado Moscoso 14 8
  Álvaro Beltrán & Daniel de la Rosa 10 15 11
  Rocky Carson & Sudsy Monchik 15 9 2
  Rocky Carson & Sudsy Monchik 15 15
  Tim Landeryou & Samuel Murray 12 2

Women's doubles

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Semifinals Final
          
  Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejía 15 15
  Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros 8 4
  Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejía 15 14 2
  Valeria Centellas & Yasmine Sabja 8 15 11
  Gabriela Martínez & Maria Renee Rodriguez 15 7 4, injury forfeit
  Valeria Centellas & Yasmine Sabja 10 15 6

Team results

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Final team standings[4]
Men's Team Points Women's Team Points Overall/Combined Points
1   Mexico 432   Mexico 352   Mexico 784
2   USA 392   Guatemala 332   USA 546
3   Colombia 216   Bolivia 268   Bolivia 480
4   Bolivia 212   Argentina 248   Guatemala 414
5   Canada 196   Colombia 196   Colombia 412
6   Argentina 126   USA 154   Argentina 374
7   Dominican Republic 110   South Korea 110   Canada 280
8   Costa Rica 108   Canada 84   Dominican Republic 174
9   Ecuador 90   Japan 82   Japan,   South Korea 166
10   Japan 84   Chile 74
11   Guatemala 82   Dominican Republic 64   Ecuador 146
12   Venezuela 64   Ecuador 56   Chile 122
13   South Korea 56   Ireland 48   Costa Rica 118
14   Chile 48   Venezuela,   Costa Rica 10   Ireland 88
15   Ireland 40   Venezuela 74
16   India 35   India 35
17   Puerto Rico 18   Puerto Rico
18   Switzerland 5      Switzerland 5

References

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  1. ^ "Future Events – IRF". International Racquetball Federation. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  2. ^ Baghurst, Timothy. "International Racquetball Federation". Facebook. Facebook. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  3. ^ Maggi, Osvaldo. " "Message from IRF President". Facebook. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Home". internationalracquetball.com.
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