Welcome to one of the longer running events on tour, the Arizona Open, run by hall of famer @Jim Winterton in Tempe on the campus of Arizona State University.
R2 Sports App link: https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=45386
We’ve got 27 pros entered in the singles division here, which is a high water mark so far for the new season and seems to indicate a slight increase of “tour depth” from last season.
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Let’s preview the singles draw.
In the 32s:
– We get a rematch of Lotts/Ros in the 16/17 from the Lombard event in November; Lotts won 11,10 back then, but Ros is improving by the month.
– We get a rare sighting of Lucia Gonzalez, former Mexican junior phenom. She takes on Amaya in the 32s, but based on Cristina’s form I don’t see an upset here. Gonzalez, in case you didn’t know who she was, won 7 IRF Junior world titles in her junior career, including the 18U world title in 2013 at a time when the 18U world champion basically was a guarantee of a top 10 LPRT pro (the 2 18U champs preceeding and following Lucia? Lambert, Vargas, Hererra and Mendez).
– Michelle Key, now all the way up to #12, takes on former touring pro regular MRR.
– Lexi York takes on Annie (Roberts) Sanchez, looking to take a step up after finishing off her junior career last December. Sanchez hasn’t had the success on tour that she’s had internationally and this is a good test.
– We have a @Rhonda Rajsich sighting! She’s entered an LPRT event, in her home state, for the first time in two years. She has an easier round of 32 this time than she did two years ago (when she faced Vargas), but she’s still and underdog against #6 @Kelani Lawrence .
– A tough matchup of Mexican top 10 veterans Parrilla and Enriquez is set for the 10-23 round of 32.
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round of 16:
– Amaya/Salas projection in the 8/9 match for the fourth time in a year. Salas has generally been winning these veteran battles, but they’re usually going tiebreaker.
– Gaby-Key in the 5/12: these two have been meeting somewhat regularly in international play for a decade, with Martinez holding the edge.
– Mendez vs the Enriquez/Parrilla winner. Mendez has struggled in her career against Parrilla, but has been playing well as of late and has been playing to her seeds pretty frequently.
– Vargas vs Barrios: this is brutal draw for the #2 seed Vargas, playing a player who has a slew of career wins over her. They’re 4-4 for their career against each other, though Vargas has beaten her handily in the two meetings they had last year. Nonetheless, this is about as big of a contrast in styles as you’ll see on tour and this will always be an upset watch.
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Projected Qtrs:
– 1/8 @Paola Longoria over the Salas/Amaya winner; if its Salas, it would be their 63rd professional meeting.
– 4/5 Herrera vs Gaby; this isn’t a great matchup for Gaby, who has lost to Alexandra the last three times they’ve played. They’ve all been close, but Herrera’s game style seems to stymy Martinez. I’ll go with the lefty to win here.
– 3/6 Mejia vs Lawrence; they’ve played 3 times in their careers, none were especially close. Mejia to advance.
– 2/7 Vargas tops her doubles partner Mendez, to whom she’s never lost in singles.
Semis: It’s more of the same; last event Herrera missed but Laime filled in, but was still the same crew in the semis that i’m projecting here.
– Longoria over Herrera: Alexandra had Longoria’s number for a brief moment, but seemingly no longer. Paola to the final.
– Vargas over Mejia: somehow these two have avoided each other for nearly a year on tour despite both being ranked in the top 3 that entire time. Vargas has had the upper hand lately, but this is always a fun one to watch because of the power-first style of both players. Vargas to win again.
Finals; Another Paola vs Vargas matchup. Did you know these two have played 55 times in pro and high-level IRF events over their careers? It’s been a tale of two players in their head to head career:
– From their first meeting at 2012 Worlds to this Arizona event in 2023, Longoria held an astounding 41-2 over Vargas. She won their first 26 meetings.
– From Feb 2023 to now? Vargas leads 7-5.
Yes those are arbitrary endpoints. But we know Vargas flipped a switch in 2023, which led to her first title in June of 2024, and that switch has stayed on. These two have met in two finals so far this season, splitting them both, both in TBs. No reason not to think that’ll happen again here. When Vargas has an easier semi, she seems to have an easier final; i don’t see that here. So i’ll go with Longoria to win.
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Doubles review
There’s some interesting developments in the Doubles draw. Herrera/Mejia are #1 as expected, but Vargas is playing with Centellas, not Mendez. Both represent Argentina, and they’ve never once played together previously. So, Mendez picks up one of the best doubles players in the world in Michelle Key and they’re the #2 seeds.
Key/Mendez will have their work cut out for them, as team Guatemala is the #7 seed and is a favorite to upset them. Meanwhile, the experienced team of Scott/Lawrence will test the new-look Argentines in the 4/5 matchup.
At the end of the day, I th ink its the two top Mexican teams facing off once again in the final, with Herrera/Mejia topping Longoria/Salas for the title.
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Look for Streaming in the regular places; follow the LPRT on Facebook and sign up to get notifications when they go Live. Look for Timothy Baghurst, Sandy Rios, Jerry J Josey Jr., and Tj Baumbaugh on the mike, calling the shots!
Coincidentally, if you’re interested in playing Fantasy Racquetball for this event, the links to the brackets are advertised on LPRT’s main page. The winner each week gets free swag!
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