US OPEN WPRO Preview – Glory’s Best Shot at Making History

 

This is the 2009 US OPEN Racquetball Championships.

 

The Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) will feature all of the best female athletes from across the world on the new four wall Lucite portable racquetball court to crown another US OPEN champion.

Leading the charge will be defending champion Paola Longoria, and she will be joined by four other former US OPEN women’s singles champions – Cheryl Gudinas-Holmes, Rhonda Rajsich, Christie Van Hees, and Kerri Wachtel — in the women’s singles field along with a strong supporting cast of the world’s best players. With Longoria winning last year’s event, all of them have a legitimate chance to add another US OPEN title and have their name etched on the elegant silver championship trophy. If nerves are going to be frayed, they’re already frayed, and they’ve already been sewn back together. Everyone will be fighting a battle each round to make it to the end and winning the US OPEN makes that battle worth the effort.

 

It’s easy to identify who the favorites are at the US OPEN, but who could shock everyone and walk away with the famed silver trophy? What we know is the US OPEN throne no longer belongs to just one player now that Longoria is in the driver’s seat, but should Christie Van Hees, who has won three US OPEN singles championships, steps on the gas, she may leave her competition in the rear view mirror.

 

Of course, any one of the female players who will play in the US OPEN can win, but the previous champions have a better chance than most. Here is a preview of the tour’s top ladies looking to capture the sports most coveted championship.

 

 

Paola Longoria (2:1 odds) – What a difference a year can make for defending US OPEN champion, Paola Longoria who became the first Mexican player – man or woman, to finish the WPRO season with a No.1 ranking. At 19, and still a teenager, Longoria also became the youngest female to win a US OPEN championship. This energetic superstar has proven herself on the WPRO by winning half of the tour events last season. She defeated two-time US OPEN champion Cheryl Gudinas-Holmes in the finals last year and flashed moments of brilliance under the bright lights. Although she has a very unorthodox swing style, she has improved each year and rides her emotions to the very end. Longoria may be coming into the prime of her career at just the right time. Could she become only the fourth female player to defend her US OPEN singles championship?

 

Rhonda Rajsich (3:1 odds) – Rajsich is a two time winner of the US OPEN (2003, 2007) and is a serious problem for anyone standing in her way. She had another sensational performance during the WPRO ’08-’09 season, winning the other half of the tour events that Longoria did not capture. Rajsich has finished with the number one year end ranking for three straight years except for last season, when Longoria captured it and ended Rajsich’s reign at the top.  Rajsich is a warrior; she has it all and knows what it takes to get to the top. Can Rajsich win this event? Yes. Will she be ready? Yes. Is Rajsich the next queen of Memphis, the next three-time women’s singles US OPEN winner, can she reclaim her number one ranking?

 

Cheryl Gudinas-Holmes (4:1 odds) – By now, Cheryl Gudinas-Holmes is used to the chatter. It comes with the territory when you have been competing as long as she has. So, of course, when Gudinas-Holmes had a bad stretch during the 08’- 09’ season by not winning a single event, conjecture commenced about her future. All of that talk seems silly when viewing the big picture. She has two US OPEN championships (2002, 2004) to her credit and lost in the finals of last year’s US OPEN to Longoria. If she is healthy coming into Memphis, can she add that elusive third US OPEN championship?

 

Christie Van Hees (5:1 odds) – Christie continues to make headlines each year she has played in the US OPEN. She became the first unranked player to go from being a qualifier to a finalist in the 2003 US OPEN. She became the first female to win three US OPEN championships (2006, 2005, and 2000) and is looking to make more history by winning an unprecedented fourth US OPEN championship. Her lack of playing time on the WPRO may be substituted with some husband-wife court time with her recent marriage to men’s pro Jack Huczek, which may help get her back to championship form. Does she have enough in her arsenal to hoist another championship trophy?

 

Kerri Wachtel (6:1 odds) – For starters, we know she can win a US OPEN championship, since she did so in 2001. As anyone who has seen Wachtel in action knows, she seems to raise her level of play in Memphis. The difference now is that Wachtel is a mother to twin girls, bringing a whole new set of logistical challenges and emotional priorities as she launches her quest for a second US OPEN title. She will have to show a champion’s mettle to claim it. Does she have the heart and can she re-live the same magic?

 

Kristen Bellows (7:1 odds) – The player formerly known as Kristen Walsh has also been making waves in the WPRO. She finished the 08’- 09’ tour season by winning her first Grand Slam event, the Ektelon Pro World Championships, stealing the spotlight that was supposed to be on Longoria and Rajsich, who were battling for the season end number one ranking. Expectations are already mounting for Bellows, she was a semifinalist last year losing to Gudinas-Holmes and her game is back on track. Will she stop forcing the big shots and let it come to her?

 

Angela Grisar (8:1 odds) – This Chilean superstar has earned the respect of her competitors on the WPRO as one of the toughest players to step on the hardwood. Her best showing was a semifinal appearance at the 2007 US OPEN and she continues to sparkle on the big stage. She has relied on her backhand and supreme conditioning but will need to play with more confidence. Can she put together a performance that can get her to the finals and become the first player from Chile to win the US OPEN?

 

Brenda Kyzer (10:1 odds) – Kyzer has been a fan favorite every year in Memphis and she continues to add more memorable performances. Last year, she put together a flawless game plan and knocked out Rajsich to earn another semifinal appearance. Kyzer is an experienced veteran and plays within her own game style that keeps her competitive. Assuming she is healthy – and cumulative injuries certainly played a part in her initial decision to step away from the game – she may have a shot at getting close to the winner’s circle. Is it her time?

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