Rodrigo Montoya

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Rodrigo Montoya
Personal information
NationalityMexican
Born (1996-06-04) June 4, 1996 (age 25)
Chihuahua, Mexico
Sport
SportRacquetball
Medal record
Men's Racquetball
Representing  Mexico
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Singles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Lima Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Guatemala City Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2018 San José Singles
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Barranquilla Team
Pan American Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Barranquilla Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Temuco Singles
Gold medal – first place 2018 Temuco Doubles

Rodrigo Montoya (born June 4, 1996) is a Mexican racquetball player.[1] He is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in Men’s Doubles, winning the title with Javier Mar in 2021 in Guatemala City. That was his 2nd IRF World Championship, as he won Men’s Singles in 2018 in Costa Rica. He is also the current Pan American Games champion in both Men’s Singles and Doubles with Mar, winning those events at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima.

Junior years - Success at World Juniors[]

Montoya played at the 2013 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, where he was second in Boys U16, losing the final to fellow Mexican Andree Parrilla, 15-9, 15-11.[2] He also played U16 Doubles there, and won it with Erik Garcia.[3]

Montoya won Boys U18 at World Juniors in 2015 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, by defeating Parrilla in the final, 15-7, 15-11.[4]

Career begins - 2015-2018[]

Montoya began playing pro racquetball on the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) in 2015.[5] After not getting past the quarterfinals in his first three appearances, Montoya had a breakthrough when he won the 2016 Pleasanton Open, defeating Alejandro Cardona in the final, 6-15, 15-5, 11-1.[6] He also played the US Open for the first time, losing to Kane Waselenchuk the Round of 32, 11-2, 11-5, 11-6.[7]

In 2017, Montoya played 10 WRT tournaments, reaching the final six times and winning thrice.[5] His first win was in January at the 2017 Longhorn Open, defeating Javier Mar in the final, 12-15, 15-8, 11-2. He followed that up with a win in February at the Mount Rainier Open, beating David Horn in the final, 15-5, 15-5. His third win came in June, when he defeated Alejandro Landa in the final of the Paola Longoria Challenge, 15-13, 5-15, 11-2.

Montoya played twice on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) in 2017,[8] and reached the semi-finals in Canoga Park, California, where he beat Alvaro Beltran, 11-8, 12-10, 11-5, in the quarterfinals before losing to Kane Waselenchuk in the semis, 11-1, 11-0, 11-3.[9] In his second US Open, Montoya again reached the Round of 32, and lost to Alejandro Landa but in a tie-breaker, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9.

Winning gold for Mexico - 2018-present[]

Montoya began 2018 with a runner up showing at the 2018 WRT Longhorn Open, losing in the final to Jake Bredenbeck, 15-3, 15-11.[10] Then at the 2018 IRT Lewis Drug Pro-Am, he lost to Samuel Murray in the quarterfinals, 15-10, 5-15, 11-5.[11]

Montoya first played for the Mexican National Team at the 2018 Pan American Racquetball Championships in Temuco, Chile, where he played both Men’s Singles and Doubles. In singles, he reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Carlos Keller of Bolivia, 15-6, 2-15, 11-4.[12] But he and Alvaro Beltran won Men’s Doubles, defeating Bolivians Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso in the final, 13-15, 15-10, 11-6.[13]

Also in 2018, Montoya played at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, where he lost in the quarterfinals of Men’s Singles to Luis Perez of the Dominican Republic, 15-10, 15-11. But he helped Mexico win gold in the Men’s Team event, including beating Andres Acuña of Costa Rica, 15-10, 15-2, in one of the singles matches in the final.

Montoya wrapped up an internationally successful 2018 by winning Men’s Singles at the IRF World Championships, beating American Charlie Pratt in the final, 15-14, 15-9, after defeating American David Horn in the semi-finals, 15-9, 15-8, and Bolivian Conrrado Moscoso in the quarterfinals, 13-15, 15-7, 11-6.[14] It was Montoya’s first World title in his first World Championships appearance.

At the 2018 US Open, he had his career best finish, losing to Mario Mercado in the Round of 16, 6-15, 15-13, 11-5.[8]

Montoya began 2019 with a Round of 16 finish at the IRT's California Open in January, when he lost to Alejandro Landa, 10-15, 15-7, 11-6. But two weeks later, he defeated Landa en route to a semi-final finish in the 41st Annual Lewis Drug IRT Pro-Am in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. There Montoya beat Landa in the Round of 16, 15-8, 9-15, 11-10, Alvaro Beltran in the quarterfinals, 15-12, 15-6, before losing to Daniel De La Rosa in the semi-finals, 15-1, 15-4.[8] He followed that up with another semi-final finish at the Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois, where Montoya beat De La Rosa in the 16s, 15-3, 15-9, and Beltran in the quarters, 15-8, 15-9, before losing to Rocky Carson in the semis, 15-11, 15-2.[8] Those results helped Montoya finish the 2018-19 IRT season in the top 10 for the first time at #9.[15]

Montoya tried to defend Mexico’s Pan American Men’s Doubles Championship at the 2019 Pan American Racquetball Championships in Barranquilla, Colombia, with Javier Mar, but they lost in the semi-finals to Bolivians Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso, 14-15, 15-11, 11-7.[16]

At the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, Montoya won both Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles. In singles, he defeated fellow Mexican Alvaro Beltran in the final, 9-15, 15-6, 11-0.[17] In the semi-finals, Montoya defeated Bolivian Conrrado Moscoso, 15-14, 15-10, and in the quarters, beat Canadian Samuel Murray, 15-7, 15-10. In doubles, he and Javier Mar beat Moscoso and Roland Keller, 15-10, 15-1. They defeated Americans Rocky Carson and Charlie Pratt in the semi-finals, 11-15, 15-9, 11-8, and Canadians Coby Iwaasa and Samuel Murray in the quarterfinals, 15-5, 15-6. Despite those two wins, Montoya and his Mexican team-mates only reached the semi-finals in the team event in Lima, where they lost to the Colombian team of Sebastian Franco and Mario Mercado.[18]

Montoya went to the 2021 IRF World Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala as the defending champion in Men's Singles. However, he was defeated by Costa Rican Andres Acuña in the group stage, 15-5, 15-4, which gave him a low seeding for the medal round.[19] He lost his second medal round match to American Jake Bredenbeck, 15-10, 15-14. Montoya also played Men's Doubles in Guatemala with Javier Mar, and they won gold by defeating Bolivians Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso, 15-10, 15-9, in the final after beating the USA's Alejandro Landa and , 15-2, 15-13, in the semi-finals.[20][21] So, although Montoya failed to defend his title in Men's Singles, he won Men's Doubles, and in doing so became just the third man to win both singles and doubles at Worlds (after American Todd O'Neill and Mexican Alvaro Beltran).

Career summary[]

Montoya has played six times for Mexico, and won six gold medals. He's never lost an international final.

Career record[]

This table lists Montoya’s results across annual events.

Event 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
US Open - 32 32 16 32 P 32
IRT Ranking - 63 22 9 12
World Racquetball Tour Ranking 23 6 2 8 - -

Note: W = winner, F = finalist, SF = semi-finalist, QF = quarterfinalist, 16 = Round of 16. P = pandemic cancelled event.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Rodrigo Montoya". International Racquetball Tour. International Racquetball Tour. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  2. ^ "2013 World Junior Championships - Boys U16 Singles". IRF. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  3. ^ "2013 World Junior Championships - Boys U16 Doubles". IRF. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  4. ^ "2015 World Junior Championships - Boys U18 Singles". IRF. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Rodrigo Montoya's WRT Matches". Pro Racquetball Stats. Todd Boss. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  6. ^ "2016 Pleasanton Open - WRT Singles". R2 Sports. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  7. ^ "2016 US Open - IRT Singles". R2 Sports. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d "Rodrigo Montoya's IRT Matches". Pro Racquetball Stats. Todd Boss. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  9. ^ "2017 Phase IV Scientific Health & Performance Pro-Am - IRT Singles". R2 Sports. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  10. ^ "2018 WRT Longhorn Open". R2 Sports. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  11. ^ "40th Annual IRT Lewis Drug Pro-Am". R2 Sports. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  12. ^ "2018 Pan American Championships - Men's Singles". IRF. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Men's Doubles Draw" (PDF). International Racquetball Federation. IRF. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  14. ^ "2018 IRF World Championships - Men's Singles" (PDF). IRF. Dropbox. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Rodrigo Montoya's IRT Record". Pro Racquetball Stats. Todd Boss. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  16. ^ "2019 Pan American Championships - Men's Doubles". IRF. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  17. ^ "2019 Pan American Games - Men's Singles". IRF. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  18. ^ "2019 Pan American Games - Men's Team". IRF. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Mens Singles". International Racquetball Federation. International Racquetball Federation. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  20. ^ Kirk, Cheryl. "2021 IRF World Racquetball Championships Blog". USA Racquetball. Team USA. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Mens Doubles". International Racquetball Federation. International Racquetball Federation. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
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