Paola Longoria

Paola Michelle Longoria López (born July 20, 1989) is a Mexican racquetball player.

She is the current Women's World Champion in both Singles and Doubles, winning both divisions at the 2022 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in San Luis Potosi.

Longoria is the winningest player in IRF World Championship history, and she is the only woman to win both singles and doubles at Worlds.

Longoria won eight consecutive International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championships from 2001 to 2008, winning twice in each age category: 12U, 14U, 16U, and 18U.

Longoria also won six Girl's Doubles titles at World Juniors.

She won Girls 12U doubles with Eleni Guzman in 2001, and the pair won Girls 14U doubles in 2002 and 2003, as well as Girls 16U doubles in 2005.

Longoria won Girls 14U doubles with Luisa Aldrete in 2004 and she won Girls 18U doubles in 2008 with Arantza Loredo.

Longoria played at the US Open Racquetball Championships for a second time in 2004, when she reached the quarterfinals before losing to then defending champion Rhonda Rajsich, 11–5, 11–8, 11–1.

At 16, Longoria made her first appearance on the Mexico National Team when she played Women's Singles at the 2006 Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, where she won gold, beating American Kristen Walsh Bellows in the final, 15–6, 15–6.

Longoria's second appearance for Mexico was at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games, where she won Women's Singles - defeating Dominican Republic's Claudine Garcia in the final, and was also part of the Mexican team that won the Women's Team event.

After turning 17 in July 2006, Longoria played at the IRF World Championships for the first time in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where she reached the quarterfinals and lost to Canadian Jennifer Saunders.

In the Women's Team event, Mexico were bronze medalists, beating Bolivia in the quarterfinals and losing to the US in the semi-finals, so Longoria got a bronze medal from her first World Championships.

She had a chance to defend her Pan American Championship in 2007 in Santiago, Chile, as she defeated Canadian Jennifer Saunders in the quarterfinals, but in the semi-finals, she lost to American Rhonda Rajsich, 15–14, 15–14.

Thus, Longoria came away from Santiago with a bronze medal.

Longoria got to her first pro final in May 2007 at the Ektelon Pro Nationals in New Orleans, Louisiana.

A few months later, in September 2007, Longoria won her first women's pro tournament in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where she defeated Kerri Wachtel in the quarterfinals, Kristen Walsh Bellows in the semi-finals, and Rhonda Rajsich in the final, 12–14, 11–8, 9–11, 11–6, 11–7.

Then in November 2007, Longoria matched her career best finish at the US Open Racquetball Championships in Memphis, where she reached the quarterfinals and then lost to Rajsich.

She finished the 2007-08 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season at #6, her first season in the top 10, as she had her first win, and was in the semi-finals twice and quarterfinals three times.

Longoria is also the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) tour, and was the first Mexican woman to attain the #1 pro ranking, doing so at the end of the 2008–09 season.

Longoria won her 2nd Pan American Championship in 2008 in San José, Costa Rica, where she narrowly defeated Canadian Jennifer Saunders in the semi-finals, 15–6, 6–15, 11–10, and then beat Rhonda Rajsich in the final, 15–10, 15–9.

At the 2008 IRF World Championships in Kingscourt, Ireland, Longoria earned bronze medals in both Women's Singles and Women's Doubles.

In singles, she defeated Canadian Josée Grand'Maître in the quarterfinals, 15–10, 15–8, and then lost to American Rhonda Rajsich, 15–10, 15–9, in the semi-finals.

Longoria played doubles with Rosy Torres, and they defeated Bolivians Carola Loma and Jenny Daza in the quarters, 15–12, 15–6, then lost to Canadians Genevieve Brodeur and Véronique Guillemette in the semis, 3–15, 15–6, 11–9.

In the Women's Team event, Mexico was upset by Chile, 2–1.

Longoria and Torres won the first match of the quarterfinal defeating Angela Grisar and Fabiola Marquez, 15–4, 15–1.

But in the singles matches, Grisar defeated Longoria, 15–12, 7–15, 11–7, and Marquez beat Susana Acosta, 15–11, 11–15, 11–4.

Longoria won her first US Open title in 2008 as the 5th seed.

She defeated Kerri Wachtel in the quarterfinals, Brenda Kyzer in the semi-finals, and Cheryl Gudinas in the final, 11–8, 7–11, 11–7, 11–7.

Her win was the first US Open title for a Mexican player, as well as the first time a Mexican was in the US Open final.

She won three other times on tour, and finished #1 at the end of the 2008-09 LPRT season for the first time.

She repeated the feat at the end of 2009–2010 season, and has been #1 for ten consecutive seasons.

Longoria's style is characterized by a semi-western grip of the racquet, which is unusual for racquetball; Longoria is the only pro player using this grip style.

Longoria began playing racquetball at eight years old when she was at a summer camp, and describes the experience as love at first sight and decided to devote her passion and effort to the sport.

At the 2009 Pan American Championships in Cali, Colombia, Longoria came away with two medals: bronze in singles and silver in doubles.

In Women's Singles, she lost to Cheryl Gudinas in the semi-finals, 5–15, 15–10, 11–8, and in Women's Doubles, she reached the finals with Samantha Salas by defeating Bolivians Carola Loma and Jenny Daza in the semis, 15–8, 15–12, but lost to Americans Aimee Ruiz and Jackie Paraiso, 15–6, 15–8, in final.

Longoria qualified for the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, Taiwan based on her performance at the 2008 World Championships.

She won gold in the women's singles event.

She got to the quarters by defeating 6th seed Adrienne Haynes, 11–7, 11–2, 11–3, in the Round of 32, and Susana Acosta, 14–12, 11–6, 4–11, 11–6, in the Round of 16, and impressed Rajsich in the quarters such that she commented "Watch out for that one," said Rajsich, adding "It's refreshing to see someone so young play so tough.” Explaining her performance, Longoria said "I am not intimidated because I don't think that it is impossible to win against them."

That result helped her finish 12th in the season ending rankings.

She was the 14th seed, but upset 3rd seed Kerri Wachtel in the Round of 16, 6th seed Kristen Walsh Bellows in the quarterfinals, 2nd seed Cheryl Gudinas in the semi-finals, before losing to top seed Rhonda Rajsich in the final.