Gabriela Martinez

Gabriela Martinez (born August 2, 1999) is a Guatemalan racquetball player.

Martinez is the current Pan American Games Champion in women's doubles (with Maria Renee Rodriguez).

Martinez first competed at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) Junior World Championships in 2009 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where she lost to Mary Zeng (USA), 10-15, 15-13, 11-3, in the semi-finals of Girls U10.

But she won Girls U10 the next year in Los Angeles, when she defeated Mexican Monserrat Mejia, 15-1, 6-15, 11-2, in the final.

Martinez has competed on the Guatemala National Team at international tournaments since 2012, garnering many medals across her career.

Martinez represented Guatemala at the World Championships for the first time in 2012, when she was 13.

She competed in Women's Doubles with Maria Renee Rodriguez, and lost in the Round of 16 to the South Korean team of Malhee Kwon and Mi Ok An, 10-15, 15-14, 11-7.

But they defeated South Korea in Women's Team event Round of 16, 2 matches to 1, and then lost to Canada in quarterfinals, 2-0.

Later in 2012, she won Girls U12 at the World Junior Championships in Los Angeles by defeating Bolivian Wanda Carvajal in the final, 15-13, 15-13, and Martinez also won Girls U16 Doubles with Rodriguez.

Martinez and Rodriguez played Women's Doubles at the 2013 Pan American Championships in Cali, Colombia, losing in the round of 16 to Colombians Cristina Amaya and Carline Gomez.

Martinez won girls' U14 singles at the 2013 Junior World Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, defeating Mexican Erin Rivera in the final, 15-9, 15-8.

She lost to Maria Paz Muñoz of Ecuador, 15-4, 15-9, in the round of 32 in singles, and as in 2013, Martinez and Rodriguez lost in the round of 16, but this time to Costa Ricans Melania Sauma and Sofia Soley, 15-13, 6-15, 11-10.

In 2014, Martinez competed at the Pan American Championships in women's singles and women's doubles (with Rodgriguez).

Martinez went to her second World Championships in 2014 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, where she played both singles and doubles.

In women's singles, she defeated Argentina's Véronique Guillemette, 15-9, 10-15, 11-6, in the round of 32, but then lost to Maria Jose Vargas of Argentina, 15-5, 15-5.

In women's doubles, she and Maria Renee Rodriguez lost to Mexicans Paola Longoria and Samantha Salas, 15-6, 15-4, in the round of 16.

At the 2014 Junior World Championships in Cali, Colombia, Martinez again won girls' U14 by defeating over Wanda Carvajal of Bolivia in the final, 15-2, 15-9.

Martinez reached the podium at an international event for the first time at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, where she was a triple medalist.

Martinez was a silver medalist in both women's doubles (with Maria Renee Rodriguez) and the women's team event as well as a bronze medalist in women's singles, as she lost to Paola Longoria of Mexico in the semi-finals, 15-5, 15-9.

In the women's doubles final, Martinez and Rodriguez lost to Mexicans Longoria and Samantha Salas, 15-4, 15-2.

At the 2015 Pan American Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Martinez lost in women's singles to the Dominican Republic's Maria Cespedes, 7-15, 15-12, 11-9.

In women's doubles in Santo Domingo, Martinez and Rodriguez reached the quarterfinals, but lost to Bolivians Carola Loma and Adriana Riveros, 6-15, 15-7, 11-7.

Martinez attended her first Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015, when she played women's singles, women's doubles and in the women's team event.

In singles, she lost in the round of 16 to Mexican Paola Longoria, 15-3, 15-6, and in doubles, Martinez and Rodriguez lost to Bolivians Carola Loma and Natalia Mendez in the round of 16, 10-15, 15-11, 11-5.

She helped put a scare into the host Canadian team in the first round of the women's team event, as she upset Frédérique Lambert in their singles match, and then went to a tie-breaker in the deciding doubles match before Canadians Lambert and Jennifer Saunders were able to pull out the victory.

In 2016, Martinez picked up her first medal at the Pan American Racquetball Championships, as she reached the semi-finals by defeating Michelle Key of the USA in the quarterfinals, 15-7, 10-15, 11-7.

In the semis, Martinez lost to Canadian Frédérique Lambert, 15-9, 14-15, 11-5, resulting in a bronze medal.

This was just the second podium result for Martinez.

At a couple weeks short of her 17th birthday and with just two podium finishes, little was expected of Martinez coming into the 2016 World Championships in Cali, Colombia.

However, she exceeded whatever expectations people had by reaching the finals in women's singles.

To get there, Martinez defeated former 2-time World Champion Rhonda Rajsich of the USA in the round of 16, 15-14, 14-15, 11-7, then beat Ecauador's Veronica Sotomayor, 15-9, 15-9, in the quarterfinals, and Mexico's Samantha Salas, 15-11, 14-15, 11-9, in the semi-finals, before falling to 2-time defending champion Paola Longoria of Mexico, 15-12, 15-5.

It was Martinez's greatest achievement up to then by far.

She also played women's doubles at Worlds in Cali, where she and Maria Renee Rodriguez defeated Colombians Cristina Amaya and Caroline Gomez in the round of 16, 13-15, 15-13, 11-8, and then lost to Mexicans Longoria and Salas, 15-2, 15-5, in the quarter-finals.

In 2016, Martinez was again a World Junior Champion, as she won girls' U16 at the World Junior Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, by defeating Mexican Monserrat Mejia in final, 15-13, 15-7.

She also won Girls U18 Doubles with Andrea Martinez, her older sister.

Martinez earned two bronze medals at the 2017 Pan American Championships in San José, Costa Rica.

In women's singles, she got to the semi-finals by defeating Chile's Carla Muñoz, 15-4, 15-8, in the quarterfinals.

She is a former International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in the women's singles, winning the title at the 2018 World Championships.

In Sucre, she was also 3rd in U18 Girls Doubles with Rodriguez.

Also in Cali, she and Rodriguez were 2nd in U18 doubles, as they lost to Mexicans Alexandra Herrera and Ximena Gonzalez, 15-9, 7-15, 11-2.