The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour is the latest name for the women's professional racquetball tour. It features the world's best players and several events each season - running from September to May - that are mostly played in the USA.

History

Women's professional racquetball has existed since the 1970s but the women's pro tour began in 1980, when the Women's Professional Racquetball Association (WPRA) was created. The tour was run by

International Management Group IMG, originally known as the International Management Group, is a global sports, events and talent management company headquartered in New York City. It has been owned by Endeavor since 2013. Trans World International (TWI) is an event and pro ...

, and did well in the early 1980s in part due to the great rivalry between

Lynn Adams Lynn Adams is a retired American racquetball player. A native of California, Adams was one of the dominant players in the 1980s, as she was ranked #1 or #2 every pro season between 1980 and 1991. Adams was attending Orange Coast College, and a ...

and

Heather McKay Heather Pamela McKay (née Blundell) (born 31 July 1941) is a retired Australian squash player, who is considered by many to be the greatest female player in the history of the game, and possibly also Australia's greatest-ever sportswoman. Sh ...

. The WPRA lasted until 1994, when the Women's International Racquetball Tour (WIRT) was created. In 2000, the United States Racquetball Association (USRA) took over administration of the WIRT, and renamed it the Ladies Professional Racquetball Association (LPRA). This led to significant growth under the supervision of the USRA, which had a three year plan for the LPRA. In 2005, the players took over control and ownership of the tour, and again it was reorganized and rebranded as the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization. Shannon Feaster, a former player and marketing executive, served as the WPRO Commissioner from February 2006 to May 2011, when she stepped down to focus on her family. Gigi Rock was then hired as the new commissioner in July 2011. In 2012, the players decided to reorganize and created th
LPRT
with T. J. Baumbaugh as President and Andy Kulback Deputy Commissioner. Kulback resigned in October 2016.

Current season

2022-2023 (Tier 1 and Grand Slam Events)

Season Summaries (Tier I and Grand Slam Events)

Rankings

Season ending top 10 rankings

* Note -

Christie Van Hees Christie Van Hees (born July 5, 1977) is a Canadian retired racquetball player. Van Hees won two World Championships in women's singles and was the number one women's professional player at the end of the 2004-2005 season. Professional career ...

announced she was retiring at the end of the 2000-01 season, and was omitted from the season ending rankings despite winning two tournaments that season and being in the finals of two others. She certainly would have been in the top 10 that season.Racquetball magazine, July–August 2001 * Note - Marcy Lynch and Anita Maldonado tied for 4th in 1995-96. * Note - Toni Bevelock and Molly O'Brien tied for 7th in 1992-93. Note: In the 1986-85 season, Terri Gilreath and Bonnie Stoll tied for 5th and Molly O'Brien and Sandy Robson tied for 7th.

Most years in top 10

Players ranked #1 at season's end

* 1980-81:

* 1981-82:

* 1982-83:

(2) * 1983-84:

(3) * 1984-85:

(2) * 1985-86:

(3) * 1986-87:

(4) * 1987-88:

(5) * 1988-89: Caryn McKinney * 1989-90:

(6) * 1990-91: Michelle Gilman * 1991-92: Jackie Paraiso Gibson * 1992-93: Michelle Gould (2) * 1993-94: Michelle Gould (3) * 1994-95: Michelle Gould (4) * 1995-96: Michelle Gould (5) * 1996-97: Michelle Gould (6) * 1997-98: Michelle Gould (7) * 1998-99:

Jackie Paraiso Jackie (Jacqueline) Paraiso (born September 14, 1966) is an American racquetball player. Paraiso was the #1 player on the women's pro racquetball tour at the end of the 1991-92, 1998–99, and 1999-2000 seasons. She is a seven time World Champion ...

(2) * 1999-2000:

(3) * 2000-01:

Cheryl Gudinas Cheryl Gudinas (born May 11, 1967) is an American retired racquetball player. Gudinas won three ww.internationalracquetball.com International Racquetball Federation(IRF) World Championships in Women’s Singles (2000, 2002, 2004), and was the #1 ...

* 2001-02:

(2) * 2002-03:

(3) * 2003-04:

(4) * 2004-05:

* 2005-06:

Rhonda Rajsich Rhonda Rajsich (born October 7, 1978) is an American racquetball player. She has been World Champion in Women's Singles twice, and Pan American Champion 6 times (4 times in Women's Singles & twice in Women's Doubles), as well as US Open champi ...

* 2006-07:

(2) * 2007-08:

(3) * 2008-09:

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 Champ ...

* 2009-10:

(2) * 2010-11:

(4) * 2011-12:

(3) * 2012-13:

(4) * 2013-14:

(5) * 2014-15:

(6) * 2015-16:

(7) * 2016-17:

(8) * 2017-18:

(9) * 2018-19:

(10) * 2019-20:

(11) * 2020-21:

(12) * 2021-22:

(13)

References

External links

* *

International Racquetball Tour The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) is the leading professional racquetball organization for men's competition. It was founded in 1991 and is the successor to previous iterations of the tour by different names. Professional Men's racquetbal ...

{{International sports tours Racquetball competitions Sports competition series