The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) is the leading professional

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velo ...

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 racquetball events have been offered since 1973. Events are played mostly in the USA. Mike Grisz became chief executive officer of the IRT in January 2019. He succeeded John Scott, who became chief executive officer in June 2017, when the IRT was taken over by E.J. Promotions Inc. Previously,

Jason Mannino Jason Mannino, born January 28, 1975, is a retired American racquetball player. Mannino was the #1 player at the end of the 2002-200International Racquetball Tour (IRT)season, and is a two-time winner of the US Open. He was named to the USA Ra ...

, a former pro player, served as IRT President., who succeeded Dave Negrete in 2009. Negrete was Commissioner from 2001 to 2009. Initially, Mannino continued to play on the tour during the 2009-2010 season as well as serve as the IRT's leader, but retired at the end of that season to concentrate on being IRT President.

Rules of play

IRT matches primarily use the rules as set out b
USA Racquetball
IRT matches were best of five games to 11 points each beginning in 1981 with each game won by a minimum of two points (e.g., a 12-10 score can end a game, but 11-10 cannot). But in the middle of the 2017-18 season, the IRT changed its match scoring from best of 5 games to 11 points to a best of 3 games with the first 2 games to 15 points and the tie-breaker to 11. Moreover, each of the three games was win by 1 point rather than 2 points, as it was under the previous rule with games to 11 points. The rule came into effect at the start of the 2018 calendar year. Beginning in the 2010-2011 season, the IRT has changed its service rule so that players get two opportunities to put the ball into play (two serve rule), as in

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

where players are allowed two faults before losing a point. Since the 1990s, the IRT had been using a one serve rule, so a fault serve resulted in an immediate loss of serve.

Current season

2022 (Tier 1 and Grand Slam Events)

* Note: The New York Open final was abandoned due to poor playing conditions.

Season summaries (Tier I and Grand Slam Events)

Note: The

US Open Racquetball Championships The UnitedHealthcare US Open Racquetball Championships is the premier professional racquetball event. It is a Grand Slam event with men and women competing from the International Racquetball Tour and Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour, respectivel ...

began in November 1996.

Rankings at season's end

Most seasons in top 10

Year-end number 1

* 1981-82: Dave Peck * 1982-83: Mike Yellen * 1983-84: Mike Yellen (2) * 1984-85: Mike Yellen (3) * 1985-86: Mike Yellen (4) * 1986-87: Mike Yellen (5) * 1987-88: Ruben Gonzalez * 1988-89:

Marty Hogan Martin Francis Hogan (October 25, 1869 – August 15, 1923), nicknamed "The Indianapolis Ringer", was an English born right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1894) and St. Louis Browns (1894–1895). A ...

* 1989-90:

Cliff Swain Cliff Swain (born March 21, 1966) is a professional racquetball player and coach from Boston, Massachusetts. Known for his dominant drive serve and on-court intensity, Swain finished as the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) ...

* 1990-91: Mike Ray * 1991-92: Drew Katchtik * 1992-93:

(2) * 1993-94:

(3) * 1994-95:

(4) * 1995-96: Sudsy Monchik * 1996-97: Sudsy Monchik (2) * 1997-98:

(5) * 1998-99: Sudsy Monchik (3) * 1999-2000: Sudsy Monchik (4) * 2000-01: Sudsy Monchik (5) * 2001-02:

(6) * 2002-03:

* 2003-04:

Kane Waselenchuk Kane Waselenchuk (born November 9, 1981) is a professional racquetball player born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Waselenchuk finished the 2018-19 season as the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tourbr> (IRT)for a record extending 13th ti ...

* 2004-05:

(2) * 2005-06:

(3) * 2006-07:

Jack Huczek Jack Huczek (born January 13, 1983) is a retired American racquetball player. Huczek was a 3 timInternational Racquetball Federation (IRF)World Champion in Men's Singles, and he was the #1 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) player at the end of ...

* 2007-08:

Rocky Carson Rocky Carson (born May 21, 1979) is an American professional racquetball player. Carson's a formeInternational Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in Men's Singles – a title he's won a record five times. He has been the season ending # ...

* 2008-09:

(4) * 2009-10:

(5) * 2010-11:

(6) * 2011-12:

(7) * 2012-13:

(8) * 2013-14:

(9) * 2014-15:

(10) * 2015-16:

(11) * 2016-17:

(12) * 2017-18:

(2) * 2018-19:

(13) * 2019-20:

(14) * 2021: Daniel De La Rosa

References

External links

* *

Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour 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. Hist ...

{{International sports tours Racquetball competitions Sports competition series