Álvaro Beltrán (born October 15, 1978), is a Mexican 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 vel ...

player. Beltrán is the curren
International Racquetball Federation
(IRF) World Champion in Men's Doubles with Daniel De La Rosa, winning the title in 2022 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. He was the second man to win both Men's Singles and Men's Doubles at the

Racquetball World Championships The World Racquetball Championships is the top international racquetball competition organized by the International Racquetball Federation (IRF). History The first event was held in 1981 as part of the 1981 World Games. The second World Championsh ...

. His six world titles (1 singles & 5 doubles) tie him for 3rd most in IRF history. Beltran has been a top 10 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) for 18 seasons.

Professional career

Beltrán was the first Mexican to be ranked in the top 10

IRT IRT may refer to: Organisations * Indiana Repertory Theatre, an American company of actors * Institut für Rundfunktechnik, a German research institute for broadcasters * Interborough Rapid Transit Company, a defunct New York subway operator Sci ...

at season's end in 2000-01, and has been a top 10 IRT player in 18 seasons finishing at #3 (his career high) four times. He won his first IRT event in 2013 when he defeated fellow Mexican Daniel De La Rosa in the final of the Red Swain Shootout. Beltran's second win came in November 2015 at the Galaxy Custom Printing Pro-Am in Atlanta, where he defeated

Rocky Carson Rocky Carson (born May 21, 1979) is an American professional racquetball player. Carson has won a record International Racquetball Federation (IRF)World Championships in Men's Singles, and 2 Pan American Games gold medals in singles. He was the ...

, in the final, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4. Overall, Beltrán has been in 42 IRT finals (8th most) in 230 appearances on tour (3rd most). Beltrán has been in the finals of 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, respecti ...

twice: once in 2010 and again in 2014. He was the first Mexican to do so. He lost both finals to Kane Waselenchuk, but did win the first game of 2010 final, which was Waselenchuk's first loss of a game in six US Open finals. 2010 final was the first US Open final with two non-American players. Also of note, Beltrán is one of only two players to beat IRT #1 Waselenchuk in a completed match, since Waselenchk's return to the IRT tour in the fall of 2008. That win occurred at the 2009 California Open when Beltrán defeated Waslenchuk in four games in the semi-finals.

International career

Beltrán was the first player to win

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in both Men's Singles and Men's Doubles. Beltrán won Men's Singles at the 2000 Racquetball World Championships hosted by the International Racquetball Federation in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, defeating American

in the final. He has won Men's Doubles thrice, all with Javier Moreno. Most recently, he and Moreno won the 2016 Worlds Championships in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, where they defeated Americans Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz in the final, 15-12, 15-9. Beltran and Moreno first won Men's Doubles in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, defeating Americans Carson and

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 o ...

in the final, and then six years later in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, defeating Americans Tony Carson and

Jansen Allen Jansen Allen (born July 24, 1989) is an American racquetball player. Allen won gold at the 2015 Pan American Games in Men's Doubles with Jose Rojas. He was ranked in the top 10 on the International Racquetball Tour for five straight seasons, fr ...

. Both those wins were in

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. Beltrán and Moreno also won the gold medals in doubles at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

, and 2011 Pan Am Games. In 2003, they beat Americans Ruben Gonzalez and Mike Guidry in the final, and in 2011 final, defeated Venezuelans Cesar Castillo and Jorge Hirsekorn. Beltrán also won gold in the team competition at the 2011 Pan Am Games. In addition, Beltrán won three consecutive Pan American Championships in Men's Singles from 2007–2009, and the 2015 Pan Am Championship in Men's Doubles with Javier Moreno. He is a two time the gold medalist in Men's Singles at the

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for 32 countries and ...

, as he defeated countrymen Gilberto Meija in 2010 final and Daniel De La Rosa in 2014 final, 15-7, 15-2. In 2018, Beltrán and Rodrigo Montoya captured gold at the Pan American Championships in

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The cit ...

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by defeating Bolivians Roland Keller and

Conrrado Moscoso Conrrado Moscoso (born September 26, 1995) is a Bolivian racquetball player. He is a formeInternational Racquetball Federation(IRF) Men's Singles World Champion, which he won at the 2022 Racquetball World Championships in San Luis Potosí, Mexi ...

in the final, 13-15, 15-10, 11-6. Beltrán and Daniel De La Rosa won Men's Doubles at the 2018 World Championships in San José, Costa Rica, where they defeated

and

Sudsy Monchik Sudsy Monchik (born October 12, 1974), is an American racquetball player. As a five-time Pro World Champion, Monchik is one of the top 3 players in the history of the sport. Sudsy is the only player on record to have won a National title or h ...

in the final, 10-15, 15-9, 11-2, after beating Bolivians Roland Keller and

, 15-14, 15-8, in the semi-finals. Beltrán and Daniel De La Rosa won Men's Doubles at the 2022 World Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where they defeated Bolivians Roland Keller and

, coming back from two games down to win 7-11, 12-14, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6, in the final. In the semi-finals, they beat Americans Sam Bredenbeck and Charlie Pratt, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7.

Career summary

Playing for Mexico, Beltrán has won 25 gold medals, doing so in both singles and doubles. His highlights are two gold medals in Men's Doubles at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

and six

: one in singles and five in doubles. He's also won 3 times on the IRT, and 3 US Open IRT doubles titles.

Career record

This table lists Beltrán's results across annual events. Note: W = winner, F = finalist, SF = semi-finalist, QF = quarterfinalist, 16 = Round of 16. P = pandemic. There was no US Open in 2023.

References

External link

Alvaro Beltran
at Pro Racquetball Stats * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beltran, Alvaro 1978 births Living people Mexican racquetball players Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Racquetball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Racquetball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Racquetball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Racquetball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Racquetball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Mexico Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in racquetball Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Sportspeople from Tijuana Pan American Games gold medalists in racquetball Pan American Games silver medalists in racquetball Pan American Games bronze medalists in racquetball