Racquetball World Championships
The World Racquetball Championships, organized by the International Racquetball Federation (IRF), were first held in 1981 as part of the World Games. The second World Championships were in 1984, and have been held every two years since.
The 2014 World Championships were in Burlington, Ontario June 14–21. This was the first time Worlds were in Canada since 1992, when Montreal was the host city. The 2016 World Championships will be in Cali, Colombia, which will be the first time Worlds has been in South America since 1998, when Cochabamba, Bolivia hosted the event.
In previous years, the World Championships had two parts. An individual competition, where every player competes for himself or herself, or in the case of doubles, themselves, and also a team competition, where men's and women's teams from each country compete against each other in a best of three matches: two singles matches and a doubles match. The overall team title is a sum of the men's and women's team performances.
But in 2014, there were only individual competitions in Men's and Women's Singles and Doubles. The competition did have two parts: a pool play part from which players were seeded into an elimination draw. The winners were American Rocky Carson, who won for the fourth time in Men's Singles, Mexican Paola Longoria, who won both Women's Singles and Women's Doubles with Samantha Salas, and those two titles put her 2nd on the all-time list of World Champions with five titles overall - two in singles and three in doubles. Winning for the first time were Colombians Sebastian Franco and Alejandro Herrera, who became the first South Americans to win any Racquetball World Championship when they won the Men's Doubles title.
Team winners were named, but it was based on performance in the individual competitions, rather than an on court competition. The USA took the Men's Team title and Overall Team title with Mexico taking the Women's Team title.
| IRF World Championships | |||||
| Year | Host | Men's Team | Women's Team | Overall/Combined | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1981 | USA | - | - |  USA |
| II | 1984 | USA | USA |
USA |
USA |
| III | 1986 | USA |  Canada |
USA |
USA & Canada |
| IV | 1988 | Germany | Canada |
USA |
USA |
| V | 1990 | Venezuela | USA |
USA |
USA |
| VI | 1992 | Canada | USA |
USA |
USA |
| VII | 1994 | Mexico | USA |
USA |
USA |
| VIII | 1996 | USA | Canada |
USA |
USA |
| IX | 1998 | Bolivia | USA |
USA |
USA |
| X | 2000 | Mexico | Canada |
USA |
Canada |
| XI | 2002 | Puerto Rico | Canada |
USA |
USA |
| XII | 2004 | South Korea | USA |
USA |
USA |
| XIII | 2006 | Dominican Republic | USA |
USA |
USA |
| XIV | 2008 | Ireland | USA |
USA |
USA |
| XV | 2010 | South Korea | USA |
USA |
USA |
| XVI | 2012 | Dominican Republic | USA |
 Mexico |
USA |
| XVII | 2014 | Canada | USA |
Mexico |
USA |
| XVII | 2016 | Colombia | |||
| IRF World Championships - Individual Competitions | ||||||
| Year | Host | Men's Singles | Women's Singles | Men's Doubles | Women's Doubles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1981 | USA | Ed Andrews |
Cindy Baxter |
Mark Malowitz & Jeff Kwartler |
Mary Ann Cluess & Karen Borga |
| II | 1984 | USA | Ross Harvey |
Mary Dee |
Stan Wright & Steve Trent |
Carol French & Malia Kamahoahoa |
| III | 1986 | USA | Egan Inoue |
Cindy Baxter |
Jack Nolan & Todd O'Neil |
Carol McFetridge & Marion Sicotte |
| IV | 1988 | Germany | Andy Roberts |
Heather Stupp |
Doug Ganim & Dan Obremski |
Diane Green & Trina Rasmussen |
| V | 1990 | Venezuela | Egan Inoue |
Heather Stupp |
Doug Ganim & Dan Obremski |
Malia Bailey & Jackie Paraiso |
| VI | 1992 | Canada | Chris Cole |
Michelle Gould |
Doug Ganim & Eric Muller |
Malia Bailey & Robin Levine |
| VII | 1994 | Mexico | Sherman Greenfeld |
Michelle Gould |
John Ellis & Eric Muller |
Laura Fenton & Jackie Paraiso Gibson |
| VIII | 1996 | USA | Todd O'Neil |
Michelle Gould |
Adam Karp & Bill Sell |
Joy MacKenzie & Jackie Paraiso |
| IX | 1998 | Bolivia | Sherman Greenfeld |
Christie Van Hees |
Adam Karp & Bill Sell |
Joy Mackenzie & Jackie Paraiso |
| X | 2000 | Mexico | Alvaro Beltran |
Cheryl Gudinas |
Luis Bustilos & Javier Moreno |
Kersten Hallander & Kim Russell |
| XI | 2002 | Puerto Rico | Jack Huczek |
Cheryl Gudinas |
Polo Gutierrez & Gilberto Mejia |
Jackie Paraiso Rice & Kim Russell |
| XII | 2004 | South Korea | Jack Huczek |
Cheryl Gudinas |
Shane Vanderson & Mike Dennison |
Jackie Paraiso Rice & Kim Russell |
| XIII | 2006 | Dominican Republic | Jack Huczek |
Christie Van Hees |
Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno |
Aimee Ruiz & Laura Fenton |
| XIV | 2008 | Ireland | Rocky Carson |
Rhonda Rajsich |
Jason Thoerner & Mitch Williams |
Aimee Ruiz & Jackie Paraiso |
| XV | 2010 | South Korea | Rocky Carson |
Rhonda Rajsich |
Ben Croft & Mitch Williams |
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas |
| XVI | 2012 | Dominican Republic | Rocky Carson |
Paola Longoria |
Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno |
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas |
| XVII | 2014 | Canada | Rocky Carson |
Paola Longoria |
 Sebastian Franco & Alejandro Herrera |
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas |
List of Multiple World Champions
| Champion | Singles Championships | Doubles Championships | Total |
| Jackie Paraiso |
0 | 7 | 7 |
| Paola Longoria |
2 | 3 | 5 |
| Rocky Carson |
4 | 0 | 4 |
| Michelle Gould |
3 | 0 | 3 |
| Cheryl Gudinas |
3 | 0 | 3 |
| Jack Huczek |
3 | 0 | 3 |
| Alvaro Beltran |
1 | 2 | 3 |
| Javier Moreno |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| Doug Ganim |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| Kim Russell |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| Joy MacKenzie |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| Samantha Salas |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| Malia Bailey |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| Christie Van Hees |
2 | 0 | 2 |
| Heather Stupp |
2 | 0 | 2 |
| Sherman Greenfeld |
2 | 0 | 2 |
| Aimee Ruiz |
0 | 2 | 2 |
| Egan Inoue |
2 | 0 | 2 |
| Rhonda Rajsich |
2 | 0 | 2 |
| Cindy Baxter |
2 | 0 | 2 |
| Mitch Williams |
0 | 2 | 2 |
| Dan Obremski |
0 | 2 | 2 |
| Eric Muller |
0 | 2 | 2 |
| Adam Karp |
0 | 2 | 2 |
| Bill Sell |
0 | 2 | 2 |
| Laura Fenton |
0 | 2 | 2 |
