Known all over the world for her racquetball doubles play, Aimee Ruiz proves she can play singles with any top professional racquetball player when she wins the 2009 USAR National Singles title, beating the defending champion Cheryl Gudinas 15-5, 15-7.
Aimee came into the 2009 USAR National Singles Championship as the #10 seed and it was all upsets after that.
Aimee would start off by defeating the #7 seed, Aubrey O’Brien, in an 11-0 third game tiebreaker. In the quarterfinals, Ruiz would defeat #2 seed Kristen Walsh Bellows in two games, and then three-time National Singles Champion (one US Team Qualifier and two Open Singles) Rhonda Rajsich in an 11-2 tiebreaker to play Cheryl Gudinas.
Aimee has competed in a couple of Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization’s (WPRO) events during the 2008-09 season, both times losing to eventual winners.
Here are her accomplishments as a top doubles player:
-Two-time World Doubles Champion
-Two-time Pan American Games Doubles Champion
-Five-time Women’s National Doubles Champion
-Six-time Mixed National Doubles Champion
-She wins her first National Singles title as she defeated Cheryl Gudinas at the 2009 USAR National Singles Championship.
Her racquetball resume continues to grow and so does her fan base, as you can hear from her fans that visit on the racquetball forum at Meet and Play. Many people are hoping she competes more in the Professional Women’s Racquetball events because this left-hander brings a different style of game that would add to a growing racquetball organization.
The WPRO have most of their events live online, and the fans are shouting they want more Aimee!
To beat the women’s number two-, three-, and four-ranked players in the world would easily say that this young lady has a lot of untapped talent. What would happen on the WPRO tour if Aimee played full time? She has proven she can battle with the best of them.
On March 9, 2009, Ektelon signed Aimee to a contract because they could see the talent that she possessed as well as the marketable side she brings to the table.
“Aimee is a well known, well respected racquetball champion and advocate whose enthusiasm, organization and sheer passion is going to help take our promotional and player development programs to new heights,” said Scott Winters, Vice President of Indoor Court and Paddle Sports at Prince Sports, Inc. “We are obviously thrilled to add her to what is, in my opinion, already the best team in the industry, and to have her overseeing our sponsored players and programs in the region and growing the brand will be exciting to watch.”
Why doesn’t such a talented racquetball player play the women’s pro tour?
“I would love to play the tour, but I just don’t have the time from work to do it,” Aimee says. “My dream job? To find a flexible job in racquetball (or not racquetball), where it can allow me to work from home so I can travel and go to these stops, and be able to train the way I want to.”
Mainly a doubles player, Aimee had to get out of her element and change her focus in preparation for the National Singles Racquetball Championship.
“Coming in to Houston, I just focused on singles only. Normally I play a lot of doubles, but for the past month leading up to Houston it was all about singles. I played about two to three times per week, and played Men’s Open Singles at Allentown Regionals where I placed 2nd. I also played Men’s Open Singles at a local tournament where I lost in the quarters. And then the Saturday before I left for Houston I headed up to NY to play with top open guys where we focused on them serving me serves that I knew I would be seeing from the women in Houston.”
Aimee continues with how she feels after such a big win:
“This win feels amazing. It’s such a different win than any doubles titles I have had. I came in to Houston with a motto “Go Big or Go Home”…And I definitely went big. To not play the pro tour and then beat the #2, 3 and 4 players on the WPRO Tour is awesome. Everyone has told me they knew I could do this, but that I just needed the confidence in myself.”
With her husband, Felix, by her side this loving couple witnessed fans all across the USA embrace them with open arms and cheer one point at a time as Aimee put on a performance that will be talked about in sports for years to come.
The event was live all week on www.racquetballonline.tv and fans all across the world got to witness such an incredible performance.
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