Racquet Sports | Restrung Magazine

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Images

These are the front photos.

This year's Beach Bash was somewhat bitter/sweet for me as it was my last event I will compete in as a player.

My time following, photographing and writing about racquetball, (among other things), has always been a separate endeavor from my playing One Wall racquetball. My One Wall group, for the majority of the time, was well removed from the indoor racquetball world with its own, engrained rules and culture.

Seeing and participating in that final Pro Doubles match planted a ton of thoughts to process. From the beginning of organized One Wall events, to the progression facilitated by the Beach Bash events at Hollywood Beach that led to a more involved engagement by the indoor crowd, the landscape of things I recognize is almost overwhelming for me. Perspective wise.

This photo of Michelle, flanked by Hollie Rae Scott, Katie Erica and Erika Manilla is from the Women's Final. My two years working to build up the women's tour has me appreciating the level of play.

Here... Michelle, who has been the rare athlete that has deep experience traversing from indoor to outdoor in a way that is unique to date, makes this image striking to me. Add the fact that she is a mother of two young, beautiful kids and the story becomes even richer.

I see a ton I would like to unpack and express about this period of time in the near future, even if only for my own understanding.

I added this image as I thought about how silent the pro tour is in regard to Kane these past months. The 2010's were dominated with talk of Kane ruling the tour and the effect it had on things. And now, crickets. I have some thoughts...

Andre reminds me of some earlier players, who knew how to keep things all business... respect, but never giving an inch.

I saw a player who had grown into a full-fledged professional. He played a very disciplined match. He obviously studied his progression against Kane. Before this final, their head-to-head was 1-13.

I feel like I've seen him grow up and enjoy knowing the little insights that make this win special.

If you want to know my thoughts relating to this image, read my post...
The Talk Down And Shiny Objects: Why USA Racquetball Needs To Hear This Podcast

The state of the game is in peril because there just aren't viable venues for large scale events.

Daniel and Jose for me represent a spectrum swing, where two young players, traversed very different roads in professional racquetball. Daniel right now is the sport's number one player as a professional. Jose, chose to end his career in 2017, after being one of the most promising young prospects of the decade in my opinion.

There are many factors that could be broken down, which I intend to elude to early in the new year.

Adam Manilla is a promising young professional who has been proactive with his professional career. Adam, along with his sister Erik, also a promising young professional, put together their family and friends to build up their connections for commerce with a training app and are engaged in building a boutique event called Court Wars. It's super-important, because these players are doing the grunt work and will learn.

If you've read anything I've written...then you'll know I believe this is a space worth watching within this sport.

Kane Waselechuk right now seems to be either in some sort of purgatory after the US Open. Considering his incredible record breaking career, it would seem rather ill-fitting for the IRT to just move forward and not address his absence formally.

In my opinion, this situation fully represents the type of friction the sport just cannot get through for proper growth. The pro game's greatest ever achiever, sidelined at the end of his still viable career by resentment and a clear inability to communicate. The sport literally happens mostly in these small spaces where people have to squeeze by each other to get around the courts. To me, this symbolizes the short-sightedness close proximity produces.

As I'm winding down my ten plus years comprehensively following the sport, part of that is sorting through the images that mark the time. I'm finding I have a lot of feelings about what I've learned about the sport of racquetball.

These findings make me so grateful for the time. This is one of the first matches I shot of Kane, where I was realizing who and what he was doing in professional racquetball.

For me, this photo is defining how I'm categorizing my decade immersed in American racquetball. Turning into the new year, I'm recognizing that season is over for me. As I gather my thoughts for my last Top Ten list or year end-type thing, this photo listed a type of breakdown of people and topics close to my heart.
• Who or whom this represent in my view.
• That particular year.
• The flag on his sleeve
• That court

It's been such a rich experience for me.

The Intsel Steel Tournament represents the first pro level tournament held on a steel outdoor court. Nathan Lake, a top 50 PSA Tour professional, won the inaugural outdoor event. True Outdoor Squash seems to be a thing now and dig the Ria eyewear. This is probably the first photo of a pro wearing shades during a final in a pro level event.

Check out True Squash for more Outdoor Squash.

As the year hits the home stretch, I'm finding I'm deep diving all my recent projects in my effort to pull focus closer to home.

It's also truly interesting to see the subtle changes that have come about over this past year. In some pockets, things are producing fresh coin. For some others, the coins aren't so fresh.

Check for related Jomar post.

What a difference a year makes. Last year, Kane Waselenchuk, the all-time winningest touring professional, played in his first (his only, so far,) outdoor racquetball tournament. It was arguably the biggest thing to happen to the sport of racquetball, being hit so hard by Covid. Stark contrast to this year, where the acrimony on display at this year's 25th Annual US Open has left a significant slice of hopefulness out of any convocational gains that may have been made, when you factor in the game's greatest player legitmatizing outdoor for the last of indoor's dying orthodoxy.

Ten years ago, Daniel De La Rosa lost a tough match against then veteran Chris Crowther, 9,(4),(5),8,6.

This year, De La Rosa won his first US Open Pro Singles title. His award ceremony was cut short during broadcasting, just as an unscripted speaker grabbed the mic.... speculating acrimony between another player and IRT ownership may have been the reason to cut short the stream.

My guess would be, this is the first time Saurav has been photoed going all out on a steel outdoor court.

The steel seems to provide high remarks as to how true and fast it actually plays.

Check for related post.

Restrung Magazine is racquet sports content and photography.

Freddy Ramirez, Niche sports photographer from NYC's Lower East Side.

About The Images

New York City has over 2000 One Wall courts and I'm a kid from the Lower East Side of NYC who grew up playing on a ton of them. Always the why when I get close enough to frame what's in view. From this foundation, I've pulled focus within the cultures of the sport I spend my time playing in.

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

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PODCASTS

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