The Best Women's Racquetball Players Never to finish #1:

This is a list of players who usually demonstrated the ability to compete with the top players of their day, but who never decided to tour full time (or who only toured for limited amounts of time).

Best Players who never finished #1:

2020s

  • Erika Manilla rockets into the conversation with a great run to the final of the 2022 US Open, then sweeps US Nationals in 2023. Got as high as #3 on tour (Between Oct 2022 and Mar 2023). Injured her hip in early 2024, had to have surgery and missed months, costing her part of two seasons.
  • Alexandra Herrera: earned a #1 tournament seed in Denver in Aug2021 when Longoria missed the event due to her Toyko Olympic committments. Has now won several events and looked for a time in early 2022 as the next successor to Longoria, but scuffled in the 2022-23 season and was passed by Mejia.
  • Natalia Mendez quickly rose to #4 on tour, where she sat for several seasons before getting pushed down in 2023.
  • Brenda Laime shot up to the top 5 with three finals appearances in the 2022-23 season, coming out of nowhere after spending years in the 13-14 range.
  • Frederique Lambert: has bashed her way to the #2 ranking in 2016 but has just one career win over the dominant Longoria. Soon after cresting at #2, Lambert graduated to Medical school and stepped away from full-time touring, likely permanently. She still shows up for Canadian National events (likely to retain the stipend and insurance) but essentially stopped playing pro events.
  • Samantha Salas Solis: Long-time top 10 player on tour, was as dominant a #2 as had ever been seen in the 2018-19 season, making the finals of nine of the season's 10 events, losing to Longoria each time. A racquet switch and an injury conspired to quickly drop her out of the top 10 by 2022.
  • Susana "Susy" Acosta: has hung around the top 10 for nearly 20 years on tour, peaking at #4 in 2012-13 later in her career but holding a top 4 ranking going back all the way to the 2000 season.

    2000s

  • Kerri (Stoffregen) Wachtel: ten seasons in the top 3 on tour, multiple career wins including a US Open title. Never finished #1.
  • Kersten Hallender: Six years of hovering in the #4 to #6 range on tour, never being able to overcome the likes of Paraiso, Gudinas, Van Hees and the rise of Rajsich (though she had a good head-to-head record against Rhonda).

    1990s

  • Marci Drexler: her career ran from the late 80s through the late 90s and she could never break through the best players of her age. She finished in the top four on tour seven different times and won 5 tourneys; never finished #1. Her main competition: Michelle Gould. Probably the best women's player ever not to have a year end title.
  • Malia Bailey: one of the country's most accomplished amateur players played on tour in the early 1990s and had some success, with tour wins and a #2 finish in 1991-92 ... but then the Gould era began and there was little anyone could do with her.
  • Robin Levine: the hard-hitting lefty finished #2 on tour in 94-95; made multiple finals but never won a tournament.
  • Laura Fenton: another player who never won a tour event but who finished in the top 10 seven times across a ten year span. Fenton didn't even begin playing the pro tour until her 30s and competed into her 40s.

    1970s and 1980s:

  • Janell Marriott: may hold the title of "best player never to win a tournament."
  • Vicki Panzeri: peaked at #2 once McKay left the tour but could never overcome the dominant era of Lynn Adams.
  • Linda Prefontaine: sister of the famous US olympic runner, Prefontaine was an excellent player in the late 70s.
  • Peggy Steding: she was the Steve Serot of the women's pro tour; she was the first dominant player when they started playing seriously for money. She's by no means 'unknown' though; she was inducted into the Hall of Fame years ago.