Aimee Ruiz (born February 12, 1975) is a left-handed American

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. She is a three time Women's Doubles

World Champion 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 ...

, and a 13 tim
USA Racquetball
Champion in Women's Doubles, most recently winning the title in 2020 with Erika Manilla. In addition to her USA doubles titles, Ruiz has one USA National Women's Singles title. Ruiz was named to the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame in 2021.

International career

Ruiz has competed for the USA ten times, reaching the podium each time. She has won thre
International Racquetball Federation (IRF)
World Championships in Women's Doubles. Her first World Championship was in 2006 with

Laura Fenton Laura Fenton (born June 28, 1962) is an American racquetball player. She won two World Championships in doubles, and finished in the top 10 on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization rankings seven times in her career. Professional ca ...

, when they defeated the Chilean team of

Angela Grisar Angela Grisar (born May 2, 1973) is a Chilean retired racquetball player. She was the first South American woman's racquetball player to finish in the top 10 on the women's pro tour, doing so six straight seasons (2003-04 to 2008–09). She won ...

and Fabiola Marquez in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Ruiz repeated as World Champion in 2008 with

Jackie Paraiso Jackie (Jacqueline) Paraiso (born September 14, 1966) is an American racquetball player. Paraiso was the #1 player on the women's pro racquetball tour at the end of the 1991-92, 1998–99, and 1999-2000 seasons. She is a seven time World Champio ...

, as they defeated Canadians Geneviève Brodeur and Véronique Guillemette in Kingscourt, Ireland. But in 2010, Ruiz and Paraiso lost to Mexicans

Paola Longoria Paola Michelle Longoria López (born 20 July 1989) is a Mexican racquetball player. She is the current Women's World Champion in Singles and the Team event, winning both divisions at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) 2024 World Ch ...

and

Samantha Salas Samantha Salas Solís (born 15 December 1986) is a Mexican racquetball player. Salas has won six World Championship titles in her career - five in Women's Doubles (all with Paola Longoria) and one in Mixed Doubles (with Rodrigo Montoya). She h ...

in the final of the World Championships in Seoul, South Korea. Then in 2012, Ruiz was a late substitution for Kim Waselenchuk in doubles at Worlds, and she played with

Rhonda Rajsich Rhonda Rajsich (born October 7, 1978) is an American racquetball player. She has been World Champion in Women's Singles twice, and Pan American Champion 6 times (4 times in Women's Singles & twice in Women's Doubles), as well as US Open champ ...

. They lost to Chileans

and

Carla Muñoz Carla Muñoz Montesinos (born February 12, 1992) is a Chilean professional racquetball player. She has won multiple medals, including the three consecutive gold medals in the USA Racquetball National Intercollegiate Championships in 2016, 2017 ...

, 15-14, 2-15, 11-10, in the semi-finals, which was the USA's first ever semi-final loss at Worlds in women's doubles. In 2014, Ruiz and

Janel Tisinger Janel Tisinger (born March 13, 1983) is an American racquetball player. She is the currenUSA RacquetballNational Champion in Women's Doubles winning the title for a 5th time in 2019 with Aimee Ruiz. Tisinger is former World Champion in Women's D ...

were silver medalists in Women's Doubles at the

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 ...

losing to Longoria and Salas in the final, 15-4, 15-12. However, in 2016, Ruiz and Tisinger won the Women's Doubles World Championships by upsetting the Mexican team of Longoria and Salas, who were three-time defending champions, 11-15, 15-9, 11-8, in the final. The win made Ruiz a World Champion for a third time. Ruiz has won three

Pan American Racquetball Championships The Pan American Racquetball Championships are held annually in the spring with play ending on the day before Easter. Originally called the Tournament of the Americas, the Pan American Championships are hosted by the Pan American Racquetball Confede ...

in doubles, all with Paraiso as her partner. They first won in 2006, and then again in 2008 and 2009. Ruiz played in the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

, playing doubles with

and earned silver medals in the individual and team events.

US Championships

Ruiz has 12 USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships. Her first two were with Laura Fenton - in 2005 and 2006, and then the following five were with

: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. Their streak ended in 2012, when they lost in the semi-finals to

and Kim Russell-Waselenchuk. But they did win the 3rd place match versus Marci Drexler and

. Ruiz won five US National titles with

as her partner. They won in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019. In 2016, they defeated Rajsich and Sheryl Lotts in the final, 15-12, 12-15, 11-10. In 2017, they defeated Da'monique Davis and

, 15-5, 15-5, in the final. In 2019, they defeated Michelle De La Rosa and Danielle Maddux in the final, 15-7, 15-7. In 2020, she played with Erika Manilla for the first time at the USA National Doubles Championships, and they defeated Hollie Scott and Lexi York in the final, 15-6, 15-9. Although Ruiz is a doubles specialist, she won the US National Singles championship in 2009. That win is especially impressive, because Ruiz won the title by defeating Kristen Walsh Bellows in the quarter finals,

in the semi-final, and Cheryl Gudinas in the final, and those three players were all in the top 4 of the

Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour is the latest name for the women's professional racquetball tour. It features the world's best players and several events each season - running from September to May - that are mostly played in the USA. Hist ...

that season.

Professional career

Ruiz hasn't played professional racquetball very often, so she's never been ranked in the top 10 of the

Personal life

Ruiz works in communications with ABR Communications. Born Aimee Roehler, she is married to Felix Ruiz, and they live in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. She serves as the Social Media Director for the International Racquetball Tour. In 2021, Ruiz announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and wrote about the experience "with hopes of raising awareness for others."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Aimee 1975 births Living people American racquetball players Sportspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania Racquetball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in racquetball

International career

US Championships

Professional career

Personal life

See also

References