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 v ...

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 car ...

, 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 nu ...

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 Champion ...

, 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 July 20, 1989) is a Mexican racquetball player. She is the current Women's World Champion in both Singles and Doubles, winning both divisions at the 2022 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champ ...

and Samantha Salas 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 champi ...

. They lost to Chileans

and Carla Muñoz, 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, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

, 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 Kristen Walsh Bellows (nee Walsh, May 5, 1982) is a retired American racquetball player. She represented the USA on four occasions, winning gold in Women's Singles at the 2005 Pan American Championships. On the women's professional racquetball t ...

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 The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) is the leading professional racquetball organization for men's competition. It was founded in 1991 and is the successor to previous iterations of the tour by different names. Professional Men's racquetbal ...

. 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 American racquetball players Living people Sportspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Racquetball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in racquetball Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games

International career

US Championships

Professional career

Personal life

See also

References