Alexandra Herrera (born January 10, 1995) is a Mexican

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 the current

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 ...

in Women's Doubles (with

Montserrat Mejia Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with roughly of coastline. It is ...

). A left-handed player, Herrera was the #2 player on 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 ...

in 2020-21 and again in 2021–22, two of her nine seasons in the LPRT top 10.

Junior years - 2010-2014

Herrera played for Mexico at the 2010

International Racquetball Federation Racquetball is a list of racket sports, 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 Four wall paddl ...

(IRF)] World Junior Championship in Los Angeles, California, losing in the quarterfinals of U14 Girls Singles to

Natalia Mendez Natalia may refer to: People * Natalia (given name), list of people with this name * Natalia (Belgian singer) (born 1980) * Natalia (Greek singer) (born 1983) * Natalia (Spanish singer) (born 1982) Music and film * ''Natalia'' (film), a 198 ...

, 9–15, 15–7, 11–8. In 2011, Herrera played doubles with Ximena Gonzalez at World Juniors in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and they won Girls U16 Doubles, going undefeated in a six country round robin competition. She also won Girls U16 Singles by defeating American Kelani Bailey in the final, 15–11, 5–15, 11–3. Herrera played U18 at World Juniors in 2012 in Los Angeles, California. She lost in the quarterfinals of Girls U18 Singles to Adriana Riveros, 15–8, 15–2. In Girls U18 Doubles, Herrera and Natalia Villagomez finished 3rd. In 2013 in Sucre, Bolivia, Herrera lost in the quarterfinals of Girls U18 Singles to team-mate Lucia Gonzalez, 13–15, 15–9, 11–4. But she won Girls U18 Doubles with Ximena Gonzalez, going undefeated in a three team round robin. She and Ximena Gonzalez successfully defended that Girls U18 Doubles title in 2014 at World Juniors, in Cali, Colombia, where they defeated

Gabriela Martinez Gabriela may refer to: * Gabriela (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian feminine given name * ''Gabriela'' (1942 film), a Czech film * ''Gabriela'' (1950 film), a German film * ''Gabriela'' (1983 film), a Brazilian film * ''Gabriela' ...

and Maria Renee Rodriguez in the final, 15–9, 7–15, 11–2. And in singles, Herrera defeated team-mate Gonzalez in the Girls U18 final, 11–15, 15–6, 11–8.

Pro tour play begins - 2014-2022

Herrera started to play on the

(LPRT) regularly in the 2014–15 season, made her first semi-final, and finished 13th at the end of the season. She did win her first LPRT doubles title that season at the 2015 New Jersey Open with Ximena Gonzalez. She was also in a final in the 2015-16 LPRT season, and won doubles at the 2015 Christmas Classic with

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 ...

. Herrera finished that season ranked 8th, her first time in the top 10. Herrera reached an LPRT final for the first time in the 2016–17 season, and did it a second time that season, helping her to finish 5th in the rankings. She won a third doubles title that season: the 2016 Atlanta Championships with Jordan Cooperrider.

Mexican debut - 2018-2022

Herrera made her senior team debut for Mexico at the 2018 Pan American Championships in

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The cit ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, where she won gold in Women's Doubles with

. They defeated Bolivians

Angélica Barrios Angélica Barrios (born May 5, 2000) is a Bolivian racquetball player. Barrios is the current Pan American Champion in Mixed Doubles, winning the title at the 2023 Pan American Racquetball Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and a form ...

and Jenny Daza in the semi-finals, 15–8, 15–8, and then Guatemalans

and Maria Renee Rodriguez, 9–15, 15–1, 11–8. At the

2018 Central American and Caribbean Games The 23rd Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Barranquilla, Colombia. Asamblea ODECABE, Islas Caimán' (translation: "CASCO Assembly, Cayman Islands"). Published by CACSO on 2012-10-27; retrieved 2012-11-13. Bidding process Quet ...

in Barranquilla, Colombia, Herrera played singles and in the women's team event. She earned medals in both events. Herrera was a bronze medalist in singles, losing to Guatemala's

in the semi-finals, 15–2, 0–15, 11–7, but winning gold in the Women's Team event with

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 ...

, as they beat Colombia in the final, with Herrera defeating

Cristina Amaya Cristina Amaya Cassino (born 28 October 1988) is a Colombian racquetball player. Amaya finished the 2017-18 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season as the 8th ranked player, which was her eighth consecutive season in the top 10 (first ...

, 15–7, 15–12, in the first match of the final. Herrera also played at the 2018 World Championships, which was her first time at Worlds. The 2018 World Championships were in San José, Costa Rica, where she and

lost in the final of Women's Doubles to Bolivians Valeria Centellas and Yasmine Sabja, 8–15, 15–14, 11–2. They reached the final by defeating Colombians

and Adriana Riveros, 15–8, 15–4, in the semi-finals. Herrera next played at Worlds in 2022 in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, playing singles and in the women's team event. In singles, she earned a bronze medal by reaching the semi-finals with wins over Colombian

, 11–8, 11–7, 11–7, in the Round of 16, and Argentina's

, 11–8, 11–3, 11–8, in the quarterfinals before losing to Guatemalan

, 12–10, 11–6, 11–9. In the women's team event, Herrera helped Mexico win gold by defeating the US in the semi-finals and Bolivia in the final. She got her first wins on the

in the 2021–22 season by defeating

in back to back finals. In the 2022 Vero Beach Open, Herrera defeated Longoria, 15–14, 15–13, and then beat her again at the 2022 Boston Open. Those wins helped Herrera finish #2 in the rankings for a second consecutive season.

Winning at Worlds - 2023-present

Herrera won gold in doubles at the

2023 Pan American Racquetball Championships The 2023 Pan American Championships were held in Guatemala City, Guatemala, April 1–8. Bolivian Conrrado Moscoso won Men's Singles for the second consecutive year, and Montserrat Mejia won Women's Singles for the first time. Moscoso's win was th ...

in Guatemala City, Guatemala, where she and

defeated Guatemalans

and Maria Renee Rodriguez in the final, 11–6, 11–6, 12–10. Herrera finished 3rd at the end of the 2022-23

season. She won one event that season: the LPRT at the Beach event in Chesapeake, Virginia, where she beat Brenda Laime in the final, 15–7, 15–12. That was her 3rd career win. Herrera competed at the

2023 Central American and Caribbean Games The 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games (Spanish language, Spanish: Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos y del Caribe San Salvador 2023), also known as the 24th Central American and Caribbean Games and commonly known as San Salvador 2023, wa ...

, and won two gold medals. She won gold in both doubles and the women's team event. In the doubles final, Herrera and

came back from two games down to defeat

and Maria Renee Rodriguez, 9–11, 8–11, 11–7, 13–11, 11–6. She also helped Mexico defeat the Centro Caribe Sports team in the women's team final. In 2023, Herrera represented Mexico at the

2023 Pan American Games The 2023 Pan American Games (), officially the XIX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santiago 2023, were an international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, held in Santiago, Chile from 20 October to 5 Novem ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, where she earned two medals. She and

were bronze medalists in Women's Doubles. The lost to Argentina's

and

Maria Jose Vargas Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

in the semi-finals, 5–11, 13–11, 3–11, 11–7, 11–7. Then Herrera, Mejia and

won the Women's Team event and defeated Argentina to do so, 2–1. In that final, Herrera and Mejia won the deciding doubles match, beating Mendez and Vargas in three straight games, 14–12, 11–7, 11–5. Herrera won six of the seven LPRT doubles titles - with partner

- in the 2023-24 LPRT season, and in singles, she was in two finals, and finished the season ranked 4th. Herrera and Montserrat Mejia won gold in Women's Doubles at the 2024 World Championships in San Antonio, Texas. They defeated Guatemalans

and Maria Renee Rodriguez in the semi-finals, 11-4, 12-10, 11-9, and Argentina's

and

in the final, 11-3, 9-11, 15-13, 7-11, 11-7. She also helped Mexico win the Women's Team title, as they defeated the USA in the semi-finals and Argentina in the final. Her success with

at Worlds led to them being named

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

Athletes of the Month for August 2024.

Career summary

Herrera has been successful both internationally for Mexico - winning gold 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 ...

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, Pan American Championships and

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for 32 countries and ...

- and on the

, winning three events in her career and finishing two seasons as the #2 player on tour.

Career record

This table lists Herrera's results across annual events. Note: W = winner, F = finalist, SF = semi-finalist, QF = quarterfinalist, 16 = Round of 16, 32 = Round of 32, 64 = Round of 64, 128 = Round of 128. P = Cancelled due to COVID pandemic.

References

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Alexandra Living people Mexican racquetball players 1995 births Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Pan American Games gold medalists in racquetball Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Mexico Competitors at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games Racquetball players at the 2023 Pan American Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in racquetball Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Racquetball players at the 2019 Pan American Games 21st-century Mexican sportswomen