Christie Van Hees (born July 5, 1977) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

retired

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. Van Hees won two

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 ...

in women's singles and was the number one women's professional player at the end of the 2004-2005 season.

Professional career

Van Hees's three

US Open Racquetball Championships The UnitedHealthcare US Open Racquetball Championships is the premier professional racquetball event. It is a Grand Slam event with men and women competing from the International Racquetball Tour and Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour, respecti ...

- the most prestigious pro

title - are the third most by a woman behind

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 ...

with six and

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 ...

with four. Van Hees won in 2000 and 2005, defeating Rajsich in the finals both years, and then again in 2006, when she defeated Cheryl Gudinas in the final. Her 2005 victory helped Van Hees finish that season as the #1 player in the women's professional rankings.

Canadian and international career

Van Hees has won six Canadian Championships in 1997, 1998, 2000, and three consecutive years from 2006 to 2008. Van Hees has won two International Racquetball Federation (IRF)

in 1998 and 2006. She beat Kersten Hallander (USA) in the 1998 final, and Angela Grisar (Chile) in the 2006 final. Van Hees also won the Girls 18 and under division at the IRF World Junior Championships in 1995.

Personal life

Van Hees had considerable success early in her career, but then retired in 2001. But that turned out to be only a sabbatical, as she came back the fall of 2003, and had even greater success, reaching the final of the

US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

in only her second tournament back. In August 2009, Van Hees married

Jack Huczek Jack Huczek (born January 13, 1983) is a retired American racquetball player. Huczek was a 3 timInternational Racquetball Federation (IRF)World Champion in Men's Singles, and he was the #1 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) player at the end o ...

, an American, who is also a champion

player having won three IRF

. Originally from

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Van Hees currently resides in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

with Huczek and their two daughters, Evelyn and Faith. Van Hees was inducted into the Central Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame on November 19, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Hees, Christie 1977 births Canadian racquetball players Living people Sportspeople from Kelowna Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists in racquetball Racquetball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games 21st-century Canadian sportswomen 20th-century Canadian sportswomen