Montserrat Mejía (born December 4, 1999) is a Mexican racquetball player. Mejía is the current World Champion in Women's Doubles (with Alexandra Herrera), and helped Mexico win gold in the Women's Team event at the 2024 World Championships in San Antonio, Texas. She finished #1 on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour in 2022–23,[2] becoming the second Mexican to do so after Paola Longoria.[3]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Montse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Mexican | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 December 1999 San Luis Potosí City, Mexico[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Junior years - 2013-2018
editMejía first made the podium at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championship in 2013 in Sucre, Bolivia, where she and Andrea Ramirez won Girls U14 Doubles.[4] That year Mejía lost in the quarterfinals of singles to fellow Mexican Erin Rivera.[5]
The next year Mejía and Ramirez were on top of the podium again at World Juniors, winning Girls U14 Doubles by defeating Bolivians Wanda Carjajal and Adriana Homsi, 6–15, 15–10, 11–9, in Cali, Colombia.[6] But in singles, Carvajal beat Mejía in the semi-finals, 15–7, 15–5.[7]
At 2015 World Juniors in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Mejía lost in the semi-finals of Girls U16 Singles to Jordan Cooperrider (USA), 15–5, 15–11.[8] She and Ramirez finished 2nd in Girls U16 Doubles after losing to Cooperrider and Erika Manilla.[9]
In 2016, Mejía lost to Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala in the final of Girls U16 Singles at the World Junior Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, 15–13, 15–7.[10] But she won Girls U16 Doubles with Ana Laura Flores.[11]
Mejía won both singles and doubles at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Minneapolis, defeating Guatemalan Gabriela Martinez in the final of Girls U18 Singles, 15–13, 4–15, 11–5,[12] and taking the U18 doubles title with Denisse Maldonado.[13]
Mejía and Martinez again met in the final of Girls U18 Singles the following year at the 2018 World Junior Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where Mejía successfully defended the title, 15–14, 8–15, 11–6.[14]
First appearances for Mexico - 2018-2022
editMejía first played internationally for Mexico at the 2018 Racquetball World Championships in San José, Costa Rica, where she and Alexandra Herrera played Women's Doubles. They reached the final by defeating Colombians Cristina Amaya and Adriana Riveros, 15–8, 15–4, but lost the final to Bolivians Valeria Centellas and Yasmine Sabja, 8–15, 15–14, 11–2.
The following year Mejía played at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. She played singles there, and made it to the medal round, losing to Ecuador's Maria Paz Muñoz, 15–14, 7–15, 11–5, in the Round of 16. But she helped Mexico to win the women's team title, as they defeated the US in the semi-finals and Argentina in the final.
Winning gold for Mexico & becoming LPRT #1 - 2023-current
editMejía won gold in both singles and doubles at the 2023 Pan American Racquetball Championships. In singles, Mejía defeated Guatemalan Gabriela Martínez in the quarterfinals, 11–13, 11–8, 11–9, 11–7, Argentine Natalia Mendez in the semi-finals, 11–4, 11–5, 8–11, 11–5, and in the final Argentina's Maria Jose Vargas, 11–8, 11–6, 11–9.[15] In doubles, Mejía and Alexandra Herrera won gold by defeating Guatemalans Gabriela Martinez and Maria Renee Rodriguez in the final, 11–6, 11–6, 12–10.[16]
Mejía finished the 2022-23 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour season on top of the rankings, which was her first #1 ranking and broke the 11-year run of Paola Longoria.[3] She did it with a win at the last LPRT event of the season, beating Maria Jose Vargas in the final of the LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale, 15–7, 3–15, 11–3.[17] That was her 5th win of the season.
Mejía competed at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, and won three medals. She got a bronze medal in singles, as she lost in the semi-finals to Gabriela Martinez, 11–9, 13–11, 7–11, 11–6.[18] But Mejía won gold in both doubles and the women's team event.[19][20] In the doubles final, she and Alexandra Herrera came back from two games down to defeat Martinez and Maria Renee Rodriguez, 9–11, 8–11, 11–7, 13–11, 11–6.[21][22]
Mejía and Alexandra Herrera won gold in Women's Doubles at the 2024 World Championships in San Antonio, Texas. They defeated Guatemalans Gabriela Martinez and Maria Renee Rodriguez in the semi-finals, 11-4, 12-10, 11-9, and Argentina's Natalia Mendez and Maria Jose Vargas in the final, 11-3, 9-11, 15-13, 7-11, 11-7.[23] She also helped Mexico win the Women's Team title,[24] as they defeated the USA in the semi-finals and Argentina in the final.[25]
Mejía also competed in singles and mixed doubles at Worlds. In Women's Singles, she lost to Guatemalan Gabriela Martinez, in the quarterfinals, 11-3, 11-2, 23-21. Mejía teamed up with Javier Mar in mixed doubles, and they reached the final by defeating Bolivians Angélica Barrios and Conrrado Moscoso in the semi-finals, 11-6, 9-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, but lost the final to Americans Daniel De La Rosa and Hollie Scott, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 14-12.[26]
Her success with Alexandra Herrera at Worlds led to them being named World Games Athletes of the Month for August 2024.[27]
Career summary
editMejía has been successful both internationally for Mexico and on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour, winning six events in her career, and becoming the LPRT's #1 player in 2023.
Career record
editThis table lists Mejía's results across annual events.
| Event | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| US Open Singles | 32 | 16 | 16 | 16 | SF | 16 | P | - | ||
| US Open Doubles | F | F | Q | F | W | F | P | - | ||
| LPRT Rank | 29 | 21 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 3 |
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.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Montserrat Mejía, la estudiante de 19 años que derrotó a Longoria". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). 4 March 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Montserrat Mejía, destrona a Paola Longoria en el ranking mundial". 88.9 Noticias. Grupo ACIR. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ a b "End of season rankings 2023". Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour. LPRT. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "IRF World Juniors - 2013 Girls U14 Doubles". International Racquetball Federation. Dropbox. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "IRF World Juniors - 2013 Girls U14 Singles". International Racquetball Federation. Dropbox. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "IRF World Juniors - 2014 Girls U14 Doubles". International Racquetball Federation. Dropbox. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "IRF World Juniors - 2014 Girls U14 Singles". International Racquetball Federation. Dropbox. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "IRF World Juniors - 2015 Girls U16 Singles". International Racquetball Federation. Dropbox. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "IRF World Juniors - 2015 Girls U16 Doubles". International Racquetball Federation. Dropbox. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "2016 World Junior Championships - Girls U16". IRF. Dropbox. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "2016 World Junior Championships - Girls U16 Doubles". IRF. Dropbox. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "2017 World Junior Championships - Girls U18". IRF. Dropbox. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "2017 World Junior Championships - Girls U18". IRF. Dropbox. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "2018 World Junior Championships - Girls U18". IRF. Dropbox. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "XXXIV Pan American Championships - Women's Singles". R2 Sports. R2 Sports. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "XXXIV Pan American Championships - Women's Doubles". R2 Sports. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "2023 LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale". LPRT. R2 Sports. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "San Salvador 2023 - Women's Individual - Semi-finals". San Salvador 2023. San Salvador 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "San Salvador 2023 - Women's Teams - Finals". San Salvador 2023. San Salvador 2023. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "Mexicanas dominan el raquetbol". El Siglo de Durango (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "San Salvador 2023 - Women's - Finals". San Salvador 2023. San Salvador 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ Gonzalez, George. "JCC San Salvador 2023: Mexicans win gold in racquetball". The Nation View. The Nation View. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "Paola Longoria gana su sexto campeonato mundial en raquetbol". La Jornada. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ "XXII IRF World Championships – Women's Team Competition". R2 Sports. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
- ^ Mirabal, Roberto. "México cierra con oro por equipos en Mundial de Raquetbol 2024". El Sol de San Luis. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ Greenberg, Johnathan. "XXII International Racquetball Federation World Championships Daily Blog". USA Racquetball. Team USA. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ "Mexican racquetball stars Herrera and Mejía named Athletes of the Month for August 2024". The World Games. Retrieved 16 September 2024.