Samantha Salas

Samantha Salas Solís^[a] (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 has also won six Pan American Games gold medals: three in Women's Doubles and three in the women's team event. Salas was the second Mexican woman to finish in the top 10 rankings on the women's pro tour, doing so at the end of the 2006–07 season. Salas was ranked 3rd at the end of the 2019-20 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season, which was her tenth season in the top 10.

Salas won her first women's pro event in Olympia, Washington November 2010 in only her second pro final.^[1] In 2010–11, she reached the semi-finals or better in nine of the ten pro tournaments, including a semi-final finish at the 2010 US Open, which all led to her career high rank of No. 3 at season's end.^[2]

In 2011–12, Salas only played the first two events, and then suffered a right shoulder injury that caused her to miss the rest of the season, but she returned to the tour in 2012–13, and equaled her career best by finishing 3rd at the end of the 2012–13 season.

Salas won her second LPRT title in June 2017 in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she came back from two games down to defeat Paola Longoria in the semi-finals, and then beat Rhonda Rajsich in the final. Salas then had shoulder surgery again, and was out of action until 2018.

But shortly after her return to the LPRT, Salas won her third career title at the 2018 Battle at the Alamo in San Antonio in April. Salas played Longoria in that final, and as in Guadalajara, found herself down 0–2, but she came back to win, 5–11, 5–11, 11–9, 11–9, 11–4.^[3]

Playing for Mexico, Salas has been a gold medalist 11 times, including three World Championships in doubles with Paola Longoria. They won at the 2010 World Championships defeating then defending champions Jackie Paraiso and Aimee Ruiz of the US to capture the first women's doubles championship for Mexico and only the second title for a non-American team. Salas and Longoria have won two more titles: in 2012,^[4] when they also won the women's team title,^[5] and in 2014^[6] Salas was also a bronze medalist in singles in 2014, losing to Rhonda Rajsich in the semi-finals.

Salas has won five Pan American Champion in women's doubles, winning in 2011, 2012 and 2015 with Longoria, and in 2010 and 2014^[7] with Susana Acosta.^[8]

Salas also won gold at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico in both the women's doubles (with Longoria) and the women's team events. Finally, she and Nancy Enriquez won gold at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games.

At the 2017 Pan American Championships, Salas won Women's Doubles with Longoria, as they defeated Veronica Sotomayor and Maria Paz Muñoz of Ecuador, 15–12, 15–5, in the final, and she was a bronze medalist in Women's Singles, losing to American Rhonda Rajsich in the semi-finals.

Salas played Women's Singles at the 2018 Pan American Championships in Temuco, Chile, where she was a bronze medalist, as she lost to team-mate Longoria in the semi-finals, 15–12, 15–6.^[9]

As a junior player, Salas won the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championship in Girls U18 in 2004.^[10]

• List of racquetball players

• Samantha Salas Solis at LPRT (archived)
• Samantha Salas at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games (archived, alternate link)
• Samantha Salas at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games (archived)
• Samantha Salas at the World Games