US OPEN Racquetball Championships Returns to Minneapolis

The Worlds Fastest Sport comes back to the Twin Cities this October

More than 700 of the worlds top professional and amateur racquetball players will descend on Minneapolis once again this October 8-12 for the 2014 UnitedHealthcare US OPEN Racquetball Championships, the worlds largest and most prestigious racquetball tournament held once a year.

After 14 years in Memphis, Tenn., the UnitedHealthcare US OPEN Racquetball Championships moved to Minneapolis in 2010 with great success. The region has seen more than $14 million in economic impact during the past four years and that number is expected to increase as an estimated 3,000 spectators will join the 700 players in the Twin Cities for the week-long event. Of the entrants in the tournament, more than 150 are expected to be players from the State of Minnesota.

With ball speeds reaching 180 miles per hour, racquetball is truly the worlds fastest sport! A stunning all-glass portable court will be brought piece-by-piece into Life Time Fitness Target Center in Downtown Minneapolis and set-up in a one-of-a-kind racquetball stadium.

The US OPEN partners with two prominent Minnesota-based companies in UnitedHealthcare and Life Time Fitness to host the tournament. The professional divisions are contested at Life Time Fitness Target Center, while the amateur divisions are played among Life Time Fitness St. Louis Park, Life Time Fitness Moore Lake, and the Minneapolis Life Time Athletic Club.

Defending his championship in the Mens Professional Division will be nine-time US OPEN Champion Kane Waselenchuk (Edmonton, Canada). Kane owns a pair of US OPEN win streaks, the first from 2003 2005 and his current streak from 2008 2013. In January 2009 until January 2012, Waselenchuk won 134 matches in a row on the International Racquetball Tour.

Mexicos Paola Longoria is a four-time and the defending champion in the Womens Professional Division. Longoria was the youngest player in the history of the sport to win a US OPEN with her first title in 2009. In addition to winning the UnitedHealthcare US OPEN the past two years, Paola has won 13 Gold Medals for her country while playing in international competitions.

The 2014 UnitedHealthcare US OPEN announced the addition of Professional DOUBLES Divisions to the 2014 event. All the top pro players on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) and the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) have committed to participate in the new US OPEN Professional Doubles divisions.

For a preview of the racquetball action the US OPEN brings to Minneapolis, please visit:
http://www.unitedhealthcareusopen.com/