Álvaro Beltrán
Mexican racquetball player
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Álvaro Beltrán (born October 15, 1978), is a Mexican professional racquetball player. Beltrán is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in Men's Doubles with Daniel De La Rosa, winning the title in 2022 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. He was the second man to win both Men's Singles and Men's Doubles at the Racquetball World Championships. His six world titles (1 singles & 5 doubles) tie him for 3rd most in IRF history. Beltran has been a top 10 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) for 18 seasons.[1]
Professional career
Beltrán was the first Mexican to be ranked in the top 10 IRT at season's end in 2000-01, and has been a top 10 IRT player in 18 seasons finishing at #3 (his career high) four times.[1] He won his first IRT event in 2013 when he defeated fellow Mexican Daniel De La Rosa in the final of the Red Swain Shootout.[2] Beltran's second win came in November 2015 at the Galaxy Custom Printing Pro-Am in Atlanta, where he defeated Rocky Carson, in the final, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4.[3] Overall, Beltrán has been in 42 IRT finals[1] (8th most) in 230 appearances on tour (3rd most).
Beltrán has been in the finals of the US Open Racquetball Championships twice: once in 2010 and again in 2014. He was the first Mexican to do so. He lost both finals to Kane Waselenchuk, but did win the first game of 2010 final, which was Waselenchuk's first loss of a game in six US Open finals. 2010 final was the first US Open final with two non-American players.
Also of note, Beltrán is one of only two players to beat IRT #1 Waselenchuk in a completed match, since Waselenchk's return to the IRT tour in the fall of 2008. That win occurred at the 2009 California Open when Beltrán defeated Waslenchuk in four games in the semi-finals.[3]
International career
Beltrán was the first player to win World Championships in both Men's Singles and Men's Doubles. Beltrán won Men's Singles at the 2000 Racquetball World Championships hosted by the International Racquetball Federation[4] in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, defeating American Rocky Carson in the final.[5] He has won Men's Doubles thrice, all with Javier Moreno. Most recently, he and Moreno won the 2016 Worlds Championships in Cali, Colombia, where they defeated Americans Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz in the final, 15-12, 15-9. Beltran and Moreno first won Men's Doubles in 2006, defeating Americans Carson and Jack Huczek in the final, and then six years later in 2012, defeating Americans Tony Carson and Jansen Allen. Both those wins were in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Beltrán and Moreno also won the gold medals in doubles at the 2003 Pan American Games, and 2011 Pan Am Games.[6] In 2003, they beat Americans Ruben Gonzalez and Mike Guidry in the final, and in 2011 final, defeated Venezuelans Cesar Castillo and Jorge Hirsekorn. Beltrán also won gold in the team competition at the 2011 Pan Am Games.
In addition, Beltrán won three consecutive Pan American Championships in Men's Singles from 2007–2009, and the 2015 Pan Am Championship in Men's Doubles with Javier Moreno. He is a two time the gold medalist in Men's Singles at the Central American and Caribbean Games, as he defeated countrymen Gilberto Meija in 2010 final and Daniel De La Rosa in 2014 final, 15-7, 15-2.
In 2018, Beltrán and Rodrigo Montoya captured gold at the Pan American Championships in Temuco, Chile by defeating Bolivians Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso in the final, 13-15, 15-10, 11-6.[7]
Beltrán and Daniel De La Rosa won Men's Doubles at the 2018 World Championships in San José, Costa Rica, where they defeated Rocky Carson and Sudsy Monchik in the final, 10-15, 15-9, 11-2, after beating Bolivians Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso, 15-14, 15-8, in the semi-finals.
Beltrán and Daniel De La Rosa won Men's Doubles at the 2022 World Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where they defeated Bolivians Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso, coming back from two games down to win 7-11, 12-14, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6, in the final. In the semi-finals, they beat Americans Sam Bredenbeck and Charlie Pratt, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7.
Career summary
Playing for Mexico, Beltrán has won 25 gold medals, doing so in both singles and doubles. His highlights are two gold medals in Men's Doubles at the Pan American Games and six World Championships: one in singles and five in doubles. He's also won 3 times on the IRT, and 3 US Open IRT doubles titles.
Career record
This table lists Beltrán's results across annual events.
| Event | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| US Open | SF | QF | QF | 16 | 16 | QF | QF | QF | QF | - | F | 16 | SF | SF | F | SF | QF | SF | 16 | QF | P | 16 | 32 | - |
| US Open Doubles | F | QF | QF | F | W | F | P | W | W | - | ||||||||||||||
| IRT Ranking | 40 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 32 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 45 |
Note: W = winner, F = finalist, SF = semi-finalist, QF = quarterfinalist, 16 = Round of 16. P = pandemic. There was no US Open in 2023.