Samantha Salas

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Salas and the second or maternal family name is Solís.
Samantha Salas
Personal information
Born (1986-12-15) December 15, 1986
León, Guanajuato, Mexico

Samantha Salas Solís (born December 15, 1986) is a Mexican racquetball player. Salas is current World Champion in Women's Doubles (with Paola Longoria), winning the title for a third consecutive time in 2014. She 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 4th at the end of the 2013-14 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season, which was her fifth season in the top 10.

Professional career

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.

International career

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 USA 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,[3] when they also won the women's team title,[4] and in 2014[5] 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[6] with Susana Acosta.[7]

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.

As a junior player, Salas won the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championship in Girls U18 in 2004.[8]

See also

References

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