WSMRA 2025 Tucson

Eddie Myers

The 35th Women’s Senior/Masters Racquetball Association (WSMRA) Championships were held recently in Tucson, Arizona, with nearly 60 ladies attending. Many had come from the frozen north and were happy to sit by the pool in the sun, play some round robin racquetball, and have great food all weekend.

January 17-19 was the Martin Luther King Jr. Day/Weekend—a popular time for racquetball tournaments. The WSMRA has had this special 35+ ladies-only tournament on the same weekend 35 times now, only missing a couple due to the pandemic. The Tucson Racquet & Fitness Club loaned us their 11 great courts, let us use the campus and pools, and encouraged us to spend time in the bar and restaurant all weekend. Our banquet was held at the Doubletree Reid Park, with Eddie Myers from Kingsport, Tennessee, as our guest DJ. We also had Eddie as a guest photographer, along with Page Kern from Minnesota. Some of their great photos are available on the www.WSMRA.com site maintained by WSMRA President Kendra Tutsch, our leader of the organization from the beginning in 1990.

I hosted a few livestreams of the ladies playing on Court 1, so check those out on the www.facebook.com/nationalmastersrb page.

We had a few ladies come back to the WSMRA after many years, and we had many first timers as well—nine of whom were medal winners! I am constantly amazed at the great level of play and dedication to our sport, as the ladies leave their families behind for the weekend and reunite with their WSMRA family. It makes all of the hard work worth it.

There was one tournament glitch worth noting: My house was affected by the January 7 Malibu / Palisades Fire, and I originally thought all of my tournament kit paraphernalia was gone. It turned out not to be the case, so I was all set to go get it and load up the car for Tucson. BUT, we were not allowed back into the neighborhood for over a week and we had to pivot to Plan B. Several generous tournament directors sent out clipboards, pencils, extra balls, silent auction supplies, and everything we needed to run the event. If you didn’t know the backstory, you wouldn’t have guessed we were unprepared. Special thanks to Gary Mazaroff, Cheryl Kirk, Paula Sperling, Terry Rogers, Kendra Tutsch, and a few others who were not at the event but helped out immensely behind the scenes.

Endless gratitude goes to the on-site volunteers. They were my sister Linda Lindberg, my good friend Lois Palmer, and Nidia Funes and Carol Gellman who took on silent auction duties. Also, Renee Sitter at the Tucson Racquet Club, Debbie Tisinger-Moore who held a great doubles clinic for us, Fran Davis who provided Penn HD Purple balls, and Kendra Tutsch who bought the pre-event dinner and a drink on Saturday night at the big banquet. We love our volunteers and sponsors. A list of winners appears below. I want YOU to be on the list in 2026!

If you missed us in Tucson and like the idea of round robin five-year age divisions, you still have a few chances in 2025 to try it out. The National Masters Racquetball Association will hold its first of two round-robin tournaments in Tucson on March 6-8. Singles, doubles and mixed are offered in five-year age increments. You must sign up in the next week for this event. Check R2Sports.com for details and deadlines.

The last NMRA round robin tournament of the year will be July 17-19 at the Glass Court Swim & Fitness Club in Lombard. R2Sports.com is ready to accept sign-ups for this summer event, too. Contact me if you have questions on any 35+ racquetball events—I generally know the details or know who to call!

Eddie Myers & Page Kern

Eddie Myers & Page Kern

Eddie Myers & Page Kern