Team USA at The 2025 World Games Blog

Blog #4 
Team USA at The 2025 World Games
High-Tech Zone Sports Centre – Public Fitness Gymnasium
Chengdu, China
Wednesday 8/13 – Sunday 8/17

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

It’s kind of  (well, completely) impossible to travel back and forth between Point A (Naperville, IL, USA) and Point B (Chengdu, China) for the sake of a quality blog. One needs help with these things. Luckily, there are “peeps” aka boots on the ground to help with content. Thanks to Sandy Rios, Mauro Grandio, Gustavo Farell, Dean Schear, Pablo Fajre, and George Bustos for their service in providing information and photos to me that Aimee Roehler and I can then relay on to YOU!

As this is being written, Friday is just beginning in Chengdu. So, let me regale you with some details behind the scenes in Chengdu before USA’s main event later on: Naomi and Jake’s Mixed Doubles match vs. Costa Rica at 6:00 pm local time.

Magnificent Streaming / Professional Production

When you log in to the streaming app https://live.theworldgames.org/live and find your way to Racquetball (it’s not difficult), you’ll see a countdown, then a brilliant introductory video, exciting introductions before each livestreamed match, light shows, spirited announcements, and state of the art (and then some) technology.

Gustavo Farell (reference Blog 1) from El Paso, Texas, is the experienced IRF sports commentator whose voice so many of you have heard when he and Gary Mazaroff work their magic at IRF tournaments. Gustavo provides recognition for his co-commentators in Chengdu:

“In the morning session, Guy McCrea (pronounced  McCREE) from Wimbledon, England, is learning the sport of Racquetball, and he has commentated Squash before as well. Together, we have branded ourselves the Gus and Guy Show.”

Blogger’s note: Such a great intro from Guy on Friday morning: “We’re bringing stunning racquetball to the masses!” Indeed they are.

“In the afternoon session, Pan from Eastern China speaks English very well. His American name is Peter...from here forward he is ‘Peter Pan.’ He knows a lot about tennis shoes, owning 100 pairs himself. Yesterday a lighthearted exchange was had on streaming having to do with shoes, i.e., “You could win a raffle if you guess whose shoes on court are the most expensive!”

Gustavo, along with Floor Manager Dean Schear (Bulverde, Texas), wants to recognize and thank Linda Cheng Dupuis, the Production Lead at the Racquetball venue who hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Dean adds that he is impressed with (and held to) the very structured timing of the production crew. Everything is choreographed in 30-second increments and strictly followed. There’s a production truck outside the venue communicating with a tech inside on a headset who relays information and timing information to Dean for coordination with the athletes, coaches, and referees.

TWG Racquetball Style!

Gustavo further offers, “What a super well organized event. They must have 7,000 volunteers, something like a minimum ratio of 3:1 volunteers to coaches/delegates/refs/media etc.”  Dean adds that rumor has it there are so many volunteers (young people especially) that sometimes when another sport’s venue might have too many on hand, the ones being assigned elsewhere are requesting to go over to Racquetball. We have always known we are the cool kids, right?

Autographed Gearbox Sleek Black racquetballs are popular among spectators – they’re lining up for a chance to take one home!

On Thursday, IRF President Osvaldo Maggi borrowed a couple of Conrrado Moscoso’s racquets and some did some gentle hitting on the court with a few new fans between matches! Video was posted on The World Games on Instagram, exclaiming “The stars of tomorrow? The President of the International Racquetball Federation, Aníbal Osvaldo Maggi León, invited local kids on to court for a personal training session - what an amazing gesture!” Bravo, Osvaldo! Check out this link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNXoRnCPjwJ/?igsh=aWV4Y204MnJkZXRk.

This is exactly the kind of PR we need for this fabulous sport of ours!

Mail from Home

Warm thanks to Keith Calkins, Luke St. Onge, Gary Mazaroff, Paula Sperling, Karen Grisz, Kristin Wattz, Stewart Solomon, Jen Meyer, Kevin Cowley, Brett Elkins, and Stewart Solomon for reaching out with very positive comments for Team USA!

Hotel Accommodations / Security

Our U.S. Delegation is housed in two separate places. What has often in other years and in other host countries been a separately constructed Athletes’ Village, in Chengdu athletes and supporting staff competing at close-in venues are staying at the Holiday Inn Century City East Tower (in essence, “the Village”). That’s where Naomi, Jake, Pablo, and Angela are located.

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

The other category is called International Federation Family/Guests. Sandy, George, Lexi, and Sam are staying at the Fairmont Hotel. Sadly for them (jk), it’s a beautiful 5-star hotel with

transportation between the hotels and the High-Tech Zone Sports Centre provided via shuttle buses or inexpensive taxi service.

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

All of our attendees wear credentials around their necks that provide access into their hotels, the venue, and other activities associated with TWG. No credential, no access. Security at every one of the facilities involves facial recognition, bag checks, and TSA-type screening. It’s very difficult to replace a lost credential. Interestingly, once the event is over, its importance becomes that of a really cool lifelong souvenir. (I still have mine from the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.)

Back to Racquetball...

Okay, as the blog waits for the all-important Mixed Doubles match result coming up at 6:00 pm there (aka the very early morning of Friday back here in the USA), here’s a report on other matches...

In Men’s Singles, Diego Garcia (ARG) defeated Edwin Galicia (Gua) in three games, and Conrrado Moscoso (BOL) beat Lalo Portillo (MEX) in four games. Galicia and Portillo will play off for bronze on Saturday while the final between Garcia and Galicia will be competed on Sunday.

In Women’s Singles, Maria Jose Vargas (ARG) earned her spot in Sunday’s final by defeating Gabriela Martinez (GUA) in four games. In the top half of the bracket, the Longoria (MEX)/Barrios (BOL) match ended unexpectedly and sadly when, in the fifth game, Angelica significantly injured her knee and fell to the floor in extreme pain. She is receiving medical attention and will not be able to continue in the tournament. We are thinking of her and wish her well as she is being treated. It will be Longoria vs. Vargas going for the gold on Sunday.

Now for the big news for Team USA! Our Mixed Doubles team logged a decisive win against Costa Rica, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5. Sandy Rios commented courtside after the match: “The U.S. duo of Ros and Bredenbeck defeated the Costa Rican team in three straight games. Ros held her own against the power of Andres Acuña and overpowered the up-and-coming Larissa Faeth. Bredenbeck brought his expected power and speed, effectively neutralizing Acuña as the USA powered thru to the 3-0 victory.”

Jake and Naomi now move into the Saturday semifinals at 1:30 pm local time vs. Canada’s Coby Iwaasa/Frederique Lambert who defeated Galicia and Martinez of Guatemala in the quarters. In the lower half of the bracket, Japan has advanced due to Barrios’ tournament-ending injury suffered in the Women’s Singles. Argentina has also reached the semifinals after their win in three games vs. Mexico.

All matches will now be live-streamed, so we know everyone reading will want to take an evening nap (or just stay up late, it’s Friday after all) and be ready to cheer Naomi and Jake on to victory at 10:30 pm PT/11:30 pm MT/12:30 am CT/1:30 am ET.

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

If you haven’t already, download the free The World Games App at https://live.theworldgames.org/live.  “See” you there!

GO TEAM USA!

Blog #3 
Team USA at The 2025 World Games
High-Tech Zone Sports Centre – Public Fitness Gymnasium
Chengdu, China
Wednesday 8/13 – Sunday 8/17

Thursday Results

On Thursday morning, Jake Bredenbeck/Naomi Ros prevailed over Han-Yang Huang/Yuan Wang (Chinese Taipei), 11-3, 11-2, 11-3. Spectator and roving reporter Sandy Rios commented, “U.S. opened their Mixed Doubles competition against this young Chinese Taipei team who––even though lacking experience­­––demonstrated they have the potential to help build a tough national team. What they may have lacked, they more than made up with effort and inspiring competitive spirit.”

USA Racquetball

USA Racquetball

USA Racquetball

Unfortunately, the Men’s and Women’s Singles matches later in the day did not have the same outcome for Team USA.

#1 Jake Bredenbeck lost to #8 Edwin Galicia (Guatemala), 9-11, 11-9, 7-11, 6-11

All the games were highly competitive, and Jake had chances to take all of them. Galicia was sharp, though, and took every opportunity he had to close each rally and game.

#4 Naomi Ros lost to #5 Angelica Barrios (Bolivia), 12-10, 9-11, 8-11, 9-11

After fighting to a 12-10  victory in game 1, Naomi was unable to unseat the seasoned veteran. Barrios used a mixed bag of power and control in taking the win 3 games to 1.

Each lost their bid to advance in Singles, but Jake and Naomi and all of their fans are looking forward to tomorrow’s quarterfinal round in Mixed Doubles––with news just in that the match will indeed be livestreamed.

Friday, 6:00 pm local time in China, #1 seeds Jake Bredenbeck/Naomi Ros vs. #9 seeds Andres Acuña/Larissa Faeth (Costa Rica).

Everyone, let’s get to bed early tonight so we can show up for this match!

Download The World Games App at https://live.theworldgames.org/live. We can do this!!

U.S. Times: Friday morning, 3:00 am Pacific, 4:00 am Mountain, 5:00 am Central, 6:00 am Eastern.

Mini-Travelogue – Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

Chengdu
is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a population of 20,937,757 at the 2020 census,
it is the fourth most populous city in China, and it is the only city with a population of over 20 million apart from direct-administered municipalities. It is traditionally the hub of Western China. Click this link to find out much more about this Host City of The World Games 2025: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengdu  

Currency: CNY or RMB (Chinese Yuan Renminbi) 7.17 to 1 US Dollar

Elevation: 1,640 ft. above sea level

USA Racquetball

Mail from Home

Thanks so much to these racquetball family members who reached out after Blog #2 to say hello and send great vibes to Team USA: Keith Calkins, Joshua Jones, Lynn Yeazell, Kit Lawson, Karen Grisz, Kristin Wattz, and Kevin Cowley.

Official Partner of Adult National Team

Speaking of Kevin Cowley, we want to recognize and thank Kevin and his staff at Athlete Performance Solutions, Inc. (APS) for their apparel sponsorship of the U.S. Adult National Team. In preparation for this event, Kevin worked with us to create the submission to TWG 2025 Brand Control Standards for Apparel group as required by the LOC (Local Organizing Committee). It was a structured process, and Kevin’s responsiveness and efficiency made all the difference. We appreciate APS both as an Official Top Partner of USA Racquetball and also as a great group of people to work with!

Gratitude to Our Benefactors!

USA Racquetball warmly thanks the following individuals who contributed to the recent fundraiser this summer that led into sending our coach and athletes to represent the USA at TWG 2025 in Chengdu. We are so grateful for your generosity and partnership, and there simply aren’t enough words to convey how much your support means to us.

John Behm, Bob Frazier, Cindy Gilbert, Glen Gitterman, Jack Goldberg, Patricia Greene, James Greenspan, Karen Grisz, Kevin Harrington, Darren Hayward, Cheryl Kirk, Sandy Long, Linda Price, Kiran Puttaswamy, Carrie Reitmeier, Vincent Santilli, Stewart Solomon, Marshall Waldo, Kristin Wattz, Mike Wedel, Damian Zamorano...You’re the Best!

USA Racquetball

Remember, to view the draws, visit www.internationalracquetball.com and choose Racquetball Competition – Official Draws.

Good luck tomorrow to Jake and Naomi as The World Games racquetball competition enters its third day.

GO TEAM USA!!

Blog #2 
Team USA at The 2025 World Games
High-Tech Zone Sports Centre – Public Fitness Gymnasium
Chengdu, China
Wednesday 8/13 – Sunday 8/17

First things first: To access livestreaming, use the link on USA Racquetball’s Facebook page or download the free app as seen on live.theworldgames.org/. The technology is world class, as witnessed firsthand by the U.S. Delegation. They are totally impressed!

Streaming is up and running with the IRF’s Gustavo Farell on the mic. Gustavo is doing a fantastic job with his commentary. For example, Gustavo clearly and eloquently explained the difference today between a splat and a pinch. He is not assuming, as one might with routine racquetball livestreams, that the viewing audience is made up of racquetball players who already know the game. Here, it’s a different thing altogether – this is an unparalleled opportunity to educate and to showcase Racquetball to the world. People fall in love with a sport when they understand what the rules are, what’s going on in the match, who the athletes are, their backstories. Bravo, Gustavo!

Day One in Chengdu

So #1 seed Jake Bredenbeck easily won the first men’s match of the tournament at 10:00 am vs. #16 seed Han-Yang Huang of Chinese Taipei, 11-2, 11-3, 11-3. This match was not livestreamed (two courts with just one being streamed each hour).

This blog is being written during #4 seed Naomi Ros’s 1:00 pm match vs. #13 seed Maria Angela Villacreses (Ecuador). The match is not being streamed either (in favor of Men’s Singles India vs. Japan, we get that, good for them!), and Sandy Rios is doing this blogger a great service by using WeChat (a WhatsApp-type tool) to communicate the scores in real time, painting the picture of what’s going on. It’s going well for Naomi...she won the first two games easily 5 and 2...wait, all of a sudden the score in the third game is 8-8. Time out USA. Ecuador takes the third game 12-10. Edge of the seat...nail biter...blogger is too old for this...manicure facing ruin. But...the fourth game is decisive, 11-1. Life is good once again!

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Congrats to Naomi and Jake on their first-round wins today! Here’s what Team USA’s Thursday in Chengdu looks like:

Thursday Match Schedule

Thursday, 10:00 am, #1 seeds Jake Bredenbeck/Naomi Ros vs. #16 seeds Han-Yang Huang/Yuan Wang (Chinese Taipei)

Thursday, 4:00 pm, #1 Jake Bredenbeck vs. #8 Edwin Galicia (Guatemala)

Thursday, 4:00 pm, #4 Naomi Ros vs. #5 Angelica Barrios (Bolivia)

Remember, to view the draws, visit www.internationalracquetball.com and choose Racquetball Competition – Official Draws.

IRF Staff and Referees

These folks are tireless in their contributions to Racquetball worldwide. They are in China right now at The World Games, certainly, but their work is constant year in and year out. Each is a treasure in our sport: Osvaldo Maggi (Argentina) – IRF President; Mauro Grandio Buzaleh (Argentina) – IRF Secretary General; Dean Schear (USA) – Competition Manager; Gustavo Farell (USA) – Sport Commentator. Gratitude is not nearly an adequate enough word to describe what they do for us all. 

Thanks to the referees who are representing our sport so professionally in Chengdu: Francisco Gomez (Colombia), Diana Aguilar (Mexico), Roland Keller (Bolivia), and Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador). They’re a Dream Team!

Mail From Home

It means a lot to the delegation to hear from family and fans back in the U.S. who are reaching out with well wishes and encouraging messages. Thanks to U.S. Junior Team Esprit Coach Jen Meyer, Sarah Leong-Lopes, Santi Villamil, David Stob, Keith Calkins, Karen Bredenbeck, Kristin Wattz, and Karen Grisz! And U.S. Junior Team athlete Nyasa Gupta from California (who will be representing the USA at IRF World Juniors in December) chimed in this evening, ”Go USA! We’re cheering for Jake and Naomi from the other side of the world!”

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Blog #1
Team USA at The 2025 World Games
Chengdu, China
High-Tech Zone Sports Centre – Public Fitness Gymnasium
Wednesday 8/13 – Sunday 8/17

Two Team USA athletes, one male and one female, are representing their country at The World Games in Chengdu, China. Along with thirty racquetball athletes from 15 other countries, they arrived with dreams of gold (medals) and began a whirlwind week of competition and an experience always to be remembered.

Jake Bredenbeck and Naomi Ros earned the right to compete at The World Games via their results in the Men’s and Women’s Team Qualifying Singles Divisions at the National Indoor Championships, May 14-18, in Pleasanton, California.

Sixteen countries are competing, each having sent one male and one female athlete who will compete in single elimination singles and also together in single elimination mixed doubles.

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Asia – Chinese Taipei, India, Japan, Korea

Europe – Germany, Ireland, Italy

North America – Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, USA

South America – Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador

Who’s in Chengdu from the USA?

Jake Bredenbeck, Marine-on-St.-Croix, Minnesota

Naomi Ros, San Antonio, Texas

Pablo Fajre, U.S. Team Head Coach, Tracy, California

Angela Grisar, Pablo’s better half, competing for Germany

IRF Staff includes two more Americans:

Dean Schear – Competition Manager

Gustavo Farell – Sport Commentator

But wait, there are more! We can call them Cheerleaders...

Sandy Rios, USA Racquetball Board Officer, San Antonio, Texas

George Bustos, U.S. Junior Team Assistant Coach, San Antonio, Texas

Sam Bredenbeck and Lexi York, Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota (2025-26 U.S. Team members and newly engaged couple as of Sunday 8/3/25!)

At the time of this writing on Monday 11:30 pm CT, Tuesday is half over in Chengdu, China (calculate 13 hours forward from US Central time). The Coaches and Delegates meeting took place at the venue at 12:00 Noon on Tuesday. After arrival and two practice days (Monday and Tuesday), Jake and Naomi are ready to take to the courts on Wednesday!

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

First round matches

Wednesday 10:00 am, #1 seed Jake Bredenbeck vs. Han-Yang Huang (Chinese Taipei)

Wednesday, 1:00 pm, #4 seed Naomi Ros vs. Maria Angela Villacreses (Ecuador)

Thursday, 10:00 am, #1 seed Jake Bredenbeck/Naomi Ros vs. Han-Yang Huang/Yuan Wang (Chinese Taipei)

Competition Format––Rally scoring; best 3 games of 5 to 11 points, win by 2

To view the draws, visit www.internationalracquetball.com and choose Racquetball Competition – Official Draws. Or...

https://www.r2sports.com/website/division-list.asp?TID=50215&sortBy=defaultOrder

To learn more about The World Games, visit:

https://www.theworldgames2025.com/en/

Thirty-four sports are competing with some very familiar ones and others not nearly as much!

https://www.theworldgames2025.com/en/events?cid-ssxm

Stay tuned, more to come...

Streaming schedule, competition updates, info about Chengdu, and recognition for assistance and support will reach you this week via social media and at www.usaracquetball.com.

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball

Friends & Family of USA Racquetball