At age 9, Naomi Ros got an autograph from the best woman racquetball player in the world. Today, at age 17, she wants the crown.
The MacArthur High School senior still has the shirt that Paola Longoria — the top-ranked player in the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour — signed for her. But now, like the 10-time world champion, Ros has young players looking up to her.
A father told Ros at a junior nationals tournament she inspires his daughter, a feeling Ros described as “ muy padre ” — very cool.
“Knowing they look at you with eyes of admiration, it inspires you to keep training and to keep trying to be better,” Ros said.
Representing the United States earlier this month, Ros won the gold medal at the 33rd International Racquetball Federation World Junior Racquetball Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala. With the victory, Ros is considered the best junior female racquetball player on the planet.
Ros’ aim is Longoria’s No. 1 spot in the pros. Someday, she hopes to meet the reigning queen on the court.
Ros is “a very humble kid, but extremely, extremely hungry,” said George Bustos, Ros’ Alamo City Racquetball Association coach.
“If she says it, I believe her.”
World junior racquetball champion Naomi Ros, a senior at MacArthur High School, goes through practice hits Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023.
Taking the court
World junior racquetball champion and MacArthur High School senior Naomi Ros, left, shares a laugh with Hollie Scott during a break from training Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023.
The first time Ros walked into a racquetball tournament in San Antonio a little more than a year ago, her coach told her that he was registering her to play in the men’s division. Ros had been competing at the highest levels of the junior leagues in Mexico, so her skill set was a few notches higher than an above-average 15-year-old.
“All the men were like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to beat that little girl — so easy!’” Ros said. “But I beat them — so bad. They started making fun of each other. They were like, ‘It’s your turn to play the little girl!’”
Her journey to the junior world title started when she was 8 years old. Ros — who was born in San Marcos and moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, when she was 4 — tried activities like gymnastics and ballet as a kid, but she didn’t find them fulfilling. One day, she saw people playing racquetball and asked her mother if she could try.
“I was like, ‘That looks like fun!’” Ros said. “So, I started playing racquetball, and after a while, my coaches asked my mom if I could start practicing every day. It was so fun, I just kept doing it.”
Bustos thinks she has the “X-factor” that many winning athletes possess — the obsession required to stand above others.
“I’ll tell you one word — it’s called grit,” Bustos said. “G-R-I-T.”
World junior racquetball champion Naomi Ros, a senior at MacArthur High School, watches as Daniel de la Rosa hits a return during practice Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023.
Ros described winning as an “inexplicable sensation” validating the hours and hours of practice. She estimates she trains 22 hours a week — not including during her dreams. At a tournament last year, she startled her doubles partner and roommate when she started swinging her arms like she was playing a match while asleep.
“I was winning, by the way,” Ros said, laughing.
Ros continued to play in Mexico through her childhood and early teenage years. Racquetball was her life, and she wanted it to continue. However, to improve her skills, Ros knew she would have to start competing in more tournaments across the U.S., which would be expensive.
At 15, Ros moved to San Antonio with her grandmother when she got the opportunity to partner with the Alamo City Racquetball Association. Along with a few committed sponsors, the association covers Ros’ expenses to travel to for tournaments. In turn, Ros volunteers her time teaching kids how to play racquetball at the YMCA.
“At first, I didn’t want to leave my parents,” Ros said. “But I knew that if I left, I could start pursuing my goals and playing in the pro tournaments. So, I decided that I had to take the risk and come here and fight for it.”
Five of the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour’s top 10 players, including the top three, hail from Mexico. But despite the nation’s success, the infrastructure and money to support the sport aren’t as strong there as in the U.S., Ros said. For instance, the public courts in Guadalajara are poorly maintained, Ros said, and the majority of racquetball courts belong to private clubs.
World junior racquetball champion Naomi Ros, a senior at MacArthur High School, goes through agility drills Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023.
“It’s very expensive being in Mexico and traveling every month to the U.S.,” Ros said. Being here means “more possibilities open to go to tournaments.”
These factors, along with a grandmother in San Antonio, spurred the move north.
Sending her 15-year-old daughter away proved tough for Ros’ mother, Shanad Garsan, who already sent Ros’ older brother Marley to the U.S. to play hockey.
The move proved necessary to advance both her children’s careers, Garsan said, so she sent her teenage children to live with their grandmother in San Antonio. Garsan moved to San Antonio and reunited with Ros just four months ago.
“It was difficult, but I’m also super happy with the decision to let her (move to the U.S.), let her fly,” Garsan said. “The majority of us Latinos, we’re really overprotective (of our children). We want them always by our side. But it was the only way for her to continue.”
World junior racquetball champion Naomi Ros, a senior at MacArthur High School, stretches before her workout Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023.
‘Mountain to climb’
Successful racquetball pros must be more than competitors. Sponsors, a social media presence and brand deals are critical to staying afloat — and Ros is ahead of the curve.
Her first sponsor backed her at 13 years old, and she’s dealt with contractual responsibilities ever since, managing her own socials and personal brand.
Ros even designs her own game clothes and hopes to create a line of racquetball athletic wear someday.
“Only a few (racquetball pros) can make a living, but those few that do make a living, it’s because they have those kinds of relationships with their sponsors,” Bustos said. “That’s just branding themselves, and I think she’s on her way to do that.”
Ros recently began her foray into higher level events and tournaments. In early January, she won a litany of medals at the Longhorn Open in Austin, including gold in women’s doubles and silver in women’s singles and mixed doubles. Her loss to 12th-ranked Hollie Scott, who also lives in San Antonio, is a taste of a much bigger mountain to climb, Bustos said.
World junior racquetball champion Naomi Ros, a senior at MacArthur High School, goes through drills as coach George Bustos and the rest of the group observe Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023.
Next up for Ros is the 2023 National Doubles and Singles Championships this week in Tempe, Arizona. Then comes the 2023 National High School Championships in Portland, in early March.
During the tournament in Tempe, Ros will attempt to qualify for an adult team so she can compete in the World Games — the highest-level competition a racquetball player can reach. Racquetball is not an Olympic sport yet, but Ros hopes that changes in her lifetime.
“If that ever happened, that would be a dream,” she said. “It would be great to win an Olympic medal in a sport I love.”
Ros can play in the juniors division until 21, but the real money and success are in going pro. Still, she plans on winning as many championships as possible while she’s in the division.
“It’s hard to put into words how I feel when I’m playing,” Ros said. “It’s so fast and interactive, and you’re moving all the time. And you feel that adrenaline when you hit the ball. It’s like boom, boom, boom. I love the intensity of the game.”
Kiko Martinez contributed to this story.