Daniel De La Rosa
9/3/2023 Daniel De La Rosa, the 2-Time World #1 earns a Double Gold by winning the Pro Singles and Pro Doubles Titles in Eugen, Oregon this weekend. With 2 remaining events on the Tour Season, the race for Year End #1 is in play.
Facts in numbers
Daniel De La Rosa
Past Tournament Comments
Professional Athlete
Professional Career
De La Rosa defeated Alvaro Beltran in the final of the 2014 New Jersey Open, 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10, to win his first pro event.[2] De La Rosa reached the final by beating Rocky Carson in the semi-finals, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6. The win comes in De La Rosa’s second season playing full time on the IRT.
In 2015, De La Rosa was a finalist at the US Open – the second Mexican player to do so after Beltran. He reached the final after an epic five game match with Rocky Carson, winning 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10. [3] But in the final, Kane Waselenchuk defeated De La Rosa in straight games, 11-5, 11-8, 11-3.
De La Rosa began playing the IRT full time in the 2013-14 season, entering ten of the eleven events. He reached his first career final in Davison, Michigan, where he lost to countryman Alvaro Beltran, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-4, in what was the first IRT final between two Mexican players in IRT history.[4] In addition in 2013-14, De La Rosa made at least the quarterfinals in each tournament he entered, and reached the semi-finals twice. As a result, De La Rosa achieved a career high 5th ranking at season’s end, which is the second best ranking ever for a Mexican player.
De La Rosa played a few IRT tournaments each season since 2008-09. He first reached the Round of 16 in 2010-11, doing so three times and repeating that in the 2011-12 season. In 2012-13, De La Rosa played half of the IRT events, and made his first career semi-final at the Stockton Pro-Am, losing to Rocky Carson in three games, 11-8, 11-2, 11-2, as well as three quarterfinals. Those results helped put him 9th in the season ending rankings. He became the third Mexican player to be in the IRT top 10 after Beltran and Javier Moreno.
Professional Athlete
First US Open victory and becoming No. 1 on the IRT – 2020–present
In the 2019–20 IRT season, De La Rosa was in two finals, winning the 42nd Lewis Drug Pro-Am in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he defeated Rocky Carson in the quarterfinals, 15–12, 15–11, Conrrado Moscoso in the semi-finals, 15–8, 15–11, and then Eduardo Portillo in the final, 15–14, 15–9.[22] He also won Men’s Doubles in Sioux Falls, as he and Álvaro Beltrán defeated Javier Mar and Rodrigo Montoya in the final, 15–13, 10–15, 11–2.[23] Still, he finished 6th at season’s end once again.[2]
Then in 2021, De La Rosa won three consecutive IRT tournaments, including 2021 US Open, which was his first US Open title. The run began with a win in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, where he beat Conrrado Moscoso in the final, 15–7, 15–13, after defeating Eduardo Portillo, 15–5, 10–15, 11–2, in the semi-finals, and Andree Parrilla in the quarterfinals, 15–10, 15–10.[24] It continued with a win at the Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois, where De La Rosa defeated Jake Bredenbeck in the final, 15–10, 13–15, 11–1, after defeating Samuel Murray, 15–10, 15–12, in the semi-finals.[25] Again, he and Beltran won Men’s Doubles beating Parrilla and Portillo in the final, 15–8, 15–8, after wins over Javier Mar and Rodrigo Montoya, 15–12, 15–11, in the semi-finals, and Sudsy Monchik and Kane Waselenchuk, 15–14, 15–14, in the quarterfinals.[26]
Most recently, De La Rosa won the 2021 US Open in Minneapolis by defeating Carlos Keller, 15–13, 11–15, 11–3, in the final. In the semi-finals, he defeated Andree Parrilla, 6–15, 15–10, 11–5, and in the quarterfinals, Eduardo Portillo, 15–13, 15–8.[27] Also in Minneapolis, De La Rosa and Beltran won Men’s Doubles, as they beat Alejandro Landa and Samuel Murray in the final, 15–11, 15–11. They defeated Javier Mar and Rodrigo Montoya, 15–12, 10–15, 11–8, in the semi-finals, and Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso in the quarterfinals, 15–14, 14–15, 11–4.[28] The US Open win and his other titles in 2021 helped De La Rosa finish the year as the IRT’s No. 1 player.[2]
In 2022, De La Rosa won twice on the IRT, and that helped him finish No. 1 at season’s end for a second consecutive year.[2]
In 2023, De La Rosa decided to switch from playing internationally for Mexico to the USA. So, he played the USA Racquetball national championships for the first time. At the 2023 USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships, De La Rosa and Alejandro Landa won Men’s Doubles. They defeated Jake Bredenbeck and Sam Bredenbeck, 12–10, 6–11, 11–7, 10–12, 11–2, in the semi-finals, and then Wayne Antone and Adam Manilla, 15-13, 11-5, 11-8, in the final.[29] In mixed doubles, he and Holly Scott reached the final with a win over Landa and Michelle Key, 14-12, 11-3, 11-9, but then lost to Adam Manilla and Erika Manilla, 11-6, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9.[30]
De La Rosa won the 2023 USA Racquetball National Singles Championship, defeating Adam Manilla in the final, 3-11, 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, and Alejandro Landa, 11–9, 11–9, 11–3, in the semi-finals.[31] The win qualified him to play for the USA at the 2023 Pan American Games.
Thus, De La Rosa made his Team USA debut at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, where he played singles, doubles and in the team event. In Men’s Singles, he lost to Mexican Eduardo Portillo, 10-12, 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 14-12, in the quarterfinals. He played Men’s Doubles with Alejandro Landa, and they lost to Canadians Coby Iwaasa and Samuel Murray, 4-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4, in the quarterfinals.[32] But in the Men’s Team event, the USA defeated Ecuador in the quarterfinals, and then lost to Bolivia in the semi-finals, with De La Rosa and Landa winning the doubles match against Kadim Carrasco and Conrrado Moscoso, 11-5, 10-12, 12-10, 11-13, 11-4, but Moscoso defeated De La Rosa, 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, in the deciding singles match.[33]
In 2023, De La Rosa won three times on the IRT, and that helped him finish No. 1 at season’s end for the third year running.[2]
Professional Athlete
International Career
De La Rosa is the current Pan American Champion in Men’s Singles, winning the title in San Luis Potosi, where he defeated American Jake Bredenbeck in the final 15-2, 15-1.[5] That win was De La Rosa’s 2nd Pan American Championship in Men’s Singles. He won his first at age 17 in 2011, when De La Rosa narrowly defeated American Chris Crowther in the final, 12-15, 15-14, 11-9.[6] De La Rosa has also been a Pan American Champion in Men’s Doubles, as he and Edson Martinez won the 2014 Pan Am Championships beating Americans Jose Rojas and David Horn in the Men’s Doubles final, 14-15, 15-12, 11-1.[7]
De La Rosa earned a silver medal at the 2016 Racquetball World Championships in Cali, Colombia, where he lost to Rocky Carson in the final, 15-11, 5-15, 11-5.
De La Rosa played for Mexico[8] at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, where he earned a silver medalist in Men’s Singles, losing to Beltran in the final, 15-7, 15-2.
De La Rosa also represented Mexico at the 2015 Pan American Games, where he was a bronze medalist in Men’s Singles and a gold medalist in the Men’s Team event.
Professional Athlete
Professional Pickleball Career
De La Rosa began competing professionally in Pickleball in 2021, and quickly began to attract attention in the industry. He signed a 3-year contract exclusively with the PPA in July 2024, and has been competing in Major League Pickleball since January 2023.[34] His MLP career includes stints in 2023 with the Austin Pickleballers and the Dallas Pickleball Club, and he was drafted by the Brooklyn Aces for the 2024 season.[35] He owns two MLP titles: Advil Targeted Relief MLP Mid-Season Tournament (July 2024) and MLP San Clemente (June 2023).
Professional Athlete
Racquetball Career summary
De La Rosa has been in 31 IRT finals, winning 12 times over 111 tournaments (as of December 12, 2023).[2] His IRT wins are highlighted by the 2021 US Open Championship.
Playing for Mexico, De La Rosa has won 11 gold medals for Mexico, as well as 2 silver medals and 1 bronze, and he’s won them over 9 international events. Three of the gold medals have been in Men’s Singles (two at the Pan American Racquetball Championships & one at the Central American and Caribbean Games) and four in Men’s Doubles (two at the World Championships, and one each at the Pan American Championships, & Central American and Caribbean Games) with the other four in Men’s Team events (one at the Pan American Games, one at the World Championships & two at the Central American and Caribbean Games).
Playing for the USA, De La Rosa earned a bronze medal in the Men’s Team event at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Professional Athlete
Personal life
A native of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, De La Rosa currently resides in San Antonio, Texas. He was previously married to Michelle De La Rosa (née Key), who is also a competitive racquetball player having played on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour and on Team USA. They have two children together. He is currently in a relationship with Hollie Scott, also a professional racquetball player.
De La Rosa is sponsored by Pro Kennex.[36]