Another Season in the Books!
Jun 22, 2025
The LPRT closed out the 2024-2025 season in dynamic fashion. Legendary player, Paola Longoria (MEX), claimed her monumental, 14th season-ending, #1 ranking. She was named this season’s “Athlete of the Year.” Meanwhile, the final two events were won by the two athletes who tied for the season-ending #2 spot, Montse Mejia (MEX) and Maria Jose Vargas (ARG), respectively. Rounding out the top 4 season-ending ranked players is Gaby Martinez (GUA), who finished with a semi and final appearance at the final two events. Each of these top four won events this season.
We ended with back-to-back events, both located on the U. S. east coast. The first, The Northern Virginia Invitational at Worldgate Athletic Club & Spa in Herndon, Virginia was a uniquely fun, sponsor-centered event that featured Saturday afternoon pro-am doubles. The intimate event hosted on just 3 courts, invited participants in 2 pro and and 4 amateur events with prize money in every division. Battles ensued with good friends and good fun. Montse Mejia won decisively over Paola Longoria in the Virginia final.
The second and final season event was a return to past host Charlotte, North Carolina and the Dowd YMC. Thank you to everyone involved in making the last event memorable. Players had a great time at the renovated club and enjoyed conversing with the famous Mildred Gwinn. Maria Jose Vargas closed out the season with a win over Gaby Martinez in this Sweet Caroline final.
The season was also marked with up-and-coming talent, improved performances, and some juniors to watch out for. To mention a few, Lexi York (USA) added some first-round wins to her belt this season and pushed top talent into some close matches. Naomi Ros (USA) also with some first-round pro wins as well as back-to-back titles in USA Adult Singles and Junior Nationals. Annie Sanchez (USA) made her mark at the begging of 2025 with some early round upsets and Valeria Centellas (ARG) continues to push the top ranked players getting even closer to some big wins while also adding another doubles title to her resume. Camila Rivero (BOL), double age-group, junior national winner in Bolivia, made an appearance at two events this season. Consider her “one-to-watch.”
With the success of our 2024-2025 season, we are looking excitedly ahead. Will there be a dominant number one, or will each title be a battle of the LPRT’s finest? There is an incredible amount of talent on tour, we have only scratched the surface in these paragraphs. We mentioned the top 4 and improved performances but keep your eye on those in the #5-#8 spots, too. Brenda Laime (BOL) has not had her break-through moment yet, but it’s coming. And we know that Alexandra Herrera (MEX) will not want to sit at #8 for long.
The hypothetical most valuable player for this season may go to one behind the scenes. Our very own Maria Paz Riquelme, aka “Maripa”, demonstrated through social media posts why she is, most valuable. The LPRT hit an all-time high of 1.5 million views on one video post by Maripa. Within a month’s time we hit a record number of views and an uptick of followers. Her posts attract new attention and comments about the sport and how to play. Well done, Maripa!