Daniel De La Rosa

Daniel de la Rosa (born July 4, 1993) is a Mexican-born American Professional racquetball and Professional pickleball player. De La Rosa is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in both Men's Singles and Mixed Doubles, winning the titles in 2024 in San Antonio, Texas, where he was also part of the US team that won the Men's Team title.

De La Rosa has won 12 times on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), including the 2021 US Open. De La Rosa is the first Mexican player to win the US Open, and he was the second Mexican player to win an IRT Tier 1 event (after Álvaro Beltrán). Professionally, De La Rosa won three Men's Professional Year end tour Titles (in 2021, 2022, and 2023) before stepping away from Racquetball to focus on his pickleball career.

Racquetball Junior years – 2007–2011 De La Rosa represented Mexico to the IRF World Junior Championships most of his junior years. At the 2007 World Junior Championships in Cochabamba, Bolivia, De La Rosa lost in the quarterfinals of Boy's U14 Singles to the USA's Dylan Reid, 15–11, 6–14, 11–4, after beating Sebastian Franco of Colombia, 15–0, 15–4, in the Round of 16. He played Boy's U14 Doubles with Missael Leija, and they lost in the semi-finals to Bolivians Carlos Keller and Jorge Luis Michel, 15–4, 15–7. In his second year of 14s, De La Rosa lost in the semi-finals of Boy's U14 Singles at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Tempe, Arizona, as he was beaten by Marco Rojas of the US, 15–10, 15–11. He was runner up in Boy's U14 Doubles with Leija, as they lost in the final to Rojas and Jose Diaz, 13–15, 15–10, 11–4.

In 2009, De La Rosa played Boy's U16 Singles, losing to Carlos Keller of Bolivia in the semi-finals, 13–15, 15–8, 11–8. He also played Boy's U16 Singles following year in Los Angeles, where De La Rosa again lost in the semi-finals, to Jose Diaz of the US, 15–14, 15–9.

De La Rosa was runner up in Boy's U18 Singles at the 2011 World Junior Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, as he lost to Carlos Keller of Bolivia in the final, 15–9, 15–5, after defeating the USA's Nick Montalbano, 15–14, 15–13, in the semi-finals, and Canadian Samuel Murray in the quarterfinals, 15–10, 15–6. He played Boy's U18 Doubles with Missael Leija, and they lost in the semi-finals to Montalbano and Joshua Hungerford, 15–12, 12–15, 11–9. That was the last time he played at World Juniors.

De La Rosa represented Mexico at a senior level for the first time in 2011 at age 17, when he played at the Pan American Racquetball Championships in Managua, Nicaragua. In the quarterfinals, De La Rosa beat the player who'd given him so much trouble at World Juniors – Bolivian Carlos Keller, 15–2, 15–8. Then he defeated Canadian Vincent Gagnon in the semi-finals, 15–13, 15–4, before eking out a narrow victory over American Chris Crowther in the final, 12–15, 15–14, 11–9. So, De La Rosa didn't win a World Junior Championship, but won gold in his first national team event.

Racquetball Professional career begins – 2012–2019 De La Rosa played half of the 12 events of the 2012–13 IRT season, reaching the semi-finals once, quarterfinals three times, and Round of 16 twice. The semi was at the Stockton Pro-Am, where he lost to Rocky Carson in three games, 11–8, 11–2, 11–2. Those results combined to put him 9th at the end of the season, which began a streak of top 10 season finishes that is now in its 9th season. That combined with two semi-final finishes and seven quarters put him 5th at the end of the season.

De La Rosa played for Mexico at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, where he earned a silver medal in Men's Singles, losing to Álvaro Beltrán in the final, 15–7, 15–2, and a gold medal in the Men's Team event. De La Rosa defeated Costa Rican Andres Acuña in the final to seal victory for Mexico.

De La Rosa won his first IRT event in December 2014 during his second season playing full time on tour, when he defeated Álvaro Beltrán in the final of the 2014 New Jersey Open, 11–4, 11–6, 9–11, 12–10. De La Rosa reached the final by beating Rocky Carson in the semi-finals, 12–10, 9–11, 11–6, 11–6. He finished 2014–15 ranked 4th. Also that year, De La Rosa played at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, where he was a bronze medalist in Men's singles and a gold medalist in the Men's Team event. De La Rosa lost to the USA's Rocky Carson in the semi-finals of singles, 15–14, 15–8, but helped Mexico win team gold by beating Costa Rica in the quarterfinals, Bolivia in the semi-finals, and the US in the final.

De La Rosa was in five finals in the 2015–16 season, including being 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. But in the final, Kane Waselenchuk defeated De La Rosa in straight games, 11–5, 11–8, 11–3. His five finals that season is a career high, but he didn't win any of them. Nonetheless, he finished 3rd, behind Waselenchuk and Carson, at the end of the season, which was also a career high. En route to the final, De La Rosa defeated Colombian Sebastian Franco in the quarterfinals, 15–5, 15–5, and Fernando Rios of Ecuador in the semi-finals, 15–12, 15–7. The win was De La Rosa's 2nd Pan American Championship in Men's Singles.

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. He beat Luis Perez of the Dominican Republic in the quarterfinals, 15–6, 15–0, and then defeated Canadian Samuel Murray, 15–12, 15–7, in the semi-finals.

De La Rosa won his 2nd IRT event in January 2017, when he won the 39th Annual Lewis Drug Pro-Am in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He defeated Álvaro Beltrán in the final, 11–9, 11–4, 11–7, and then teamed up with Beltran to win the doubles title – with friend Beltran as his partner – by defeating Rocky Carson and Jose Diaz, 15–12, 15–14. That was one of three finals De La Rosa was in during the 2016–17 IRT season, and helped him finish 3rd again.

De La Rosa's 3rd career IRT title came in January 2018 at the LA Open in Canoga Park, California, where he defeated Jansen Allen in the quarterfinals, 15–2, 15–3, Rocky Carson in the semi-finals, 15–5, 15–7, and then got a forfeit win over Kane Waselenchuk in the final, as Waselenchuk injured his left knee during his semi-final match. He was in one other final in the 2017–18 season, but also lost four times in the Round of 16, which is the most losses he's had in the 16s. Thus, his ranking slipped a place to 4th at season's end. 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. Still, he finished 6th at season's end once again. 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. 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.

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. 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. The US Open win and his other titles in 2021 helped De La Rosa finish the year as the IRT's No. 1 player. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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. He owns two MLP titles: Advil Targeted Relief MLP Mid-Season Tournament (July 2024) and MLP San Clemente (June 2023).

Racquetball Career summary De La Rosa has been in 31 IRT finals, winning 12 times over 111 tournaments (as of December 12, 2023).