Kane Waselenchuk

Kane Waselenchuk (born November 9, 1981) is a professional racquetball player born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Waselenchuk finished the 2018–19 season as the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) for a record extending 13th time. Waselenchuk, a left-handed player, has dominated the IRT for the last decade, including a record 134-match unbeaten streak

Professional career Waselenchuk has won 118 IRT tournaments through the 2019 US Open, which is the most career IRT wins ahead of Cliff Swain with 71. Remarkably, Waselenchuk's won those 118 tournaments in only 172 tournament appearances for a tournament winning rate of 68.6%.

Waselenchuk has won 15 US Open Racquetball Championships, pro racquetball's most prestigious event, which is more than any other player (Sudsy Monchik is second with four US Open titles). He won it from 2003 to 2005 and from 2008 to 2019.

Waselenchuk was undefeated in completed matches between January 2009 and September 2013 with his only losses coming from defaults due to injury. The streak was ended by Jose Rojas in the semi-finals of the Kansas City Pro-Am – the first IRT tournament of the 2013–14 season.

Early Seasons 2000–01 to 2002–2003 In his first tournament in April 2000 at age 18, Waselenchuk made it to the quarter finals before falling to Cliff Swain in five games. Then in October he played in his first US Open and upset defending champion Jason Mannino in the Round of 32 before falling in the quarters to Álvaro Beltrán. and finished #1 at season's end. He played Mexican Álvaro Beltrán in that final, and Beltran won the first game, which was the first time Waselenchuk had lost a game in a US Open final. Waselenchuk entered the 2011 New York City Pro-Am, but withdrew due to illness prior to his semi-final with Jack Huczek.

Waselenchuk won nine tournaments in each of the 2011–12 and 2012–13 IRT seasons, including his 7th and 8th US Open, which is the most by any player. His only loss in 2012–13 came in the Denver Pro-Am, when he hurt his knee in the final against Rocky Carson and had to retire after the third game, with Carson leading 2–1.

Waselenchuk won eight of the nine IRT tournaments he entered in the 2013–14 season. The loss came against Jose Rojas in the semi-finals of the Kansas City Pro-Am (see the 46:30 point of the Facebook Live video link). He's going to "take the summer" to think about it but says that he "isn't enjoying playing as much as he used to" and he may just show up at the US Open to "play spoiler" next year. He qualifies his announcement with a quick Facebook post saying that his announcement had nothing to do with "his injury or travel." In a wide-ranging interview with Dylan Reid on The Racquetball Show in August 2018, he remained noncommittal to playing the tour full time again, citing differences with the current tour management regarding his compensation model given his stature on the tour.

International and Canadian competitions Waselenchuk has played for Canada eight times: at the 1998, 2000 and 2002 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships, 1999–2002 Pan American Championships as well as the 1999 Pan American Games. In those appearances, Waselenchuk won gold once (in singles at the 2002 Pan American Championships), silver twice (both at the Pan American Championships; one in singles in 2001 and one in doubles with Brian Istace in 1999), and bronze twice (both at the World Championships, in 2002 in singles and in 1998 in doubles with Mike Green).

Waselenchuk won the Canadian Championship three consecutive years, from 1999 to 2001. He also won the doubles title in 2001 with Brian Istace.

Waselenchuk would have won a fourth title in 2006, but following the final match in which he defeated Mike Green, Waselenchuk failed a drug test for "cannabis and cocaine metabolite" after winning the Canadian Nationals. That positive test led to a two-year suspension from racquetball, so Waselenchuk did not play in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 IRT seasons.

Outdoor Competition Waselenchuk made a foray into outdoor racquetball competition on two occasions. In October 2020, he partnered with Ben Croft and made an impressive run to the finals of the 3WB grand slam in Las Vegas, losing to what many considered to be the top outdoor team at the time, Daniel De La Rosa and Alvaro Beltran. Later, in 2023 Waselenchuk entered the Outdoor Nationals in Huntington Beach, CA, this time playing with Alvaro Beltran. Many thought this to be the most skilled doubles team ever assembled, but they fell in the quarterfinals to the best team nobody has ever heard of, Micah Rich and Jason Geis, the reigning two-time outdoor national champions.

Personal life Waselenchuk resides in Austin, Texas. Waselenchuk is currently sponsored by Onnit, ProKennex, Nike, and Gemini.