3WallBall turns Las Vegas Strip into racquetball showcase

Alvaro Beltran and Eduardo Portillo won the men’s pro 3-wall doubles title at the 15th annual 3WallBall World Championships at The STRAT in Las Vegas, while Michelle Key and Paola Longoria claimed the women’s pro crown and Adam Manilla with Brenda Laime Jalil took mixed pro 3-wall honors. Beltran’s victory was his 11th Vegas 3-wall men’s pro doubles title, and it came with his fourth different partner, a number that underlines how deep the event’s record book runs.

That is what makes 3WallBall different from a standard indoor stop. USA Racquetball has described it as the second-largest racquetball tournament in the world by participation, behind only the US Open, and said hundreds of players travel to Las Vegas each year. The event is built on a parking lot on the Vegas Strip, where organizers create one of the largest racquetball clubs in the world and stage matches under the lights in the shadow of The STRAT. In 2021, the setup included 15 courts, and the layout gives fans open sightlines and close quarters that indoor arenas rarely match.

The scale was even clearer in 2024. USA Racquetball said the 15th annual event drew more than 375 players from 27 states and eight countries, with around 600 matches spread across 70 divisions and more than a thousand fans on hand. Those numbers fit the scene: players moving from one wall-court discipline to another, spectators within arm’s length of the action, and the Las Vegas Strip serving as a backdrop rather than a neutral venue. The event’s mix also stretches beyond racquetball alone, with one-wall racquetball, three-wall racquetball, handball, paddleball and Squash 57 all part of the program.

That cross-over is part of the draw for the sport’s wider audience. A 2023 preview listed racquetball, handball and paddleball divisions with both 1-wall and 3-wall competition in all three sports, giving 3WallBall a festival feel that standard indoor events cannot replicate. The format lets the same weekend showcase different styles, different shot patterns and different athlete pools, turning the Strip into a live laboratory for wall-court sports.

The event also keeps pushing new ideas. In 2024, Team Racquetball or World Team Racquetball debuted as a first-of-its-kind pro format with four teams, a $10,000 prize pool, free spectator admission and a live stream for the opening matches on Sept. 24-25 at The STRAT. 3WallBall sits alongside Beach Bash and Outdoor Nationals as one of the Outdoor Cup majors, but its Las Vegas setting, packed courts and mixed-discipline schedule give it a visibility edge that could matter as racquetball looks for new audiences beyond its core players.