Andrés Acuña’s World Games gold made Costa Rica racquetball history

Andrés Acuña’s 15-14, 15-6 win over Rodrigo Montoya in the men’s singles final at The World Games 2022 gave Costa Rica its first gold medal at the event and put San José on racquetball’s biggest international stage. The men’s singles tournament ran July 10-13, 2022, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama, and Acuña left it as the champion in the sport’s global showcase.

That result carried more than one national first. The World Games later identified Andrés Acuña Araya as the first ever Costa Rican to win a medal at The World Games, a distinction that turned one final into a country-level breakthrough. Acuña had already shown he belonged among the sport’s elite by finishing runner-up at the 2021 World Championships before climbing onto the top step in Birmingham.

His rise came fast. Acuña debuted professionally at 16, then built enough consistency to reach a career-high year-end ranking of No. 6 on the International Racquetball Tour. Gearbox Racquetball later described him as the tour’s No. 3-ranked player, and that status was reinforced in September 2025 when he beat Kane Waselenchuk 15-14, 15-6 to win the IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championship in Colorado. Taking down Waselenchuk, the tour’s top-ranked player, showed Acuña was not just a one-week breakout at The World Games but a threat at the top of the draw whenever he entered an event.

That is why Acuña matters beyond one medal. The International Racquetball Tour profile places him in the sport’s international core, a Costa Rican star who helped push elite racquetball beyond its traditional power centers. The World Games featured him again in a May 25, 2023 feature, and the International Racquetball Federation later said he was re-elected to The World Games Athletes’ Committee, giving him a voice off the court as well as on it.

Acuña’s profile also reflects how strong Latin American racquetball has become at the highest level. A social post about him said he had been undefeated in Costa Rica for eight years, which fits the broader picture: a homegrown champion who carried local dominance into world medals, tour rankings and an upset over one of the sport’s all-time standard-bearers.