Rank
1
Country
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Age
32
María José Vargas
María José Vargas Parada[a] (born 18 March 1993) is a Bolivian-born Argentine racquetball player. She is the current in World Games champion in Women’s Singles, winning the title in Chengdu, China. Vargas is also the current South American Racquetball Champion in Women’s Singles and Doubles, and a former Pan American Champion. Vargas has ten wins on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT),[1] and was the LPRT’s #1 player in 2023-24.
Bio
2006-2012 - Early years & playing for Bolivia
Vargas played at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championships several times as a junior player, representing Bolivia. She won Girls U12 at the 2006 IRF World Junior Championships in Tempe, Arizona, defeating the USA’s Devon Pimentelli in the final.[2] She was a semi-finalist in Girls U14 in 2007 at World Juniors in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where she lost to Aubrey O’brien of the USA, 15-6, 14-15, 11-2.[3]
Vargas and Yasmine Sabja took home bronze in Girls U16 Doubles from the 2008 World Junior Championships in Tempe, Arizona.[4]
Vargas lost in the quarterfinals of Girls U16 at 2009 World Juniors in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to Aubrey O’brien of the USA, 15-4, 15-12.[5] Also in Santo Domingo, Vargas played doubles with Yasmine Sabja, and they were runners-up in U18 Doubles to the USA’s O’brien and Danielle Key, 13-15, 15-8, 11-0.[6]
At 17, Vargas was selected to play in the 2010 World Championships in Seoul, South Korea, which was her first appearance at Worlds. She defeated Japan’s Estuko Noda, 15-5, 3-15, 11-10, to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to USA veteran Cheryl Gudinas, 15-9, 15-7. Vargas also played doubles in Seoul with Jenny Daza, and they lost to Japan’s Naomi Wakimoto and Toshiko Sakamoto, 15-12, 15-2, in the quarterfinals. In the team competition, Bolivia lost to South Korea in the quarterfinals.
Vargas won Girls U16 at World Juniors in 2010, when she defeated the USA’s Kelani Bailey in the final, 15-11, 12-15, 11-6.[7] She also won U16 Doubles with Masiel Rivera, as they defeated Courtney Chisholm and Devon Pimentelli of the USA in the final, 15-9, 15-9.[8]
In Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at the 2011 World Junior Championships, Vargas lost in the Girls U18 Singles final, 4-15, 15-7, 11-4,[9] to Canadian Frédérique Lambert.[10] But she did win Girls U18 Doubles that year with Adriana Riveros. They defeated Mexicans Sofia Rascon and Elena Robles, 15-11, 15-5.[11]
Vargas played for Bolivia at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she was a bronze medalist in both Women’s Singles and the Women’s Team event. In singles, she beat Canadian Frédérique Lambert, 15-11, 15-8, in the Round of 16, and team-mate Jenny Daza in the quarterfinals, 15-6, 15-13, before losing in the semi-finals to the USA’s Rhonda Rajsich, 15-6, 15-7. In the team event, Bolivia beat Chile in the quarterfinals, but lost to the USA in the semis.
Vargas played Women’s Singles at the 2012 Pan American Championships in Temuco, Chile, where she lost in the Round of 16 to Cristina Amaya of Colombia, 15-3, 15-2.[12]
Vargas’s second appearance at Worlds was at the 2012 World Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where she played Women’s Singles and the Women’s Team event. Vargas defeated Dominican Claudine Garcia, 15-14, 15-6, in the Round of 32 and then lost to Mexican Paola Longoria, 15-9, 15-3, in the Round of 16. In the Women’s Team event, Bolivia lost in Colombia, 2-1, in the Round of 16.
In her last year of junior eligibility, Vargas won Girls U18 at the 2012 World Junior Racquetball Championship in Los Angeles, California, where she defeated Bolivian team-mate Adriana Riveros in the final, 15-10, 15-5.[13] Vargas and Riveros teamed up to win Girls U18 Doubles.[14] Thus, Vargas ended her junior years with singles titles in two of her final three years, and three consecutive doubles titles.