Daily Racquetball’s Women Crush Wednesday Racquetball Influencers!

AKA Women Making Racquetball History Now!

We will feature another woman making racquetball history every Wednesday. Do you know someone else we should be celebrating with this interview and feature process? Drop us a line on Facebook!

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Name: Michelle De La Rosa

Are you a pro player, coach, association board member, tournament organizer, or racquetball broadcaster AKA why do racquetball players know you?

I’m known for many different things. I am the oldest daughter of Karen and Darold Key who are both ambassadors in our sport. I have been a player, coach and friend of racquetball my entire career. I am currently serving racquetball by running outdoor and indoor events, coaching, teaching, creating junior programs and I’m the athlete representative for the USAR Board. If you don’t know me from my junior or professional racquetball career then you might know me as the “better” half of Daniel De La Rosa.

Where do you promote racquetball on social media and the web?

Facebook Athlete Page: Michelle Key

Instagram private page: Michelle De La Rosa

Website: KeyRacquetball.comn

Wikipedia entry

Country of Origin: Born and Raised in the USA.

Place you consider home: Arizona

Have you ever been on your country’s national team? When?: I have represented my country my times, in juniors as well as an adult. Go Team USA!

Did you play as a junior? When & how where you introduced to the competitive side of racquetball?

My parents introduced me to racquetball and I have been playing my entire life. My mom use to play professionally and racquetball is actually what brought my parents together. Check out more of their story here: https://www.keyracquetball.com/the-team.html.

Well of course my first female and male role models are my parents! They are the best and I still respect everything they have to say. Along the way I have grown and learned a lot from the many greats in our sport. I remember watching Michelle Gould get pied in the face and babysitting Andy Roberts kids. Derek Robinson danced with me at midnight on my birthday and Rhonda Rajsich taking me for “The Mask” ice cream when she got her license. Rocky Carson used to play Nintendo 64 and take us swimming. I have so many incredible memories with almost all the legends of racquetball. Racquetball is my family.

Playing hand: Right

Favorite racquetball shot: One of my favorite shots in the game is an overhead kill shot.

Motivation for the game (what keeps you playing):

I find motivation from many things but more than anything it’s a part of who I am. Racquetball has and will always be a love of mine.

Love most about racquetball:

I love the people and having fun playing with my friends and loved ones.

Preferred equipment:

I love Ektelon. I have been with them my entire life and always found their products exceptional. Currently I play with my husbands racquet, ProKennex!

Favorite event:

I have a lot of favorite events, what makes an event is the people. As I get older I find that The Flagstaff Classic has become my favorite because its all about family.

Best results at tournaments you’ve played in:

I think one of my personal biggest accomplishments was winning Junior Worlds in 2006. On the Pro Tour I think my best tournament was making it to the semis while I was pregnant with Raelynn. Outdoor has quickly become some of the most enjoyable events for me to play. I think mainly because I get to play with my husband and the environment. Daniel and I seem to do pretty good outdoor but I’m not sure how many titles we have. I really love doubles and playing with my friends, the titles don’t seem to matter as much.

Day job:

Currently I run AZ Outdoor racquetball and Key Racquetball. I am also raising a little human and apparently a big one as well 😉

Charity close to your heart:

Racquetball is the charity closest to my heart for sure.

Other sports played in addition to racquetball:

I love sports! I play pickleball (National Champ), golf, sand volleyball, badminton, softball and basically everything else I can. My husband and I love playing sports as a family and challenging ourselves.

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Do you know someone else we should be celebrating with this interview and feature process? Drop us a line on Facebook!