By Sarah Warhaftig
It’s no surprise that Jen Saunders’ first sport love was ice
hockey. In Thompson Manitoba, Canada,
kids often learn how to skate before they walk, and Jen was no exception,
learning how to first play ice hockey before any other sports. However, after a one day racquetball clinic
at the courts attached to the ice rink, Jen entered her first racquetball
tournament and has been playing the sport ever since. Reflecting back, racquetball was the first
individual sport that Jen tried, and after being on team sports with all boys,
she was excited to have the chance to be the one to, “take all the shots.”
Jen received the nickname “Cool Spice” from her fellow
competitors for her casual and even keeled demeanor off the court. On the court, however, that demeanor changes,
and she becomes fierce competitor, battling for every point.
Currently, Jen works for the Racquetball Manitoba, whose
support she greatly appreciates, recognizing their support of her training and
touring for Canada as well as with the WPRO.
She has to bring work on the road but says it’s a very fair
tradeoff. According to Jen, playing for
Canada has been the greatest honor in her life, and her training focuses on
winning Canadian Nationals and representing Team Canada in international
tournaments.
Jen said that during her first World’s competition in 2002,
she made the finals against Cheryl Gudinas.
She recalls it being a highly competitive match, and it instilled
confidence in her to move forward in her racquetball career. From there, Jen made her first semi-finals in
Dallas and was thrilled to be playing in front of cousins who made the trip to
see her. And what’s more, the tournament
was Keely Franks Kennedy’s tournament, a close friend of Saunders.
Similar to many of the other top touring WPRO players, Jen is
excited to see the WPRO become a consistent and exciting tour. She would love to see both the WPRO and IRT
have the capabilities to pay their athletes, especially so young racquetball
players can aspire to play racquetball as a career.
Jen spends her time off the racquetball court adoring her
nieces and nephews, and she stays active with golf and slow-pitch softball—of
course, when it’s not snowing. Jen is a
huge sport fanatic and probably can come up with any statistic you may need one
day. She holds season tickets for the
Winnipeg Jets and enjoys the WPRO travels, often taking time out to see live
sporting events in many of the cities that host tournaments. The list is quite long, but she recalls seeing
the Vikings, Broncos, Bulls, Padres, Wilds, Diamondbacks, and Coyotes games all
during her travels. Her one modest
request? Jen has asked that if you are reading this article, please host a
tournament in a city where she has yet to see a professional event.
Ruiz was recently asked about how she has had so much success as a doubles player and how her game-style fits with her partners. “I think I have great partners. It’s a team in doubles, there is no I, so I can’t say it’s just me,”” said Ruiz. “I’ve always been fortunate to play with some of the very best doubles players, that there game styles help compliment my game. I definitely like to be the shooter on the court and am not afraid to try and roll it out from anywhere. You will not see me have a long ceiling ball rally that's for sure. I’m also a lefty, which I think is a plus because there aren’t very many lefty/rights teams out there.”
Ruiz also plays singles at selected WPRO events as well as the US OPEN Racquetball Championships and National Singles Championships. Surely you caught every moment when she won the 2009 US National Singles title by defeating Cheryl Gudinas in the finals in Houston. “When I went in to Houston that year there was no pressure on me. I hadn’t even played Houston in about five or six years prior to that,” said Ruiz. ‘I don’t play the pro tour full-time, in fact I only played two Tier 1 events last season, so I don’t get to play the ladies of the WPRO in singles very often. I’m used to playing strictly guys in my area. I always know whenever I step on the court, if I’m playing well, and I’m “calm” I can win singles matches against the top women.” 
