Erika Manilla was a talented racquetball player from a young age, but after graduating from Northern Arizona, she had a decision to make: Pursue a career in biomedical science or try to become a professional athlete in a specialized sport with no secure financial future.
He took the leap of faith and has been throwing himself into the sport ever since.
The No. 1 ranked women's racquet player in the US Over the past two years, the Regis Jesuit graduate and LoDo resident has emerged as a force on the international stage as well as on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour.
“My brother (Adam Manilla) had turned pro at that point and started a coaching company that could get us playing full time,” Erika Manilla said. “Then I had to make a decision whether I would pursue my career with my degree where I would be financially stable and have a guaranteed direction, or I would come home, live at the poverty level, help build a coaching company and dream of a shot.”
Manilla's gamble paid off.
She and her brother's company, Manila Athletics, has taken off. It's an online coaching company not unlike Peloton, but for racquetball. It allows the Manillas to be full-time athletes without having to worry about a typical 9-to-5 job like the vast majority of professional American players do, especially on the women's side.
With their company flourishing, Erica continued her ascent in the field that began at the age of six. He started with 22 national youth titles. Then a spot on the US team, with six titles there. And last fall, Erica and Adam won the mixed doubles gold medal at the Pan American Games in Chile, where Erica also took bronze in doubles.
The brothers won't be satisfied until they're both No. 1 in the world. Erika, 26, is currently No. 7 on the LPRT, having climbed to No. 3 last year, while Adam, 28, is No. 7 on the International Racquetball Tour.
“Both of us have never done it to be in the top three or just near the top,” said Adam, also a Regis Jesuit graduate who now lives in San Jose. “Erika is special in a way that throughout our career, she's been the best achiever. It's definitely more of a stud on the field. I have real aspirations to be No.1, but the way she works, her mentality, her game, she has the full make-up to do it.
“Our goal is to be No. 1 at the same time, and it would be even nicer if we were both No. 1 at the same time.”
At 5-foot-9, Erika is unusually tall for a female racquetball player. Her height gives her power: She's the toughest female hitter in the world, hitting 132 miles per hour last summer. And she's a passionate player, not afraid to shout and pump her fist after a clutch shot.
These traits, in addition to her overall athleticism, give Manilla an edge in a sport dominated by Latin American players. In countries such as Argentina, Bolivia and Mexico, racquetball is extremely popular and ranks among those nations' favorite sports behind soccer. In these countries, it is not uncommon for top players to receive government funding through salaries, paid travel and facilities, as well as top sponsorships.
In the US, sponsorship opportunities for American players are limited. Athletes largely have to fend for themselves to make their professional careers work. All this makes Erika's feats even more impressive.
“She's an incredible role model for all the juniors coming up, and they gravitate to her, boys and girls,” explained Erika's doubles partner Michelle Key. “But the girls really love her. And other women on the tour really respect her, because the fact that she can have a good, independent career is huge.
“She and her brother are very business savvy and put a lot of hard work into their business and behind the scenes that people don't see. … She is one of the best at supporting people in racquetball and being a genuine person who wants people of all skill levels to learn and grow in this sport.”
The popularity of racquetball, once America's fastest growing sport in the 1970s, has taken a plunge. Access to court is a primary issue. Many of the small businesses that had courts went bankrupt due to the pandemic, and larger gym chains that had traditional courts made a habit of converting them for other uses.
So there's an access barrier, as well as a financial one, as there are usually membership requirements to use courts at facilities that still have them, like Erika's gym, the Denver Athletic Club.
But amid pickleball's explosive growth, the Manillas are at the forefront of efforts to revive racquetball's participation numbers, especially on the junior stage where the brothers first emerged as stars.
“Hands down, they do more for the sport than anyone in the world,” Key said.
They built their own junior programs through Manilla Athletics and after succeeding in the private sector, received a grant from USA Racquetball to help others build junior programs nationally. They also hold a youth camp at the Olympic Training Center in April and have contracted to host the national youth championship tournament in California in June.
“One of our main goals is to bring back the experience we had as youngsters to the new kids and the next generation, along with re-developing our sport,” said Erika Manilla. “In our sport, we believe you can't just be a professional athlete. We have to build the sport at the same time as the games, and we still believe and prove every day that the racquet will have another rise.”
Meanwhile, Manilla is recovering from right hip surgery he underwent this week to repair a torn labrum. This will put her out for about six months, causing her ranking to drop.
But she believes she will come back better than ever and be ready to make a run at an LPRT title as well as a singles gold medal at the 2027 Pan American Games in Peru. She already has a win over the sport's dominant player, Mexico's Paola Longoria, on her resume.
According Joe Shattuckformer pro who coached Erika as a child, Erika's first two years as a pro are just a preview.
“Competitionally, she's already up there among the best in the world,” Shattuck said. “Paola is the most decorated racquetball player in history and Erica beat her. But Erika has only been on tour for two years, and Paola has been on tour for (almost two decades).
“There is a new generation of players and Erika is right there with them and has great potential to grow. I predict they will be among the top four players in the world within the next couple of years, and one or two of them will be above the rest, and it's mostly mental at this point. But nothing can stop her from being No. 1.”
