Rocky Carson (born May 21, 1979) is an American professional racquetball player. Carson has won a record 5 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in Men's Singles, and 2 Pan American Games gold medals in singles. He was the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) in 2007-08 & 2017–18. Carson has also played outdoor racquetball, and in 2008, he became the first man to win Men's Singles at the World Outdoor Championship, as well as the indoor IRF World Championship, and US Open. Carson has won 27 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) titles and has been ranked in the top 10 for a record 23 seasons.
Junior years Carson played multiple sports as a boy, and was good at several: baseball, basketball and tennis. But he had a passion for racquetball. That passion led to Carson playing a lot of racquetball as a junior, and doing so successfully. He won Boys' Singles in several age categories at the USA Racquetball Junior Olympics. Carson's first title was in U10 in 1990. In 1992, he began a streak of five consecutive titles with a win in U12, followed by two U14 wins in 1993 and 1994, and two wins in U16 in 1995 and 1996. Carson's final US junior title was a win in U18 in 1998.
Carson won two US junior doubles titles in U18. He and Tyler Siggins won in 1997, and he won with Josh Tucker in 1998.
Carson also successfully competed several times at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championships. He won Boy's U16 Singles and Doubles (with Ryan Staten) in 1995. Then Carson won Boy's U18 Singles three consecutive years: 1996–1998, becoming the second boy to do so after Sudsy Monchik.
Carson attended Saddleback College, and he competed for that school at the 1998 USA Racquetball Intercollegiate Championships, winning the Men's #1 title.
1998 to 2006 – Career begins Carson played on Team USA for the first time at the 1998 Racquetball World Championships (Worlds) in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where he finished with a bronze medal in Men's Singles, and gold in the Men's Team event.
Carson was a quarterfinalist at the USAR 1998 National Doubles Championships in October 1998 in Baltimore. He and James Mulcock lost to Doug Ganim and Dan Obremski – a two time World Championship team, 15–7, 5–15, 11–7. Ganim was complementary to Carson saying "We pretty much kept it away from Rocky, but when he got his racquet on it, he put it away about every time."
Carson began to play the International Racquetball Tour tournaments in the 1998–99 season. He'd played a few events in previous seasons – including the first US Open Racquetball Championships in 1996, when he lost to Michael Bronfeld in the Round of 32 – but in 98-99 he played most of the tournaments, and finished 11th on tour. Carson reached a semi-final in that first season, when he lost to Sudsy Monchik in the semis in Rochester, New York.
The following season, 1999–2000, Carson made the quarterfinals at the US Open for the first time, losing to Cliff Swain, 11–3, 11–8, 11–9. Carson's second semi-final happened in his second season in Las Vegas, when he lost to John Ellis, 11–6, 11–5, 10–12, 11–5. He played in seven events in all, and finished in the top 10 at the end of the season for the first time in 7th position.
In 2000, Carson won the USA Racquetball National Singles Championship for the first time. He was seeded 6th, and defeated 8th seed Doug Eagle in the final. 15–7, 15–7. To reach the final, Carson beat Brian Fredenberg in the quarterfinals, 15–7, 15–13, and Jack Huczek in the semi-finals, 15–11, 15–6.
He also played in Worlds for the 2nd time in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and came home with two silver medals. He finished 2nd in Men's Singles, as he lost the final to Mexican Álvaro Beltrán, 15–10, 12–15, 11–6, and the USA men were 2nd in the Men's Team event.
Carson and James Mulcock finished in the quarterfinals at the 2000 USAR National Doubles Championships in Baltimore, where they lost to Todd O'Neill and Derek Robinson, 15–11, 15–13.
In 2000–2001, Carson reached two IRT finals. First in February 2001 at the Michael Lanning Pro-Am in Minneapolis, he beat Jack Huczek in the quarterfinals, John Ellis in the semi-finals, before losing to Monchik in the final, 12–10, 11–7, 11–5. Then at the Howard McKahand Memorial Pro-Am in Coral Springs, Florida, Carson reached the final by defeating Derek Robinson in the quarters, Swain in the semis, and then lost to final to Ellis, 11–9, 11–8, 10–12, 11–9. He finished ranked 5th at the end of the IRT season.
Carson won the 2001 Pan American Racquetball Championships in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where he defeated Canadian Kane Waselenchuk in the final, 15–9, 15–13.
Carson was the defending champion at the 2001 USAR National Singles Championships, and had a chance to defend the title, but lost to Jack Huczek, 15–11, 15–6, in the final. Carson beat Dan Fowler in the semi-finals, 15–8, 15–10, to reach the final.
Carson took a step back in 2001–2002, as he didn't reach an IRT final, and was only in one semi-final, which led to a season ending ranking of 7th. But in 2002–03, Carson won his first IRT event: the North Carolina Open in Greensboro in March 2003. Carson beat Swain in the quarterfinals, Mike Green in the semi-finals, and Jason Mannino in the final, 13–11, 11–9, 11–3. The win helped him finish 6th at the end of the season.
In 2003, Carson won his 2nd USA National Singles Championship. He had to come back from a game down, and fight off match point in the tie-breaker to defeat Jack Huczek in the final, 6–15, 15–12, 11–10. The win qualified Carson as part of Team USA for the 2003 Pan American Games.
Carson competed in Men's Singles at the 2003 Pan Am Games, and finished with a bronze medal. He lost to team-mate Huczek in the semi-finals, 11–15, 15–12, 11–6. The two Americans were on the same side of the draw, as Carson lost one of his preliminary round matches to Canadian Mike Green, 15–14, 10–15, 11–9.
Carson's second IRT win happened about a year after his first, as he won the Kentucky Pro-Am in Louisville in March 2004. Carson defeated Swain in the quarters, Monchik in the semis, and once again beat Mannino in the final, 11–9, 13–15, 11–5, 8–11, 11–7. He was in two other finals that season, 2003–04, and finished the season with a career high ranking of 4th.
Carson was part of Team USA for the World Championships for the third time in 2004, when they played in Anyang, South Korea. He earned a bronze medal in Men's Singles, and helped the Men's Team win gold. In singles, Carson lost in the semi-finals to Mexican Álvaro Beltrán, 15–10, 15–12. In the team event, the USA beat Mexico in the semi-finals and then Canada in the final.
In 2004, Carson won the USAR National Doubles Championships for the first time, when he partnered with Jack Huczek in October in Tempe, Arizona. They won the title by defeating Jason Thoerner and Mitch Williams, 15–9, 15–14, in the final. They reached the final by beating Chris Crowther and Josh Tucker in the semis, 15–3, 15–11.
However, on the IRT, Carson again took a step back, as he only made one final over the next two seasons: 2004–05 and 2005–06, finishing those seasons ranked 5th and 6th, respectively.
Carson was runner up to Huczek at the 2005 USAR National Singles Championships. He got to the final by defeating Andy Hawthorne in the semi-finals, 15–6, 15–2. In the final, Carson won the first game, but Huczek came back to win the next two, taking the match, 11–15, 15–9, 11–9.
2006 to 2017 – Career prime The prime of Carson's career began in 2006, when Carson won US National Singles for the 3rd time, and again it was Jack Huczek that he met in the final. As in 2003, Carson needed a tie-breaker to defeat his long time rival, 15–10, 13–15, 11–3. Carson reached the final by defeating Jason Thoerner in the semi-finals, 15–4, 15–5.
For the first time in his career, Carson played doubles at an international event, as he partnered with Huczek for Men's Doubles at the 2006 World Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. There they lost to Mexico's Álvaro Beltrán and Javier Moreno in the final, 15–8, 15–14, but the USA did win the Men's Team event, and Carson contributed as he and Huczek beat Canada's Mike Green and Brian Istace, 15–2, 15–4, in the Team final.
He and Huczek also played together in the 2006 USAR National Doubles Championship in October, and they won the title by defeating Andy Hawthorne and Jeff Stark in the final. They got to the final with a win over Jeff Bell and Doug Ganim in the semi-finals.
In February 2007, Carson won his 3rd IRT event, as he beat Huczek in the final of the Seattle Open, 11–3, 11–6, 4–11, 12–14, 11–3. That was the highlight of his 2006–07 IRT season, which saw Carson in six finals and seven semi-finals, and finish with a career best ranking of #3 at season's end.
As defending champion, Carson was seeded 1st for the 2007 USAR National Singles Championships, but he lost in the semi-finals of eventual winner Mitch Williams. It was an unusual year, because 2nd seed Jack Huczek lost in the other semi-final to Shane Vanderson. Carson's loss is the only time he has lost in a semi-final at National Singles.
Nonetheless, Carson went on to have his best IRT season in 2007–08, when he won seven tournaments, was runner up in four others and finished the season ranked #1. The highlight was winning the 2007 US Open. In that event, Carson defeated Andy Hawthorne in the quarterfinals, Jason Mannino in the semis, and Jack Huczek in the final, 11–3, 7–11, 11–8, 11–6.
Building on his IRT success, Carson defeated Huczek again in the final of the 2008 USAR National Singles Championships, winning the event for a fourth time. That win put Carson on Team USA for the 2008 World Championships in Kingscourt, Ireland, where Carson won Men's Singles for the first time. Once again, it was Huczek who he faced in the final, and again they went to a tie-breaker. Carson won it after facing match points in both the second game and the breaker, 12–15, 15–14, 11–10.
Carson won two events during the 2008–09 IRT season, and the decrease was primarily due to Kane Waselenchuk's return to the tour after two years away due to suspension. They met in the first final of season: the 2008 Motorola IRT World Championships in Denver, and Waselenchuk won in a tie-breaker, 11–6, 11–6, 8–11, 8–11, 11–1. They played eight more times during the season with Waselenchuk winning all of the matches. Nevertheless, Carson finished #2 on the IRT that season.
In 2009, Carson was in both the US National Doubles Championship final and the US National Singles Championship final, and both ended with 11–10 tie-breakers. He and Jack Huczek won doubles against Ben Croft and Mitch Williams, 15–9, 7–15, 11–10, but he lost to the singles final to Huczek, 7–15, 15–9, 11–10. Carson got to the final with a win over Chris Crowther in the semi-finals, 15–7, 15–10.
Carson's Men's Singles World Championship in 2008 qualified him for the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, Republic of China, where he captured the silver medal in Men's Singles. Carson beat Canadian Mike Green, 15–9, 15–9, in the quarterfinals, and Mexican Álvaro Beltrán in the semi-finals, 9–15, 15–7, 11–8, to set up another showdown with countryman Jack Huczek. As usual, the two Americans went to a tie-breaker with Huczek coming out on top, 2–15, 15–12, 11–8.
In 2009–2010, Carson didn't win an IRT event for the first time in three seasons. He was in two finals, losing both to Waselenchuk. Still, Carson was able to finish ranked 3rd that season.
Carson lost in the final of the 2010 US National Doubles Championships with partner Josh Tucker to Ben Croft and Mitch Williams, 15–13, 15–8. But Carson did win the 2010 US National Singles Championship. He played Jack Huczek in the final, but this time didn't need a tie-breaker to defeat his rival, winning 15–11, 15–5.