A native and current resident of Memphis, Andy Roberts has created an international name for himself in the world of racquetball. He climbed the ranks to become one of the most dominant professional racquetball players of the 1990’s. His career has spanned three decades and his honors have been impressive, to say the least.
Early in his rise to prominence, Roberts worked his way up through the junior ranks, and earned a racquetball scholarship at the University of Memphis. While there, his three singles and two doubles crowns helped Memphis win two National Intercollegiate Championships.
From college, Roberts went on to capture a National Doubles title in 1985, a National Singles title in 1988 and a U.S. Olympic Festival singles win in 1991. He was named to the U.S. National Team for eight consecutive terms (1985-1991) and lost only one match in eight years. Roberts was named racquetball “Athlete of the Year” by the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1988, ’89, ’90 and ’91. He was a national Sullivan Award nominee in 1988, ’89, ’90 and ’91, and the USRA “Male Athlete of the Year” in 1988, ’90 and ’91. Roberts went on to play professional racquetball for 11 years and was never ranked below No. 4 in the world. He was ranked No. 1 in 1993 and ’94 and was nominated as one of the top five players of the decade. He went on to win 15 professional tournaments and was described as “the best offensive player to ever play the game.”
After his professional career, Roberts returned to the amateur ranks to recapture the National Doubles title in 2000.
In 2003, Roberts was inducted into the United States Racquetball Association Hall of Fame (on his first ballot) and to the University of Memphis Athletic Hall of Fame. Roberts and his family make their home in Memphis where he is an Account Executive with FedEx.