New York, NY, WPH Press, 7/19/25
The St. Albans Handball Association presented the 2026 King of the Courts at Joseph Austin Playground (Edison Park) in Jamaica, NY, featuring Tavo Ruiz, Timbo Gonzalez, David Velez, Los Pena, Mike Ngi, Kadeem Bush, Miguel Mendez, and the rest of the world’s best men’s big ball 1-Wall singles players at the summer’s premiere event.
Seeking his third King of the Courts title and to defend his 2024 and 2025 King of the Courts title after winning the U.S. Open last week (HERE), DigiFlex’s Tavo Ruiz was dominant on his way to the final, dominating Mike Ngi in the quarterfinals and Los Pena in the semifinals to face the resurgent Gio Vazquez. Vazquez made a sensational comeback in his semifinal match against 2026 King of the Courts Cinderella Man Greg Ardilla, trailing 15-20 before staging a six-point rally to meet Tavo in the final.
Tavo overwhelmed Gio in the final, mixing up his power serve to the left and right and short and deep to score aces and first-strike opportunities. Tavo’s quickness neutralized Gio’s down-the-line drives, as the now three-time king effortlessly covered the sidelines and hit perfect lobs to negate Gio’s advantage in the rallies. Tavo needed just 21 minutes to secure his threepeat, making him the first to ever win the King of the Courts three times in a row.
“Gio had a great run making it to the finals but his stamina tank was gone,” Timbo Gonzalez would later say. “He just didn’t have the same energy for the finals game.”
Semifinals
Tavo def Los Pena 21-5
Gio def Ardilla 21-20
Final: Tavo def Gio 25-10
Thank you to Jared Vale and ValeU Group for serving as one of the 2026 King of the Courts major sponsors.
Follow the 2026 King of the Courts draw HERE
Watch the 2026 King of the Courts, courtesy of TensFinest HERE
TensFinest website HERE
St. Albans Handball Association on Facebook HERE
2025 King of the Courts WPH recap HERE
2026 King of the Courts pictures courtesy of Jared Vale
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer