St. Louis, MO, WPH Press, 7/1/26
The Forest Park Handball Club proudly presented the 2026 Forest Park Handball Club 3-Wall Tournament on the final week of June, featuring the best 3-Wall players in St. Louis battling the stifling St. Louis heat and humidity on Forest Park’s 53-foot-long 3-Wall courts.
St. Louis’s Chopper Hernandez headlined the 2026 Forest Park Handball Club Tournament, having slammed the KCAC’s Tim Nass in mid-June HERE. Chopper continued his Midwest 3-Wall domination on his home courts at Forest Park, slamming the singles and doubles.
In the singles, Chopper defeating his brother Jesse in the upper bracket semifinals and Jake Pelech in the final by identical scores of 26-10. The Hernandez brothers won the doubles, defeating the team of Will Lemp and Derrick Olson in a lopsided final.
“I played well,” Chopper would later say. “I utilized the court size to keep my opponents guessing and constantly on the move. I was playing consistent and efficient. The singles finals match was tough to battle out under the blazing sun. I switched up to a soft high lob serve on the last few points to conserve energy. This resulted in a few weak returns and that was able to get me over the finish line.”
“It’s undeniably evident Chopper is in a class by himself at Forest Park,” stated Forest Park and WPH ambassador Mat Iglehart.
Semifinals
Chopper def J. Hernandez 26-10
Pelech def Burton
Final: Chopper def Pelech 26-10
Doubles Final: Team Hernandez def Team Lemp/Olson 26-4
Photos of the tournament courtesy of Brandon Muir
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer