Rand: He has quite the racquet going

Kane Waselenchuk started playing when he was 2, driven by a father-son bond. He was 5 when he had his first taste of victory.

And, coming from Canada, his first love was and remains hockey.

It sounds to Minnesotans like a familiar puck story, but in this case the facts are juxtaposed to create a convenient hook and narrative. Though Waselenchuk loves hockey, the sport at which he excelled so young and was pushed toward by a driven father was ... racquetball? Indeed. It took him a while to figure out your love is not always equal to your calling, but Waselenchuk did and hasn't turned back since. He is the No. 1-ranked player in the world and seven-time U.S. Open champion. Waselenchuk, 30, hopes to make it eight open titles, as play begins at Target Center on Wednesday in this year's championships.

"I was about 12 or 13 when I quit [racquetball]. I had won the 10-and-under world championships already, but I quit and played hockey for a few years," Waselenchuk said. "But I came back. My dad talked me into playing a tournament with him. It was his way of saying he missed me."

Waselenchuk, an Edmonton native, won the Canadian Senior Nationals at age 17, defeating the eight-time champion in the process. His career snowballed from there, with Waselenchuk dominating the better part of the past decade. He had a 137-match winning streak derailed by a back injury earlier this year, but he is healthy now and ranked No. 1 on the International Racquetball Tour.

"It was a little frustrating for me," he said of the streak ending. "We were getting a good amount of publicity from the streak. It felt like I was letting racquetball down. All eyes were on me, and this is not how I wanted the streak to end. ... But I got through it."

It helps having a wife (Kim) who is not only a U.S. doubles champion but also knows when to turn off the racquet talk. The couple has two girls -- Kennedy and Kendall, ages 4 and 3.

But there will be plenty of talk this week. Waselenchuk is excited to show off his second love in a city that adores hockey as much as he does.

"The racquetball world is very small. We don't get the limelight. But this is our biggest tournament," Waselenchuk said. "It's like Wimbledon in tennis or the Masters in golf. Anyone who is anyone in racquetball goes to this tournament. The pros are treated like kings and queens. Everyone is really there to watch us play."

• If you go: The tournament is Wednesday through Sunday. Tickets start at $22 per session; a full schedule of pro matches is at unitedhealthcareusopen.com/pro-matches. More than 600 players will compete from 13 different countries.