Even Rated No. 1, She Suspects She’s in the Wrong Racket : Racquetball: Jackie Paraiso-Gibson has ascended to the top of her sport, which offers few of the rewards of tennis.

For a creative moment, try to picture the nation’s top-ranked tennis player scraping together money to pay a coach or fly herself to a tournament across the country.

It’s hard to imagine because it’s a preposterous notion.

Jackie Paraiso-Gibson sighs, wondering for a fleeting moment if she chose the right racquet.

“I really like tennis,” said Paraiso-Gibson, a Grossmont High and Grossmont College graduate. “It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if we had stayed with it.”

“We” are the nine-sibling Paraiso family, most of whom started playing racquetball at a tender age because mother June ‘freaked about her weight,” and so the children would run her around the court until mom had burned sufficient calories to satisfy her.

They have stuck with the game in varying degrees, with Jackie taking it the furthest. Earlier this year, Paraiso-Gibson, 25, earned the top spot in professional women’s racquetball.

“When we were juniors, we didn’t think of playing professional,” said Joy MacKenzie, Jackie’s twin sister and current doubles partner. “It was like we didn’t belong there. I still think sometimes she can’t believe it, that she’s No. 1.”

Not that her life has changed dramatically, or even noticeably. As she prepares for the Amateur World Championships in Montreal beginning Aug. 12, this is not a woman who must wear dark sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat through her apartment complex.

“People at my club know who I am,” she said with a chuckle, “but no one in this complex would even know the No. 1 racquetball player in the country lived here.”

Widespread popularity and big bucks are perks racquetball players can only dream about.

“We’re following in the footsteps of tennis. I think there will be just as much money for us down the road,” Paraiso-Gibson said. “But we’re still like pioneers. Right now, we’re not getting anything back as the No. 1 players. I still have to pay out a lot of my own money.”

But Paraiso-Gibson finds it counterproductive to curse her bank account when she can just as easily count her blessings. She recently hired an agent, a move she hopes will increase the humble sum--less than $20,000--she earned in the 1991-92 season through prize money and sponsorship.

“Sometimes it’s discouraging, but as a Christian I know there’s a reason I’m doing this,” said Paraiso-Gibson, who earns full-time pay working part-time at J.C. Penney through an Olympic job opportunity program.

She is not the exception. It is estimated that 90% of the top 20 women professionals work.

“As a sport, we’re still only 20 years old. If I can’t benefit from it, then maybe I can see my children or grandchildren (benefit from it).”

Jackie and Tom, her husband of one year, do want a family. Paraiso-Gibson used to teach preschool. Along with music and beach sports, she lists children as a primary interest.

“Did she say when she was going to have (kids)?” MacKenzie asked with enthusiasm. “Everyone has always looked at Jackie and all they think about is she’s the queen of racquetball, but I’m sure she wants to have kids.”

At the prodding of their oldest sister, Joy and Jackie and two of their brothers started competing in Los Angeles’ tournaments soon after they outgrew the competition of local clubs.

“We made it a family thing, we’d all go up on weekends,” Paraiso-Gibson said. “We started going up the ladder and competing at a higher level until we reached Open, the highest level.”

Sometime in 1986, it was suggested to the twins that they play professional tournaments. In women’s racquetball, professionals don’t have to give up their amateur status as long as they put their earnings in a trust fund, from which they can draw on to help with their tournament expenses.

“We decided to try it out,” Paraiso-Gibson said. “We’d watch those players and say, ‘Hey, they’re not too much better than us.’ ”

In 1987, they made their first appearance at nationals and within a year their respective rankings had climbed from the mid-30s to the low teens.

MacKenzie’s ranking reached No. 9 before she slowed down her pace to start a family. Her sister never missed a beat. A year ago, Jackie’s ranking rose to No. 5. This season she won two of seven WPRA tournaments, reached the final in another and the semifinals in three more to shoot to No. 1.

“Jackie’s a few levels above where we were when I stopped,” MacKenzie said. “It took a while, but through experience and practice she just got better and better. Without me there, she could focus on herself.”

Amazingly, Paraiso-Gibson has soared to the top without the aid of a coach or even a regular training partner. She can’t afford the former and doesn’t have access to the latter.

“All of it we do ourselves,” she said in reference to her husband and family, who help her train. “That’s why I think I could have been No. 1 sooner.”

Dee Worth, president of the Women’s Professional Racquetball Assn., shudders to think what Paraiso-Gibson’s game would look like if she had the benefit of coaching.

“It’s scary. I can’t imagine how much better she would be with a coach. Don’t be giving her ideas,” said Worth, a staple on tour since its inception in 1980.

The only skill that hasn’t been self-taught, Paraiso-Gibson picked up at one of the U.S. team training camps she attends twice a year.

“I used to charge up to the front of the court and I’d get killed,” she said. “I don’t do that any more. That’s why I know it’s a God-given talent. I couldn’t even tell you what the proper grip is.”

Because of her strong San Diego ties and lack of financial wherewithal, Paraiso-Gibson never felt drawn to the East Coast, where the best players and coaches migrated after racquetball’s strong beginnings in this area.

“I’d have to fly out there all the time. That’s where the money crunch comes in,” she said.

Worth said the growth of racquetball in general and the WPRA in particular--the men have 25 professional tournaments compared to the women’s seven--has been minimal and a lack of funds will continue to plague the sport until it reaches Olympic status.

“We’re struggling right now,” she said. “The problem is it’s hard to televise and to get the top sponsors. That’s why we have to get into the Olympics.”

Racquetball was passed over in favor of softball as a demonstration sport for the Barcelona Olympics, but Paraiso-Gibson hopes its status will change by 1996, when Atlanta hosts the Olympics. She’ll be 29, hardly ancient by this sport’s standards.

“And it’s in the World Games in 1994, that’s a step,” she said.

The game is still somewhat of a family affair in the tight-knit Paraiso clan. Brother Joey recently joined his sister on the national team, which Jackie has been on since 1990. In November, MacKenzie will attempt to make the national team in doubles, with Jackie, who has won the title four consecutive years with three different partners.

Those who don’t play can still cheer. Occasionally, a family member will accompany Paraiso-Gibson to a tournament. Always, there’s a contingent of supporters waiting for her at the airport.

“To be the No. 1 singles player, it’s been my family’s dream too,” she said.