sports
Anna Leigh Waters Ranked No. 1 in Pickleball Singles Doubles and Mixed Doubles
At 19, Anna Leigh Waters holds the top ranking in women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles. She turned professional at age 12 after starting the sport at 10 with her family. Waters has won a record 194 career gold medals and 44 triple crowns on the Professional Pickleball Association tour.
May 12, 6:40 PM·2m read1 source
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Anna Leigh Waters, 19, is the No. 1-ranked player in women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles in the world. Seven years after turning professional at age 12, she is widely viewed as the greatest player in pickleball history. Waters began playing at age 10 in Pennsylvania while her family evacuated from Hurricane Irma in 2017.
She competed with her grandfather and his retired friends, all in their 70s and 80s. The family continued playing after returning to Florida and joined a pickleball club. Her mother, Leigh Waters, a former college tennis player and lawyer, quit her job to pursue the sport.
Leigh became the top-ranked women's singles player in the country within a couple of years. In 2019, when her doubles partner withdrew from a tournament, Leigh asked her 12-year-old daughter to step in. The mother-daughter team went on to win multiple league titles.
Leigh tore an ACL at the 2022 nationals, ending her competitive career at age 43. She then became her daughter's coach. "I love her as my coach because I feel like she knows exactly what I need in every moment," Waters said. " Waters has accumulated 194 career gold medals on the Professional Pickleball Association tour and 44 triple crowns for winning singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles at a single event.
Both totals are records regardless of gender. Professional Pickleball Association CEO Connor Pardoe said at this weekend's finals, "It's her, and there's not really an argument that it could be anyone else. She wins everything. She signed multiyear deals this year with Franklin Sports and Nike, becoming the first pickleball player to sign with the apparel company.
