Anna Leigh Waters Sets Sights on Olympic Glory: Anna Leigh Waters, the top-ranked pickleball player in the world, hopes to see pickleball become an Olympic sport in the future. At just 18 years old, Waters is already a leading figure in the fast-growing sport, holding number one rankings in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
Early Start and Rapid Rise
Anna Leigh Waters began playing professionally at age 12. With 148 PPA Gold Medals, many consider her the greatest female pickleball player ever. She has watched the sport grow from small, low-budget tournaments to a popular competitive game.
“I kind of like to say I’ve kind of grown with the sport,” Waters said on the show Throwbacks with Matt Leinart and Jerry Ferrara. She recalled early tournaments where courts were taped together, nets were temporary, and winners earned small prizes.
“It’s kind of been a crazy ride because when I started playing pickleball, like, a pro tournament was taped courts, temp net, streamed live on Facebook. If you were lucky, you won, like, a thousand bucks. If you won the whole tournament, then you had to split that with your partner.” – (Waters)
Family Influence and Early Success
Waters was introduced to pickleball by her mother, Leigh Waters, who was also a great player.
“My first ever pro tournament I played with my mom. I wasn’t supposed to play pro and her partner, like, pulled out on her in the last minute and she’s like, ‘come on, play with me.’ And we ended up getting silver in the tournament. She was like, ‘all right, I think you’re ready to play pro.’” – (Waters)
Growing the Sport Worldwide
While pickleball is very popular in the United States, Waters believes it still needs to expand globally.
“I definitely think growing [pickleball] worldwide is still something that needs to happen.” – (Waters)
She noted that the sport is growing fast in Asia and Australia but many countries have only one court or very little access.
“In Asia it’s starting to explode. Australia, it’s pretty big. But there’s still a lot of countries that it’s, you know, there’s like one pickleball court, you know? There still needs to be growth there.” – (Waters)
Olympic Dreams
Anna Leigh Waters’ long-term goal is to play pickleball in the Olympics.
“That’s kind of a personal goal because I’d love to play in the Olympics. But that’s not five years, that’s a little further I think in my opinion.” – (Waters)
Even if it takes 20 years, Waters will still have plenty of time to reach that dream.
Future of Pickleball
With her youth and talent, Anna Leigh Waters is positioned to help pickleball grow into a global sport. Her Olympic hope highlights the sport’s potential to join the world’s biggest athletic stage.
News in Brief: Anna Leigh Waters Sets Sights on Olympic Glory
Anna Leigh Waters, 18, is the top-ranked pickleball player globally. She started pro play at 12 and holds 148 PPA Gold Medals. Waters wants to help grow pickleball worldwide and dreams of playing in the Olympics someday, seeing the sport’s global rise as a key future goal.
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