FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mother/Daughter Bond Creates Gold Medals and Golden Moments On The Pickleball Court For Professional National Champions Leigh and Anna Leigh Waters
DELRAY BEACH, FL (May 3, 2021) -- Last month at the Minto US OPEN Pickleball Championships, the Professional Women’s Doubles National Champions Leigh and her 14 year old daughter Anna Leigh faced each other in a mixed doubles match. As soon as Leigh and her partner Tyson McGuffin won the game, Leigh embraced her disappointed daughter on the court for an extended amount of time, whispering into the teenager’s ear.
The mother/daughter duo explained their Golden Moment in a live stream interview with “In The Kitchen” host Scott Golden.
Anna Leigh: There were a lot of emotions going on after that match.
Leigh: We have played against each other before and we have learned from our mistakes. The first couple of times we played it was very competitive and we both wanted to win and nobody wanted to lose to the other.
Anna Leigh: And we have played each other in singles before, too.
Leigh: Yeah. We would have these moments that after the match is over, one goes here and the other goes there and it’s awkward. We have grown past that. We understand that somebody has to win and somebody has to lose.
Anna Leigh: It is kind-of-like the “Serena/Venus” thing going on.
Leigh: We understand at the end of the match that the most important aspect is that we are mother/daughter. Afterwards, I could tell that Anna Leigh was upset as I would have been if I had lost. I knew that if I could just grab her and get a hold of her and hug her and say a few things in her ear that it would help the situation. I think it did. Don’t you?
Anna Leigh: (Shakes her head smiling, yes.) I had ice cream afterwards.
Leigh: At first I was saying: Don’t be upset. Don’t cry. It is okay. I wish you could have won, too. And then I said, “Do you want to go get an ice cream?”
Anna Leigh: Laughs and shakes her head.
Leigh: I was trying to say things that were funny. And finally, I got her to laugh. And when she laughed, I knew that we could move on.
In their interview (May 6, 2021) on the "Pickleball Happy Hour", Leigh and Anna Leigh explained their US Open mother/daughter moment in more detail.
“I would say this was my most special moment of the US Open,” wrote Dotti Berry. “Opponents...mother, Leigh hugging her daughter, Anna Leigh, after Leigh and Tyson won to advance in mixed doubles. A "forever moment" to remember. It was a hug that seemed to last forever, and there were cheers and tears from the gallery as we all watched. These two are special and I feel fortunate to watch them as players and know them as people, two amazing individuals!”
“Had tears in my eyes when I watched this,” replied Lynne Campbell Hack. “So special. Leigh went right to her knowing how well and how hard Anna Leigh played.”
“Awesomeness! Nothing as special as a mother daughter’s love for each other,” Kathleen Taylor wrote.
MerriLynn Sayre posted: “Oh my! Such love and Grace as the whole world watches. What a special moment and bond. Thank you for sharing.”
The US Open was the halfway point in TeamWaters 2021 tournament schedule. Their next event is the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Atlanta Georgia Open May 20-23.
“Leigh Waters. Anna Leigh Waters. One of the biggest stories in pickleball.” Drew Fellios, Commentator: US Open Pickleball Championships/CBS Sports Network/Professional Pickleball Association (PPA)
The TeamWaters Pickleball Story Began in 2017
“The duo picked up the sport back in 2017 when they evacuated their home in Florida due to Hurricane Irma and stayed with Leigh’s parents for a couple of weeks. Leigh’s dad introduced them to the sport and from there they were hooked. “I think we played like morning, noon and night for two weeks straight while we were up there and the rest is history,” said Leigh.” - Chierstin Susel, Channel 12 KPNX-TV, NBC Phoenix
Mother-daughter pickleball duo are transcending the sport (February 2021)
The inspiring mother/daughter journey can be followed on Facebook and Instagram.
Digital Press Kit (Interviews, Tournament Videos, Highlights, Photos, Schedules)
Lynn Cherry, Pickleball Podcast: “Actually, the media kit was really helpful. It really made it very fast to prep and the timestamps on the (interview) videos were great because I could get to exactly what I wanted to see or hear. I think that is really key!”
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