CBS News Sunday Morning: Pickleball superstar Anna Leigh Waters

This CBS News Sunday Morning segment explores how 19-year-old Anna Leigh Waters, widely considered the greatest professional pickleball player of all time, has helped transform pickleball from a recreational pastime for retirees into a fast-paced, highly competitive sport.

Key highlights from the video:

• Challenging Perceptions: Waters has redefined the sport with her aggressive playing style. While traditional pickleball focused on "dinking" (playing softly), she is a "banger" who plays with intense speed and power, shifting the nature of professional competition (0:58 - 1:59).
• Rising to the Top: Anna Leigh, 10, and her mother Leigh were introduced to Pickleball by her grandfather. A year later Anna Leigh quickly began competing in adult tournaments alongside her mother. The two share a highly competitive relationship, with the video noting that Anna Leigh eventually began beating her mother in tournament play. She has since achieved remarkable success, winning 44 Triple Crowns and 194 gold medals, and has not lost a singles match in over two years (2:00 - 3:33).
• High-Level Professionalism: The sport's growth is evident in its increasing stakes, with professional tournaments and prize money in the millions. Waters has become the face of the sport, recently signing a multi-year sponsorship deal with Nike (4:32 - 5:08).
• Mental Game and Training: Despite her dominance, Waters maintains a rigorous training schedule of up to 5 hours a day. She also works with a mental coach to manage the pressures of competition, emphasizing the importance of staying focused on her own performance rather than her opponent (3:40 - 4:18, 5:09 - 6:00). For Anna Leigh, feeling nervous is actually a sign that she is ready to compete at her best. She explains that whenever she has gone into a match not feeling nervous, she has never played her best (5:18 - 5:27).

  To manage these nerves and the high pressures of professional play, she works with a mental coach. Together, they have developed a focus-based approach, which she summarizes with the mantra: "Just be you." (5:29 - 5:43)

  She notes that if she focuses too much on her opponent, things tend to go wrong. Instead, by focusing on herself, her own performance, and what she can control, she is able to play at her peak (5:43 - 5:59).

• He career is managed as a family business. Her father oversees the management side of her career, while her mother is deeply involved in her training, practicing with her for up to 5 hours a day (4:06 - 4:22).

NBC News: Profile

Anna Leigh: NBC News Professional Pickleball Phenom Profile

Rise to Stardom:

• Early Beginnings: Waters discovered the sport at age 10 after  evacuating to Pennsylvania due to Hurricane Irma (0:37-0:48). She and her mother, Leigh, quickly became hooked, playing multiple times daily.
• Professional Breakthrough: Leigh, a former lawyer, transitioned into professional pickleball. When her mother's doubles partner dropped out of the 2018 Texas Open, the 11 year old Waters stepped in, launching a dominant career that has already seen her win 194 gold medals (0:15, 0:51-1:05).
• Competitive Excellence: Celebrated for her intensity, she has earned praise from tennis legend Andre Agassi, who has even competed alongside her at the 2025 US Open (1:27-1:45).

Impact and Future:

• Economic Growth: Since the sport's professionalization in 2019, Waters' earnings have skyrocketed from $1,000 for a gold medal to an estimated $2.5 million per year (2:10-2:20).
• Cultural Status: While pickleball is not yet an official Olympic sport, it has gained immense popularity among celebrities and is expected to be a fixture in Los Angeles during the 2028 Olympics, with potential for inclusion in future games like Brisbane 2032 (2:45-3:40).
• Longevity: Unlike traditional tennis, pickleball is often cited as being easier on the knees, contributing to the idea that athletes like Waters can sustain long, storied careers in the sport (4:01-4:07).

Anna Leigh Waters and the Cutthroat Culture of Pro Pickleball

 

the first episode of PARTNERS, takes a deep dive into the fast-paced, high-stakes, and increasingly professional world of the PPA Tour. As pickleball cements itself as the fastest-growing sport in America, the episode explores the intense rivalries, the pressure of maintaining a top ranking, and the business evolution of the sport.

Key Highlights So Far (0:00 - 1:58:00):

• The Rise of Anna Leigh Waters: At just 18, Anna Leigh Waters is the undisputed #1 player in the world, dominating the singles, mixed doubles, and women's doubles disciplines (2:37 - 3:58). She is often compared to legends like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods in terms of her impact on her sport (3:06 - 3:15). Her partnership with her mother, Lee Waters, is highlighted as a unique and influential dynamic in the pickleball world (4:07 - 4:54).

• The Rivalry with Anna Bright: A significant focus is placed on the competitive tension between Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright. Bright, the world #2, is described as an intense, fierce competitor who is constantly looking for ways to close the gap and "steal the sparkle" from the top-ranked Waters (6:43 - 7:25).

• The Business of Pickleball: The episode goes behind the scenes to look at the PPA Tour's rapid growth. CEO Conor Pardoe discusses the pressure of scaling the tour into a multi-million dollar business while managing contracts for over 160 players (12:47 - 16:48). The narrative touches on the "land grab" for talent and the upcoming challenges of building a sustainable, profitable league (25:07 - 26:11).

• The Fragility of Partnerships: The episode emphasizes that professional pickleball is "cutthroat" regarding team dynamics. The culture involves frequent, sometimes sudden, changes in doubles partnerships, which adds a layer of emotional and strategic complexity to the game (17:23 - 18:47). This is exemplified by the shockwaves caused when Anna Leigh Waters and her long-time partner Catherine Prento decide to part ways following a tough loss (37:49 - 39:28).