(October 2019) You don’t see Anna Leigh Waters too often without her mother, Leigh. It’s not because the two are pickleball pros and partners, but mostly because Anna Leigh is still a minor.
At just 12 years of age, Anna Leigh Waters is making a name for herself in the world of pickleball and, together with her mom, the team has already garnered some accolades and won some gold together.
Their most recent win was the Women’s Double Pro Match at the Tournament of Champions in August, but the duo has played in the Atlanta Open, Texas Open, Las Vegas Open, Nationals and more. Add in the fact that they’ve only been playing pickleball for two years, and their rise seems even more astounding.
“We discovered pickleball in September 2017,” Leigh recalls. “We were evacuated from our home in Delray Beach, Florida, in the wake of Hurricane Irma. We didn’t have electricity for two weeks. My dad has a home in Allentown, Pa., so we went there and he taught us how to play. We started the same day, same week, same year. We played straight for two weeks, and when we got back home, we found that the closest place to us that had pickleball was the Delray Tennis Center, and the rest is history.”
For Anna Leigh, playing with her mom isn’t just a way to enjoy family time, it’s like having the best partner you could get. “I love playing with my mom because we just know what the other is going to do before we hit the ball,” she says. “We know what’s going to happen or how to react to it.” (Read More)
