says.“ I saw them pointing at me and then pointing to the screen.”
Her rise and the sport’ s growth are increasingly intertwined. As her platform grows, so does pickleball’ s visibility.
So, when she’ s referred to as“ the face of pickleball,” does it feel heavy?“ It energizes me,” she says. Though Waters enjoys media appearances and talking about the sport, she doesn’ t pretend the visibility is weightless.
“ I’ ve got a lot on my plate … I have to be a professional pickleball player. I also have to grow the sport.”
Asked what responsibility comes with being pickleball’ s most recognizable player and she answers quickly:“ Image. There are so many eyeballs on me. Everything I do is put under a microscope.”
Waters understands that her demeanor is no longer interpreted only as Anna Leigh Waters— it becomes a reflection of the sport itself.“ If I go out there and do something ridiculous, people are going to say,‘ This is the face of pickleball.’”
For Waters, the public spotlight shines alongside the constant pursuit of improvement.
“ I’ m very competitive,” she says.“ Winning isn’ t the finish line. Any match I play— even if I win— I look back and think what could I do better.”
She credits her mother, Leigh Waters, who is her coach and deeply involved in her development, for constantly introducing new ideas and strategy. Staying dominant, Waters believes, means continuing to evolve while others are still trying to catch up.
One area she’ s focused on improving is“ being more aggressive out of the air,” a skill she continues to refine.
She also remembers moments where competition turned into something bigger. One of those came in Mesa during a singles final when she trailed badly early.“ I was down 9-2,” she recalls. After losing the first game decisively, Waters leaned into the crowd’ s energy and rallied to win.
Losses have also played a role in shaping her perspective. One match early in her career stands out because she allowed social media criticism to affect her performance. Waters admits she handled the aftermath poorly and received backlash.
ANNA LEIGH WATERS APPEARED ON“ THE PAT MCAFEE SHOW” DURING SUPER BOWL WEEK( FEB. 2-8), LIVE FROM RADIO ROW, TO DISCUSS THE SPORT AND PLAY A“ DINK MATCH” ON SET.
“ I learned my lesson the hard way,” she says.“ The lesson wasn’ t about losing— it was about composure. Shake hands, congratulate your opponent, step away from the cameras, and process the emotions privately.”
As the top-ranked player, the pressure shifts. Early in her career she played freely as the underdog. Once she became No. 1, she felt pressure to defend that position.
Working with a mental coach helped her change her mindset.“ Pickleball is very mental. It’ s a sport built on momentum and runs.”
And tournament life is far less glamorous than fans might imagine. Waters describes the rhythm simply: wake up, eat, warm up, compete, recover, repeat.“ There’ s not much downtime.”
Fans often assume that elite athletes must always eat perfectly clean meals, whether at home or on the road, but Waters says tournament weeks require balance. The pressure is intense, and small comforts can help release the tension. Occasionally,“ for dinner, I’ ll eat a cheeseburger and fries,” she admits.
“ Sometimes it’ s so serious you just need to cheat on something, but I don’ t want to cheat on my recovery.” During tournaments, her focus is performance. Outside, brand responsibilities grow. Waters saw the scale of those opportunities firsthand when she visited
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MARCH / APRIL 2026 | MAGAZINE 31