GOLD STANDARD IN NAPLES
Record crowds and elite play highlight the 10‐year milestone for the Franklin US Open Pickleball Championships.
by DREW WATHEY photos by BRUCE YEUNG;
IG: @ yeungphotography
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The crowd sat in stunned silence, a few murmurs echoing throughout the Zing Zang Championship Court at the 2026 Franklin US Open in Naples, Florida. The topseeded women’ s doubles team of Anna Leigh Waters and her mother, Leigh Waters, had just dropped the first game of their semifinal match 11-5 and looked beatable as they stared across the net at their opponents, Shelby Bates of Jericho, New York, and the Netherlands’ Roos Van Reek.
But nothing Anna Leigh does these days on the pickleball court surprises anyone, especially at the Open, where— not unlike other venues throughout the country— she is the reigning queen and face of the sport.
The pair started the second game on fire, up early 6-0 and easily won 11-1 to knot the match at one game apiece. Then not long after, Van Reek netted a Leigh Waters return and the mother-daughter duo claimed victory with another 11-1 win in the third and final game.
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MAY / JUNE 2026 | MAGAZINE 27