Hannah Johns Shouts Out Female Pros, Calls on Women Picklers to Be Themselves, Tell Their Stories

Hannah Johns, sister of the famed Johns brothers—Colin and Ben—and the lesser known Johns in pickleball, gave her thoughts on the women she thinks are driving the sport forward in a recent episode of the Talk Pickle to Me podcast. The former PPA tour reporter and now executive also encouraged female picklers to sort of step out of the shadows of their male counterparts.

When asked about who she thinks is leading the pickleball revolution on the female side, Hannah identified two of the sport’s biggest names on the distaff side: Anna Leigh Waters and Lea Jansen.

“Anna Leigh Waters is fantastic… Just really a classy young lady, soon to be 18 actually… She’s always ben fantastic, terrific to talk to, just to have her on tour. I think what she’s done to drive the sport to the spotlight… she’s done so much. I think her playful energy is really needed, especially on the female side of pickleball,” Hannah said of Waters, who is arguably the top women’s player in pickleball today.

Time to Let the World Know About the Women

While she gushed about pickleball female trailblazers, Hannah also asked women picklers to step out and show their personality so as not to get left behind by the ongoing pickleball revolution.

“Women, I think, and Lea Jansen is also part of this group, but women, in general, tend not to give too many opinions, and we try to be agreeable all the time, and I think that that ends up hurting us because we get left behind when it comes to big brand deals, or people caring about us,” Hannah pointed out. “It’s because they don’t really feel like they know us, because we’re not giving our opinion most of the time, but Anna and Lea for sure are not afraid to give their opinion and to put their quirkiness out there for the public to see. I think that’s really helpful because you feel like you know them…”

For Hannah, it’s all about letting the world know.

“I think that the more athletes sort of step outside their comfort zone, especially women, and talk about their life and showcase their personality… and the more people actually know these pros, I think it will help so much,” she pointed out.

Indeed, much is known about pickleball’s male stars. It’s time the world knows more about the sports’ women trailblazers.

You can watch the whole interview below. The part where Hannah talks about female pickleball leaders is at the 42:12 mark.