From Doubt to Alpha: Anna Leigh Waters Admits to Being Pickleball Doubter, Now Hopes Sport ‘Grows Even More Internationally’

There’s a strong case to be made that Anna Leigh Waters, the no. 1 women’s pickleball player on the planet, is also its biggest star—bigger even than Ben Johns, who is widely regarded as the GOAT in men’s pickleball.

Waters, who’s only just 18, has had quite a career as a pickleball pro, and on Thursday, her growing stardom was on display as she made it to SportsCenter. This is significant not just for Waters but for pickleball in general as SportsCenter is one of the most watched sports shows in the US and arguably the most well-known as it’s produced by sports media giant ESPN. Meaning, there must be something worthwhile about Waters and pickleball to be noticed by a media monolith.

Anna Leigh Waters, Pickleball Doubter (At First)

So, it might come as a surprise that this big pickleball star had initial doubts about the world’s fastest-rising sport.

“Before I started playing, I was honestly one of those doubters,” Waters told ESPN host and reporter Christine Williamson in a live interview. “Once I got on the court, I was like, ‘I get the hype.’ This is a real sport. It takes athleticism, it takes hard work, so I would say to those people just get out on the court and try it for yourselves.”’

From doubter to now a believer,  Waters has had quite the journey no doubt, rising through the ranks to become one of pickleball’s standard bearers—and greatest winners. She’s also one of the sport’s best ambassadors, and she perfectly explained in SportsCenter exactly why pickleball is growing at such a meteoric pace.

“I think because anybody, any age, any gender can play the sport. When I was 10 years old, I was playing with my 70-year-old grandfather. We were still able to rally on the court, which you can’t really do in other sports,” she pointed out. “I also think there’s a huge community in pickleball. I feel like in other sports there’s a lot of tension, but in pickleball we’re just all friends. This huge community just makes people’s lives better. They meet new friends, lifelong friends, which has happened for me, too, so it’s just a sport for everyone.”

This community, of course, is growing by the day, and Waters is hoping “it grows even more internationally.” And for that to happen, Waters is banking on the new generation of pickleball players—youngsters.

“I think the more people we can get to play pickleball, the better. The youth factor is also important. I was younger when I started playing pickleball, and I was like the only kid who played. Now, sometimes we go to pickleball tournaments and there are 200 kids there. I think it’s definitely growing internationally and among youth, but we can definitely do more there,” she explained.

Pickleball’s Next Step: Making the Olympics

With all this explosive growth for pickleball, the next logical step is obviously making the Olympics, and Waters believes that happening will add “another level of that legitimacy” to the sport. She also believes pickleball should make it to the Quadrennial Games and is hopeful it will happen someday. And if—err, when—that happens, expect Anna Leigh Waters to represent the USA as “it would mean a lot” to the 18-year-old star.

Seeing the best pickleball players competing at the Olympics would be cool for sure. But for now, with the sport still working on its Olympic inclusion, Anna Leigh Waters is focusing solely on her pro career—especially with that proverbial target on her back. Of course she has it; the great ones always do. And the young star is welcoming it, embracing it.

“You definitely get people’s best when they play you because they have no pressure and you have all the pressure to win those matches. But I also think that builds character, builds strength, and builds confidence, and I think I’ve grown as a person from it because I’ve faced so much adversity,” she told Williamson when asked about the pressure of being an alpha athlete of the sport.

Character. Strength. Confidence.

No wonder Anna Leigh Waters is at the top of the sport. Not all that bad for someone who initially had doubts about pickleball being a sport, right?

Those doubts are long gone, and the young star now admits she’s “having a blast and enjoying every moment of it.”

Again, not bad, right?