Back Like They Never Left: Things ‘Going Well’ for Anna Leigh Waters, Anna Bright as Reunion Picks Up Steam
Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright—a.ka. the “Anna’s” are so back.
Back together for a second time in their illustrious careers, Waters and Bright are looking to make the most of their revitalised partnership after already winning a gold medal together at the Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships in May—their first since reuniting after 16 months apart and playing with other partners.
Since that win in Atlanta, it appears the Anna’s are working together even more—and that’s certainly bad news for the rest of the women’s doubles division.
“We played one tournament together and one win so far this season, so things are going well. We’re also getting to practice together a lot,” Bright said at MLP Daytona Beach.
Training Together, Getting Better Together
That Waters and Bright are training more together shouldn’t be a surprise. They’re both residing in South Florida at the moment and are, in fact, in close proximity to each other’s place of residence. As such, it has become easier for the two to practice together and work on their game as partners. And already, it looks like Bright is learning quite a lot just from playing with Waters on a regular basis.
“Honestly, a lot of it is learning by osmosis. I think one of the good things about my game is that I am good at seeing what other people can do and copying it,” Bright pointed out. “I’ve always watched her and looked to her as someone to copy, so it doesn’t feel too different. We’re just on the same side of the court now.”
Even so, Bright acknowledged that there’ still a learning curve with readjusting to Waters as her partner—although that learning curve isn’t as steep as when new partners hook up.
“It’s a balancing act. Anna Leigh is the standard for our sport and she’s this pedestal that I’ve been chasing, chasing, chasing,” Bright explained. “I’m still going to do the things I’m good at, but it’s an adjustment. It’s been a while since we played together, but there’s a high level of familiarity because we’ve had so many battles against each other.”
Awesome Aggression?
As for Waters, who split with Catherine Parenteau back in April, she says she’s looking forward to Bright’s aggression complementing hers as she looks forward to a fruitful partnership full of gold medals.
“Anna is a severe competitor on the court. Anybody who’s played against Anna knows they’re going to get her best and they’re going to get the fire. That was something I was excited for,” said Waters. “She speeds up every ball and it works, and her aggression is amazing. I’m hoping that our aggression together is awesome.”
Waters and Bright will get to test that awesomeness real soon as they’re set to compete at the PPA Tour event Select Medical Orange County Cup.
