The sport of pickleball continues to surge in popularity in North America, and one big reason why has to be the eye-catching exploits of one teenage pheenom whose impact has been nothing short of remarkable.

New York

Anna Leigh Waters, who began playing pickleball at age 10, has become a prominent ambassador for the sport. She recounts discovering pickleball during a family evacuation and quickly falling in love with the game. Now competing at major events, including a landmark competition in Central Park, Waters highlights the sport's accessibility and its appeal to all ages and skill levels.

Waters, who turned professional at 12 and has won 154 gold medals, attributes her success to her enjoyment of the game rather than pressure to perform. She has played alongside tennis legend Andre Agassi and advocates for harmony between tennis and pickleball, encouraging skeptics to try the sport before forming opinions. Waters emphasizes that both sports can coexist and promote the broader appeal of racket sports.

Young phenom Anna Leigh Waters continues to grow pickleball

I kind of found pickleball by accident. I was 10 years old in 2017. Hurricane Irma came to Florida, where I live. And we evacuated to my grandparents who live in Pennsylvania. And my grandfather played pickleball. And I like to say when I first heard pickleball, I thought you hit like a pickle over the net. Like I had no idea what the sport was. I was a tennis player. And the first time we hit the ball, we were in love with the sport. And rest is history. We just loved it from the start. You're competing in the biggest competition in professional team pickleball in the heart of New York City right now. Tell us about the magnitude of the event and what it says about the sport as a whole. Yeah, I mean, just being able to play an event in Central Park is pretty amazing. We're the first, I think, sporting event to be played there. So just the energy, all the people who came to watch. And then you've got the people who are just at the park. They can kind of see from certain angles. So the vibe in Central Park is just amazing. And I'm just super excited to be part of it. This year, marking the 60th anniversary of pickleball. Why do you think the sport has grown so quickly over here in North America? I just feel like it's because all the recreational players love it so much and they just want to get as many people as possible to come play. They know that any age, gender, it doesn't matter. Like a 10 year old could play with an 80 year old. You don't have to be the best athlete to go out and have fun and play pickleball. I like to say it's easy to learn, but hard to master. So the average person can come play and have fun. But if you want to be super competitive and really try to get good and play at a professional level, you can also do that. And it's very challenging. So there's just so many different things you can do with the sport. Very cool. Well, there's hope for me then, by the sounds of it. You are a phenom, a history maker who turned pro at just 12 years of age. You've won 154 gold medals thus far. You're unbeaten in singles play in over a year. How do you reflect on all you've accomplished? Honestly, I just love playing every match and I feel like the fact that it doesn't really feel like a job and I'm kind of just playing for the love of the game and I have been for such a long time has just made it such an amazing ride. So I love I'm super competitive on the court. I love achieving all these goals, but I just feel like because I'm having fun doing it, I'm having a lot of success. You've been competing as well with tennis legend Andre Agassi at the US Open Pickleball Championships. How cool, how amazing was that whole experience? It was amazing. I mean, obviously, Andre is an absolute legend. And to kind of see the way his competitiveness and his discipline, like his intensity is crazy on and off the court. So I really enjoyed getting to know him. What about those who knock the sport, though, the detractors? Do you have a message to the to the tennis snobs out there? Yeah, I like to say just go out and try the sport for yourself. I used to be a hater before I tried. But once you try, it turns your whole perspective. So I would say definitely try it before you hate on it, because once you try it, you won't be able to hate on it. What? You used to be a hater? I don't believe that. Really? Yeah, because I was a tennis player, like you said, and if you haven't tried it, you can. I don't know. There's a perspective that it's not a sport, but it's definitely a real sport. Do you feel that tennis and pickleball should be able to coexist, perhaps even help each other in terms of keeping racket sports right there front and center in people's minds? What do you say? For sure, I think that's one reason Andre and I started playing together, played that one event together, because we just wanted to show that we could coexist and help each other. And there doesn't have to be this one sport that's better than all the other ones. So I'm definitely a proponent of that. And I know Andre is, too. So we've been working hard to try to mix the tennis versus pickleball story that everybody is trying to build and just say, hey, guys, we can live together. You can have fun playing both sports. It's not that big of a deal.

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