It’s the sport that’s taking the country by storm, and now it has a real star to go along with its newfound popularity.
At just 16, Anna Leigh Waters cemented her place as the best pickleball player in the world, amassing a string of endorsement deals and a six-figure salary in the process.
The formidable athlete is ranked number one in the world in singles, mixed doubles and women’s doubles for the sport – which is a fast-paced combination of table tennis, badminton and tennis.
Pickleball is played on a smaller court than tennis, with players serving and returning a holey ball, using slightly larger and heavier bats than table tennis.
Waters turned pro at just 12, becoming the sport’s youngest professional player. But her path to sporting stardom was far from typical – and despite her growing wealth, she insists she’s not yet spending her fortune.
The teenager is ranked world number one in singles, mixed doubles and women’s doubles for the popular sport
Anna Leigh has won countless trophies, many with her mother Leigh. The pair first tried pickleball together and were instantly hooked
Waters first picked up a pickleball racquet in 2017 when she was just 10 years old.
Waters and her mother Leigh were staying with her grandfather in Pennsylvania, after having to flee Florida before Hurricane Irma landed.
Her grandfather Neil Eichelberger was a huge fan of the game and convinced his daughter and granddaughter to give it a shot. They were hooked – and have been playing together ever since.
Leigh was a college tennis player at the University of South Carolina, and the duo won countless tournaments together, including winning national championship gold in 2019.
They are the only mother-daughter team in the professional game and have even pioneered their own signature style that relies on power and reflex volleys.
Not only does Leigh coach her daughter, but her mother Ann Eichelberger has been homeschooling Waters since third grade.
The 16-year-old sports superstar was cemented in December 2022, when she was the first pick for the 2023 Major League Pickleball Draft – ahead of all male players – joining New Jersey’s 5.
The teenager, who has various endorsement deals with big-name brands, says she tries not to spend her money
Waters first picked up a pickleball paddle in 2017 when she was just 10 years old and turned pro at 12.
The formidable athlete first tried pickleball because her grandfather was a fan of the sport
Mad Drops Pickleball Club co-owner and Major League Pickleball board member Zubin Mehta said Fortune: ‘Anna Leigh was definitely the number one choice.
“In the draft, people pick men and women, and to have a number one pick who was a female player and to have more female picks in the top 10 than male, that was really remarkable.”
Waters struck sponsorship deals with paddle maker Paddletek and used car company Carvana – who gave the athlete a white range rover for his sixteenth birthday.
The teenager also signed a contract with sportswear giant Fila in March 2022 and told Fortune she was working on designing a shoe with the brand.
She has a reported net worth of $1.4million – and growing interest in the sport means it’s likely that figure will only soar in the years to come.
But despite her immense success, the athlete says she has no plans to spend the money just yet.
“Sometimes I see the checks coming in and I’m just like ‘save it up, I’ll save it up and put it in the bank,'” she told Fortune. “I try not to spend my money.”
Anna Leigh plays with her mother Leigh (middle) and is homeschooled by her grandmother Ann
Pickleball is growing in popularity and looks set to continue gaining fans across the country.
More than 36.5 million Americans started the sport in 2022, up from just 5 million the year before.
According CNBCsome 8.5 million people played the game eight or more times last year.
Professional athletes like LeBron James, Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, and Patrick Mahomes brought sports to the limelight by investing in professional teams.
The sport has also attracted a significant number of celebrities, including reality royalty the Kardashians, Leonardo Dicaprio, Stephen Colbert and Bill Gates – an early fan of the sport.
The racquet sport continues to grow and gain popularity across the United States
Anna Leigh was the number one pick for the 2023 Major League Pickleball Draft – ahead of all male players
The sport was invented in 1965 by three dads vacationing on Bainbridge Island in Washington State trying to entertain their children. Bill Gates, who owns a mansion on Lake Washington in Medina, heard about the sport when it first started.
The Microsoft-founded billionaire posted a video on Instagram of himself explaining the rules captioned, “Fifty years ago I started playing this little-known sport with a funny name.” Now it’s in fashion.
For years, the sport barely made a dent and was played largely in retirement communities and by the elderly. But all that has changed as investors pile up funds for court development across the country.
In Florida, a group of developers has invested $180 million in a 15-court facility, which is expected to have 600 members from the start.
The growing popularity of pickleball has also attracted a large handful of top sponsors, including Anheuser-Busch and Skechers.
