As Anna Leigh Waters was leading the New Jersey 5s to the Super Sunday Belt at MLP Austin presented by Waterdrop over the weekend, one of her longest-standing records in pickleball was being broken. 

Over 1600 miles away in Boise, Idaho, 14-year-old Kelly Goodnow became the youngest gold medalist in PPA Tour history at the Boise PPA Challenger, taking ownership of a record that had belonged to Waters since 2021. 

Waters set that record at the 2021 Takeya Showcase, where she won the women’s singles title at 14 years and six months old. 

Goodnow beat that with a few months to spare, securing her first title at 14 years and three months old. 

After taking down top seeds Jalina Ingram/Lindsey Newman in a three-game semifinal, Goodnow and her partner Carlota Trevino defeated Chloe Igleski/Marianna Petrei 11-5, 11-7 to claim the women’s doubles crown. 

Even though this is Goodnow’s first title, it didn’t come out of nowhere; she also took silver at the Black Desert PPA Challenger back in May alongside 13-year-old Elsie Hendershot. 

“It’s just so awesome to finally be able to get a gold,” Goodnow said after her triumph in Boise. 

The future is certainly bright for this talented teenager.