Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters playing pickleball doubles.
Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters competing at the Zimmer Biomet Cape Coral Open in Cape Coral, FL. PPA Tour

Waters, Bright sweep Kawamoto sisters for women’s doubles crown as Bright hits 30x30x30 milestone

Anna Leigh Waters/Anna Bright closed out Carvana Championship Sunday in South Florida with an 11-9, 11-5, 11-2 victory over No. 4 seeds Jackie Kawamoto/Jade Kawamoto.

Sunday’s clash followed a nearly identical sequence to the teams’ most recent meeting in the final of the PPA Masters in January: a tight first game followed by Waters/Bright slowly widening the gap as the match went on.

That’s what happened on Sunday, as the top seeds took a nearly 30-minute opening game before comfortably winning the next two to earn their 17th title as a partnership.

 

Waters talked about what it took to find her best level in windy conditions against challenging opponents.

“I felt like today was just about who could mentally lock in,” she explained. “Sometimes the wind’s going to blow a ball, and you might do something stupid, but it’s about who in the long run can handle it. I felt like Anna and I did a great job today, especially against the Kawamotos. They’re so tough. They get everything back, and in the wind that can be pretty frustrating, so we were just trying to keep our heads together.”

With a silver in mixed doubles (falling to Waters) and a gold in women’s doubles on Sunday, Bright joins Catherine Parenteau as one of only two players to earn 30+ gold, 30+ silver, and 30+ bronze medals on the PPA Tour.

“I don’t know if Anna Leigh’s ever gonna join this club. I might have to lock in in mixed doubles if she’s ever gonna join me here,” she joked.

In the bronze medal match, No. 3 seeds Tyra Black/Jorja Johnson defeated No. 2 seeds Catherine Parenteau/Rachel Rohrabacher by an 11-4, 11-3 score line.