If you’ve watched Anna Leigh Waters’ recent matches, you might have seen a new face courtside — Archer, her Bernedoodle puppy.

The World No. 1 recently opened up about how she adopted him.

“I really wanted a dog, and I was trying to convince my parents to help me get one. Even though I’d be paying for him, I knew it wasn’t only going to be me taking care of him, especially when we’re at tournaments, so I really needed their support,” she explained.

“It would be immature of me to just buy a dog and have no idea how to take care of it, so for a few months I was doing the research and planning everything out. But right before the tournament in Dallas, I was going through a rough time and I wasn’t feeling my best. It was my mom who felt that I needed to get a dog sooner than we thought.”

After some searching, Waters found the pup she had been hoping for.

“I’d been researching Bernedoodles for a while and my mom found one on Good Dog. His name was Twix and he was a few months old,” said Waters. “The problem was that he was in Utah, but we actually knew someone who could bring him to us in Dallas during the tournament.”

Archie officially joined the family at the 2025 Jenius Bank Pickleball World Championships. 

“A day after I adopted him, Worlds was starting and I was waking up all during the tournament at 2 a.m. to take care of my dog,” shared Waters. “But it was such a stress relief having him there. He’s been such an awesome addition to the team.”

Interestingly, Waters didn’t have a name for him right away. In fact, she asked for suggestions during Worlds. While “Ernie” was a popular choice, Dekel Bar’s suggestion of “Dekel Bark” was easily the funniest.

“It took me a while to decide on the name. I actually hadn’t named him for a few days, and everyone was laughing and telling me I couldn’t have a dog and not have a name for him,” noted Waters. “Before we got him, I wanted to name him Ace, but when I met him, I thought he didn't seem like an Ace to me. I thought of Archer because it looks like he has an arrow on his head.”

Still just a puppy, Waters isn’t sure how large Archer will grow.

Having always had a soft spot for big dogs, though, she’s excited to see just how big he’ll get. 

“He’s supposed to grow to be about 40 to 50 pounds, but with doodles you never really know,” she mentioned.

In addition to Worlds, Archer Waters also attended the Veolia Lakeland Open.

“He sleeps through my matches, and when he gets back on the bus sometimes he’ll get the zoomies,” she explained. “But he’s great with people, and bringing him to the tournaments has been so awesome.”

Archer has quickly won over fans just like Waters has.

At the Lakeland event, one spectator even sported a shirt featuring the puppy.

“I couldn’t ask for a better dog,” concluded Waters. “We really lucked out with him.”

To keep up to date on your favorite pickleball pros (and their beloved pets), follow us on Instagram or X (formerly Twitter).