Could anyone have predicted that a 10-year-old from South Florida competing alongside her mom would eventually grow up to become the World No. 1, a recurring Triple Crown winner, and the undeniable GOAT in women’s pickleball? 

Well, maybe Ben Johns did.

As Anna Leigh Waters and her mom, Leigh Waters, were participating in tournaments, they eventually crossed paths with Johns, who later became her long-standing mixed doubles partner.

“I met Anna Leigh when she was maybe 10 years old,” began Johns. 

At that point, did he notice any qualities in Waters' game that indicated she could absolutely dominate the field someday?

“It’s hard to see any kind of obvious sign when they’re that young. Obviously now, she’s super mentally resilient and mentally dominant, but those characteristics are hard to see at 10 years old,” he shared. “I can’t say that I could have predicted what she was going to turn into in that sense, but in terms of pickleball attributes, she had some very natural shots that are not easily taught, which is something you always look for in good pickleball players.”

When asked to provide a specific example, this came to Johns' mind.

“There’s something that makes a player special or good, and it’s not something anybody else can easily replicate,” he said. “She had some good shots, the way she moved, and how she hit the ball. You saw it and thought, ‘That’s different.’ But when things are different, they often turn into something very good, right?” 

Anna Leigh and Leigh changed the rhythm of the game. At the pro level, what was once a soft game of dinking at the net was challenged when the mother-daughter tandem started using power to their advantage and playing a more aggressive style.  

They received a lot of pushback from their fellow players for this particular strategy, but Johns was one of the few people to encourage them to keep playing like that.  

“Pickleball is what I like to call an 'unsolved sport' - becuase it’s so new, and even more new when she and Leigh came on the scene, but the sport is so new. So having an accepted way to do things is not really the proper approach to a new sport like this. I think you can always learn from people,” said Johns. 

“And they were playing well. Their game was working and it was working against very good players. I didn’t see it as a novelty because people hadn’t seen it before. I think it was working because they’ve gotten very good at something that their opponents were not seeing. So to me, I thought that if you’re doing something at this age and it’s working this well, I don’t see why you should stop. Don’t turn off what makes you special,” he added.

Needless to say, Johns’ encouragement and Waters' off-the-charts pickleball IQ have helped her become the unstoppable force she is today.

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