World No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters and her mom and coach, Leigh Waters, recently appeared on the Pickleballers podcast to cover a variety of topics and share some insight on professional pickleball life.

One of the subjects that came up was the incredible effort, discipline, and self-confidence required to achieve such a coveted ranking position at a young age.

Anna Leigh’s mental game played a key role in making that happen. 

“I always knew I’d be number one. I always thought, even when Simone [Jardim] was better than me and was beating me, I always thought I was better. It sounds cocky to say, but you have to have that belief and thought," she explained. “Even when I was younger, playing tennis and soccer, I always thought I’ll be number one in the world at one of these sports. But I always worked super hard, too. It wasn’t like I thought that and just stepped on the court and played.” 

Podcast host and pickleball pro, Roscoe Bellamy, asked Waters about what keeps her motivated even after so many remarkable accomplishments.

“It’s my hyper-competitive nature. No matter what I do, bowling, mini-golf, I won’t play certain games because I know I suck at them. Even though I’m winning a lot, I’m still losing matches, and every time I lose a match, it pushes me to want to do better. Even at a recent tournament, I was really close to winning a Triple Crown without losing a game, and I was so upset after I lost a game against Kate Fahey. I’m like ‘Oh, I really wish I won that in two.’ I’m just so nitpicky and I’m a perfectionist. I’m a little crazy to be honest,” she explained.

“You should hear our timeout talks,” mentioned Leigh. “She’ll be playing singles and she won the first game, she’s up 9-2 in the second game, and she misses a forehand and she comes over telling me she missed the forehand. And I’m like, ‘This is self-imposed anxiety. You’re playing insane, you missed one ball.’ But she’s such a perfectionist.”

“Sometimes, it is a bit much. My mom calls it ‘crazy talk’ when I get off into a different planet and it’s too much. I’m self-aware and I’m trying to be better at it,” admitted Anna Leigh. “It’s good and bad. It’s why when I’m down in a match, I’m screaming to myself because that’s just who I am.” 

There's no denying the fierce competitiveness that keeps her hungry to win and maintain her standing as the best in the business.

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