Leigh Waters and Anna Leigh Waters have a special mother-daughter relationship.

Leigh navigates the role as mom and coach for the young superstar, and has been by her daughter’s side through every high and low on and off the pickleball court. 

As an only child who was constantly traveling for tournaments, Waters could always count on the support of her parents, who did everything they could to help her achieve her pickleball dream.

Fans often forget, however, that Leigh used to be a part of the top-seeded tandem in women's doubles as well.

“People who look at the sport see my mom as a really good pickleball coach, but they don’t really remember us playing together. We were the No. 1 team, and we were on to it when she got injured and tore her ACL before pickleball got so popular,” said Anna Leigh, during an interview on the In Search of Excellence podcast. “But people don’t remember that. They just see her as my coach, my manager, and my mom.”

In fact, Leigh was a better pickleball player than Anna Leigh.

When they found themselves on opposite sides of the court in mixed doubles at a tournament, Leigh was on the winning side.

As Anna Leigh continued to grow, mature, and strengthen her game, however, there came the day when she finally beat her mom.   

“It went from her annihilating me in mixed doubles at tournaments to then all of a sudden I beat her in a tournament. It was a very interesting night,” said Anna Leigh with a laugh. “She told my dad and I to go to dinner by ourselves.”  

It's cool to see that Leigh still has that signature Waters competitive drive, no matter her opponent. 

“When I beat her for the first time, she said, ‘It’s not time yet. You’re 12 years old. You shouldn’t be beating me yet.’ I think it took her about 24 hours to get over it and then she was fine,” noted Anna Leigh. “But that first 24 hours, it was interesting. I don’t think anybody knew how to go about the day. It was just weird.”

Unfortunately, Leigh’s ACL injury was the deciding factor in her transitioning from a player to a coach. While she has competed a few times, often alongside Anna Leigh, she’s primarily her coach.

Leigh recapped the process on the Talk Pickle to Me podcast as well.

“Anna Leigh was getting better and better, and at that point I’m only getting worse because I’m getting older, my hands are getting slower, and my body’s getting slower,” she explained. “I didn’t want to be the person that held her back just because she wanted to play with her mom or felt like she had to. I never wanted to be in the position where I was bringing her down. When I got injured, I wasn’t at the point yet where I felt like I was holding her back, but I knew that time was coming. But I loved coaching and it gave me a new avenue to discover, and gave me new challenges. It ended up being a saving grace.”

And it’s clear that Leigh and Anna Leigh just have fun together on tour.

They often share humorous videos on social media, giving us a glimpse into the friendship side of their relationship. 

Now, Leigh is regarded as one of the top coaches (with impeccable fashion) in pro pickleball to Anna Leigh and Christian Alshon.

Both have expressed their respect and admiration for her.

“She does everything for me, so I couldn’t do what I do without her,” concluded Anna Leigh. “She takes all the pressure of everything but pickleball off of me, so I can just really focus on playing, which is awesome. She’s my best friend, so I’m so blessed.”