Anna Leigh Waters’ accolades on the court are only becoming more impressive. But not enough people are talking about her growing celebrity status and brand deals that rival some of the biggest influencers out there.

In this age of social media where brand deals are king, I truly cannot believe what Waters has been doing recently. She’s charting new Waters (pun intended) in the pro pickleball space.

Most pro pickleball athletes are lucky to have a paddle sponsor. Or they’re lucky to snag an electrolyte brand deal, apparel sponsorship, or even get some free court shoes in the mail. The biggest names have one sponsor, like JOOLA or Franklin. 

But Waters? This diva is doing deals with everybody.

Waters is currently a brand ambassador for L’Oreal Paris, promoting their Elvive Glycolic + Gloss. Previously, her content with L’Oreal has been pretty run of the mill. A casual “get un-ready with me” after a busy tournament day, or showing a before and after of hair with the product.

But yesterday, she dropped a full-blown commercial on Instagram that is so good, it feels like it’s straight from an early 2000s haircare ad. Hair toss and all.

The comments are calling Waters a pickleball Barbie and I can see why. Between her bouncy blonde hair and rosy cheeks, she looks like she should be Matel’s reference model for a pickleball Barbie doll.    

And of course, her hair looks amazing. It’s such a special treat to see any of the pros all dolled up since we usually see them with minimal makeup, hair tied back, and athletic clothes.

But seeing how good Waters’ hair looks in this ad, it has me convinced I need to try the hair gloss. Who would’ve thought Waters would be adding hair model to her resume next to her 200^th title win?  

This year, Waters has really leveled up her brand deals and partnership game. At this stage in the game, pro athletes can’t solely rely on one brand deal, they need several. Waters has taken this to the next level by partnering with countless brands, from pet pharmaceuticals for Archer, to Delta Airlines, Waters is putting in the work to build her brand.

This L’Oreal ad is her best one yet because it’s just so professional. This is not a casual photo dump promoting an immunity gummy with the hashtag #ad in front of the caption. The commercial feels like they had a whole camera crew, videographer, and sound mixer to create a high-quality product that they can upload on YouTube right now and start selling the gloss.

Waters has already been on a few billboards in Times Square for pickleball, but I truly believe that one day we’ll see her up there as a model for haircare, skincare, or something unrelated to pickleball. The sky is truly the limit for this woman, and she’s only 19 years old.  

Is there anything this woman can’t do?

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