DALLAS, TX - Anna Leigh Waters (“ALW”) is obviously the best woman pickleball player in the world. That is not news. But, why is she so dominant?

Ben Johns is the best male player in the world, but especially as we have seen lately, he is certainly beatable. Johns does not win gold in a majority of events he enters, meaning he more often than not will lose a match in an event. ALW is completely different; if she enters an event, she is a heavy favorite to win gold. 

 

In 2024, ALW has played in nine PPA events. She has won eight golds in women’s doubles, eight in mixed doubles and seven in singles (she did not play one singles event). She has lost one match in each of women’s doubles, mixed doubles and singles. In other words, she is winning gold medals in about 85% of the events she enters! For comparison, Roger Federer won about 25% of the tournaments he entered. In his very best years, Federer won a little over half the events he would enter. So we see that ALW is dominating pickleball in a fashion that the greatest tennis player ever could only dream of. That is a pretty good record!

 

 

All of this leads us to why? Why is ALW so incredibly dominant? The gap between ALW and the second best woman player is bigger than the gap between #2 and #10. She is not just the best, but she is the best by a country mile. Let’s look at why.

 

The short explanation is an easy one; it is because she is better. Better at pretty much everything. In baseball, they will talk about what pitcher has the best fastball, the best curveball, the best slider, the best control, all these different attributes. And different pitchers are named as the best at those different aspects of the game. But, if we did that for women’s pro pickleball, it would be silly, because we would just keep saying Anna Leigh’s name.  She is pretty much the best at EVERYTHING.

 

The longer answer, if we examine the different aspects of the game, shows why she is so dominant. ALW is the most consistent player, making the fewest errors, and hitting the most consistently good shots. She hits the ball the hardest. Her serve is powerful. She hits her serve consistently deeper than anyone. She hits the best angles. Her counters are the best. She is the best in a firefight. Her crosscourt forehand dink (perhaps the most important shot in women’s pro pickleball) is the best. She covers the court the best. She is the best poacher. She is the most versatile, able to play right or left side equally well. Her serve returns are the hardest and deepest in the game. Her touch volleys are the best. She hits with the best topspin in the game. Her backhand passing shots are disguised better than anyone’s. She is the best at hitting both down the line and crosscourt drives.

 

 

She is also a master of little things in the game. The lob is an undervalued and underused shot in the women’s game. Who lobs the most effectively? Anna Leigh Waters. She has a very good forehand crosscourt lob, the best lob to hit in the game.

 

An under appreciated part of her game is that she is the strongest and most athletic player in the women’s game. It does not come across on TV, but if you see her in person, you can see ALW is fairly tall and very strong (size does matter in pickleball). She is very athletic and can really cover the court well. In singles, from the serve or serve return on, she dominates the point. When you watch her up close, you would swear the court is tilted and that ALW is playing downhill and the opponent uphill. In singles, her serve generates weak and short returns, while her serve returns are so effective that the opponent is right away struggling to get to the ball and hit an effective third shot. So many singles points are just over right off the bat. The rally make go four or five shots, but the end result is dictated by the effective serve or serve return.

 

When I evaluate and scout players, I can find weaknesses in everyone’s game. There are always spots to attack and spots to stay away from. The one and only player with no true attackable weakness is ALW. The only shot of hers that is not grade A or A+ is her overhead. Her overhead is actually average. But no one has found a way to effectively and consistently attack her with lobs. This is true because most rallies are dominated early by ALW and the opponent is back on their heels. Lobs to be effective have to be fairly precise and it is hard to be precise when you are off balance and scrambling.

 

 

Lastly, and perhaps most frustratingly for her opponents, is that ALW is young. At 17 years old, she probably has not yet even hit her prime. And she should have more than 10 years left playing at the highest level. She is amazing to watch. The only downside is that she loses so little. It does take some excitement and anticipation out of the game when she is winning 85% of the events. Hopefully, there are some other teenage phenoms coming along who can give her a run for her money. But for now, ALW is not just the best; she is the best by a long, long, long way.

 

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