17-year-old girl becomes world's highest-paid pro pickleball player

By Hoang Nguyen   October 9, 2024 | 03:01 pm PT
World number one Anna Leigh Waters is set to pocket US$3 million this year and become the highest-paid player in professional pickleball.
Anna Leigh Waters lifts the trophy at a pickleball tournament. Photo by Instagram/@a.l.waters_a1

Anna Leigh Waters lifts the trophy at a pickleball tournament. Photo by Instagram/@a.l.waters_a1

In addition to her prize money from competitions, Waters has secured endorsement deals with major brands such as Fila, Paddletek, Carvana, Lock Laces, Shiseido and Cetaphil. Her earnings are estimated to surpass Ben Johns', the current number one in men's professional pickleball. Johns is said to earn $2.5 million from prize money and endorsement contracts, according to pickleball site The Kitchen Pickle.

Born in 2007 in Delray Beach, Florida, Waters was introduced to pickleball by her grandfather after her family relocated to Pennsylvania in 2017, fleeing hurricane Irma. At just 11 years old, she competed alongside her mother in a doubles tournament in Dallas.

"So my mom asked me to fill in and we played and got silver in the pro tournament, and my mom was like, "Ok, I guess you’re ready to play pro with me," Waters told The Kitchen Pickle. "So that's kind of how my pro journey started."

In 2019, she became the youngest professional pickleball player in history at the age of 12.

According to her agent Kelly Wolf, this is only the beginning.

"She’s the face of pickleball," Wolf told Forbes. "Nobody else out there has all these deals that she has right now."

Waters is currently ranked number one in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles by the Professional Pickleball Association.

 
 
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