Pickleball Junkies: Anna Leigh Waters Documentary

 

158 views Jun 6, 2023
Creating a fast and entertaining game with fierceness and aggressiveness, winning millions of hearts at the age of just 12 years, and earning the title of “Golden Child of Pickleball” is incredible. Let’s have a look at the journey to understand the BTS of her career. Ana tends to move quickly and force her way through points rather than slowly dinking and waiting for her opponents to make a mistake; this aggressive style has helped her gain a fervent following. When it comes to Mixed Doubles, Anna Leigh Waters often teams up with Ben Johns, JW Johnson, Kyle Yates, or Tyson McGuffin for the latter. She is also a formidable contender in Singles and mixed doubles. She began playing much earlier, and ever since then, she has dominated professional tournaments.

0:24 Creating a fast and entertaining game with fierceness and aggressiveness winning millions of hearts at the age of just 12 years old and earning the title of Golden Child of pickleball is incredible
0:36 Let's have a look at the journey to understand the BTS (behind the scenes) of her career
0:40 Anna tends to move quickly and force her way through points rather than slowly dinking and waiting for her opponents to make a mistake
0:49 This aggressive style helps her gain a fervent falling when it comes to mixed doubles
0:53 Anna Leigh Waters often teams up with Ben John's, JW Johnson, Kyle Yates or Tyson McGuffin for the latter
1:02 She is also a formidable contender in singles and mixed doubles
1:07 She began playing much earlier and even since then she has dominated professional tournaments
1:11 Anna seems to effortlessly juggle her professional pickleball career, regular teenage years and competitive travel soccer.
1:21 On the court, she's quick to smile and laugh

1:23 But her enthusiasm and fervor make it clear that she wants it to happen
1:27 Anna Leigh is very strategic and communicates well in between points
1:32  Anna Leigh is a nice and happy girl who radiates kindness
1:34 Her quick wit makes everyone around her smile
1:39 She enjoys soccer, shopping, cooking and fashion alongside pickleball

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picture this it's 2017 and hurricane
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Irma has pounded Florida Anna and her
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family had to evacuate their home in
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fleetal Pennsylvania and take shelter
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with her grandparents but little did she
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know that this natural disaster would
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send her to a path to Greatness while
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staying with her grandparents Anna's
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grandfather introduced her to the sport
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of pickleball a fun and exciting game
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that quickly became her new obsession
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for two weeks straight they played two
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to three times a day and when they
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return to Florida Anna joined the local
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pickleball Club started taking the sport
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seriously
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fast forward to a year later Anna at
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just 11 years old took part in a
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tournament in Dallas her doubles partner
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had to pull out but she didn't let that
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stop her instead Anna stepped up proved
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herself finished in an oppressive second
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place but Anna is not just a one sport
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wonder she was also a budding soccer
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star with college coaches already
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knocking on her door and the most
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interesting fact is her coach is none
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other than her mom Lee a former NCAA
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Division One tennis player at the
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University of South Carolina together
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they make an Unstoppable team both on
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and off the court for Anna Lee playing
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with her mom isn't just a way to enjoy
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family time it's like having the best
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partner you can get they're the only
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mother and daughter team in professional
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pickleball Ben John's a Maryland native
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and the ppa's all-time winningest player
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at age 23 teams up with Waters in mixed
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doubles additionally she is playing
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doubles with Lee 43 pairing the youngest
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professional on the tour with the oldest
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she has also played pickleball games
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with swimmer Michael Phelps actor Jamie
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Foxx boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and golfer
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Scotty Schaefer Jordan Spieth she also
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played against football legends Larry
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Fitzgerald and Danny wurfel and you
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won't believe this these two have
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actually gone head to head before Lee
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was so stoked about playing pickleball
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with her daughter that she even quit her
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job as an attorney and guess what when
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they finally faced off Anna took the win
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you might expect Lee to feel pretty
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salty about losing to her daughter
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she would be wrong in fact Lee is all
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about pushing Anna to the best she can
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be she's rooting for a daughter to take
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home Championships score some sweet
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sponsorships it's clear that the family
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has taken some cues from the world of
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tennis as Anna Lee travels to Big Time
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events with their very own professional
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trainer and who do you think serves as
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her doubles partner coach and business
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manager that's right none other than her
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amazing mom this dynamic duo is
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Unstoppable and they're taking the
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pickleball World by storm
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[Music]
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Anna Lee's rise in this sport has been
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nothing short of meteoric just five
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short years ago she was a tennis whiz
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but had never even picked up a
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pickleball paddle in 2020 when the
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pandemic hit the waters family was
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forced to take a break from pickleball
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but when they returned to the court in
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2021 they found that the game had
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changed and the top players had adapted
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their strategy and that's what Anna made
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a life-changing decision she put her
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legal career on hold and dedicated
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herself to pickleball managing and
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playing alongside her daughter and man
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did the decision pay off Anna quickly
5:06 made a name for herself stunning The
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World by defeating the U.S open Triple
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Crown winner Simone jardim and Carrie
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Carr to win doubles gold at the 2019
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Florida Grand Slam with her mom by her
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side despite facing criticism and
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naysayers Anna and her mom stuck to
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their guns and refused to play the game
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like everyone else and now they're the
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ones coming out on top with Anna racking
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up a long list of impressive
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accomplishments so if you're not already
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on the an elite hype train it's time to
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hop aboard because this girl's going
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places with potential sponsors calling
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prize money increasing and TV networks
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showing interest in the sport the future
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is looking bright for pickleball's
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Rising Star oh and do we mention she's a
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bronze medalist in singles at the 2021
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U.S open and the silver and bronze
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medalists and women's doubles and mixed
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doubles respectively at the 2021 akritek
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Atlanta open and let's not forget she's
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the youngest professional pickleball
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champion in history taking titles at
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just the age of 12. she Advanced swiftly
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winning six gold medals and 10 Triple
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Crowns at the USA pickleball Nationals
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since then yeah she's kind of a big deal
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Waters has improved on our on-court
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presence and her ability to tune up
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without the aid of her coaches and she
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practices complimenting herself more
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frequently additionally she tells
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herself pressure is a privilege she
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cares as evidenced by the scorching and
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heart pounding feeling and by the fact
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that she has already made a positive
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contribution in the past according to
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Waters it may be difficult to extend
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yourself Grace because the brain
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produces a large number of daily
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frequently unpleasant and unhelpful
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thoughts however actually changing tasks
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has contributed to water success
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Christian Alshon a professional
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pickleball player who often plays with
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Waters says watching Annalee compete
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she's feisty she's an animal she's
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absolutely a beast on the court Waters
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was six and zero in the PPA finals
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against parento in 2022 parento and
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Waters won the Hertz championship in
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December in Orlando
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beating Leah Jansen and Jackie kawamoto
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in the final 2-11 11-6 11-3 and 11-6 Ben
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Johnson Waters won 12 events together
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last year their only head-to-head final
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against their opponents last year was in
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DC in October Waters John's winning 11-5
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11-7 and a two of three format for CBS
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coverage she also won golden singles at
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the Newport Beach showcase Orlando cup
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at Texas open as well as the
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Margaritaville USA pickleball national
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championship
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in October 2021 parento defeated Waters
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to win the PPA championship in their
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career meetings parento is merely 3-12
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all-time against Waters but more
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significantly water's Arc has been
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rising Waters had won two triple titles
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in 2023 and had not lost a single match
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in a singles this season up to that
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point Waters winning run in singles
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matches dated back to the Orange County
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Cup in June 2022 when Paris Todd
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defeated her playing singles on a tour
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for more than eight months without
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incurring a defeat Lee Waters announced
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that due to a torn ACL injury that
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occurred during the U.S Nationals she
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will not be playing on the PPA tour in
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2023 hence Anna lost her greatest
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support her partner and the world this
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year and now her game and reputation all
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depend on her choice of partner which
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has the potential to define the female
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pickleball landscape in 2023
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Waters played competitive soccer in
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addition to pickleball but she has given
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up the sport to concentrate on
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pickleball Lee water's mother is not
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only her doubles partner but also her
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manager and Coach Lee has said that
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Waters will probably postpone attending
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college in order to continue her
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professional pickleball career Waters is
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homeschooled by her grandma the
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sportswear company Fila Al or baby
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Waters sponsors Waters in The PPA Waters
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also has a paddle Tech branded racket
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Waters re-signed with the paddle Tech on
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February 10 2023 water's unique talent
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dedication and hard work have made her
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one of the top ranked players in the
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sport and her Legacy is already cemented
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as a golden child of pickleball her
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playing style and technique are a sight
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to see and behold her approach to
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training and preparation is a testament
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to her commitment to the sport
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let's keep an eye out on Anna Lee Waters
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and see what epic achievements she'll
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unlock in the future
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whether you're a die-hard pickleball
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fanatic or not her journey is totally
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inspiring and reminds us to all go after
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our dreams with grit and hustle