The No. 2 Seed Duo Upsets Waters and Parenteau with Tactical Brilliance
The 2024 PPA Atlanta Slam will be remembered for a seismic shift in women’s doubles pickleball. Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher, affectionately known as "The Girlies," toppled the dominant duo of Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau, the undisputed No. 1 seed in the sport. In a four-game thriller, Bright and Rohrabacher claimed their first major victory over the reigning queens of the court. In this episode of Raise the Bar, co-hosts Dekel Bar and Ryan Dawidjan dive into the story of that memorable weekend, speaking with Rachel Rohrabacher about the victory, the mindset going in, and the strategic brilliance that led to the upset.
Ryan Dawidjan: Rachel, first off—are you high on life right now?
Rachel Rohrabacher: (laughs) Oh, absolutely. Feeling very grateful. I’d like to think we’d still have taken the private jet even if we’d lost, but we’re going to pretend we won just for that! No, seriously, it was an incredible week. Anna and I went into this tournament just wanting to have fun. We felt like we’d been putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to do well. After all, we’ve only been playing together since January, and I’ve really only been playing seriously for about a year, so we needed to remind ourselves that the journey should still be fun.
Ryan: Only playing for a year, yet here you are, dethroning the queens! That’s impressive. What was the mindset going into the PPA Atlanta Slam? Did you and Anna have a particular strategy to keep things light and fun?
Rachel: It’s funny—everyone says “just have fun,” but for us, it was more about vocalizing why we needed that mentality. We’ve put a lot of pressure on ourselves since getting that No. 2 seed, and every opponent seems to play their best against us because they don’t feel that pressure. So, we had real conversations about it instead of just saying it in passing. We kept reminding each other to stay loose, smiling after mistakes, and hyping each other up during every match. It was about keeping that delicate balance between intensity and fun.
Ryan: You mentioned you two were having real conversations about managing pressure. Was that pressure self-applied, especially after your March victory over them in Austin? Or was it more about external expectations?
Rachel: It’s more self-applied, to be honest. There’s this expectation because Anna Leigh and Catherine have set the bar so high. They’re the team to beat, right? They’ve dominated for so long, so when you’re chasing that top spot, it feels like the pressure is more about proving we can consistently be right behind them or even surpass them. For me, it’s partly because I’m a perfectionist—so that pressure comes from within as much as from the competition.
Ryan: Let’s talk about yesterday’s match. You took them down in four games—11-3, 11-9, lost 9-11, and then closed it out 11-5. What went differently this time compared to your victory in March?
Rachel: I think the key difference was our start. Winning the first game 11-3 was huge because it made them tighten up, which isn’t something they experience often. Once we got that lead, we felt looser, while they probably felt a bit of unfamiliar pressure. We also put more focus on Catherine in this match, which might have thrown Anna Leigh off a bit. She started playing a little more impatiently, which was rare to see from her.
Ryan: Yeah, it felt like you and Anna controlled the tempo of the match. Usually, Anna Leigh dictates play, but this time it felt like you had them reacting to you.
Rachel: Exactly. We were the ones setting the pace, which is rare against them. When Anna Leigh is in the lead, she’s a front-runner, and she gets even more dangerous. So, flipping the script was a big part of our success. The first game really set the tone.
Dekel Bar: I want to jump in here because I was on the bench, and I remember texting Ryan about how exciting it was to watch. What stood out to me was your composure, especially after losing that third game. There was no panic—you stuck with your game plan.
Rachel: Yeah, Dekel, we were confident in our strategy. Even after losing that third game, we didn’t feel the need to change much. We knew we were playing well, so it was just about execution at that point. Staying calm and trusting our kitchen game was key.
Ryan: I have to ask, though—was there a deliberate focus on the third-shot drop? It seemed like you both relied heavily on that to get into position and grind them down.
Rachel: Definitely. We focused on controlling the point from the kitchen. In Atlanta, we felt comfortable with the conditions, and that helped us stick to our game plan of getting up to the net and resetting points when needed.
Ryan: I’ve seen so many upsets this year from teams playing aggressive, chaotic pickleball. But your win felt different—it was more about strategy and high-level execution.
Rachel: Yeah, I think that’s what made this win feel so rewarding. We didn’t rely on luck or chaos; it was just solid pickleball. We outplayed them strategically, and that’s something Anna and I are really proud of.
Ryan: Well, congratulations again on such a huge win. It was a masterclass, honestly. What’s next for The Girlies?
Rachel: (laughs) We’re going to keep enjoying the ride, but hopefully, this is just the beginning. We’re ready to keep pushing the limits.
The PPA women’s doubles landscape may have just shifted, and if Rachel Rohrabacher and Anna Bright continue to build on their success, the reign of Waters and Parenteau may face further challenges. One thing is clear: The Girlies are here to stay.
0:00 Intro 2:13 Anna and Rachel's Mindset for PPA Atlanta 6:14 How Did They Beat ALW & CP? 18:31 Rachel's Pickleball Journey & Training 28:41 Tennis to Pickleball Transition 33:12 True or False? 34:35 Dekel and Ryan Talk and Q&A 44:23 Ryan's Rec Games Back Home 48:05 Dekel's View on Rec Games 57:31 NYC Preview
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