TIME this week named Anna Leigh Waters to the magazine’s inaugural 2026 TIME100 Sports list, recognizing 100 of the most influential figures shaping the global sports landscape.

It’s the latest instance of Waters, the No. 1 women’s player in the world, breaking through to mainstream media and the larger sports world.

Last summer she threw out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game, did several live interviews with major media outlets (like this one on ESPN’s Sportscenter) and also has been our most popular guest on Pickleballers. 

Then earlier this year she made headlines as the first pickleball athlete to sign an equipment deal with Nike and later appeared on ESPN’s Pat McAfee show live from Super Bowl Radio Row.

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The TIME100 Sports list will appear in the June 22 issue of TIME and be available on newsstands on Friday, July 12.

Anna Leigh Waters appears on the TIME100 Sports list.

The list is broken into four categories — Icons, Titans, Innovators and Leaders — and includes stars such as LeBron James, Lionel Messi and Caitlin Clark as well as media personalities like McAfee and Bill Simmons (a noted pickleball hater).

Waters appears in the Innovators section alongside Michele Kang, a billionaire entrepreneur who has invested heavily in women’s sports, and Khalida Popal a former women’s soccer player in Afghanistan who has gone on to advocate for Afghan refugees.

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