Opinion: Gap between Anna Leigh Waters and the field could be closing faster than expected
Last Edited
Apr 06 2025
Category
News
I want to preface what I'm about to say with an acknowledgement that Anna Leigh Waters is for sure the best women's pickleball player on the planet, and by a fairly wide margin.
BUT that margin is not nearly what it was in 2024 ... or 2023 ... or 2022.
That much was apparent on Sunday at the PPA Tour North Carolina Open.
Waters and Catherine Parenteau were beaten by Jorja Johnson and Tyra Black in the women's doubles final 1-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7. A couple hours later, JW Johnson and Jorja Johnson topped Ben Johns and Waters 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 3-11, 11-8.
Much like Johns first showed small cracks in 2023 and then was regularly tested and beaten last year (and so far this year), the same appears to be happening with Waters right now.
Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher mounted the first serious challenge to Waters and Parenteau in 2024, beating them three times and coming close on several other occasions. That set up what was briefly a very exciting rivalry.
That rivalry has faded slightly -- Bright and Rohrabacher haven't been able to get another gold together in several tournaments so far in 2025 -- but now it's multiple other women's players who are pushing and sometimes beating Waters in both women's doubles and mixed doubles (and in singles to a lesser extent).
In the past five tournaments Waters has lost twice in women's doubles and twice in mixed doubles, nearly as many losses as all of 2023 and 2024 combined. There have been several other close calls this season as well:
Anna Leigh Waters' losses and close calls in 2025
---
WOMEN'S DOUBLES
Mesa Cup: Waters/Parenteau def. Bright/Rohrabacher 4-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 11-1.
Texas Open: Callie Smith/Etta Tuionetoa def. Waters/Parenteau 4-11, 11-8, 11-8.
North Carolina Open: Black/Johnson def. Waters/Parenteau 1-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7.
---
MIXED DOUBLES
PPA Tour Masters: Johns/Waters def. Christian Alshon/Tyra Black 7-11, 11-5, 12-10 (saving multiple match points in the process).
Tucson Open: Johns/Waters def. Andrei Daescu/Tina Pisnik 11-9, 9-11, 11-8.
Mesa Cup: Dekel Bar/Anna Bright def. Johns/Waters 12-10, 7-11, 11-9.
Cape Coral Open: Johns/Waters def. Bright/JW Johnson 4-11, 13-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-5.
Texas Open: Johns/Waters def. Bright/Hayden Patriquin 9-11, 11-6, 11-8.
North Carolina Open: Johnson/Johnson def. Johns/Waters 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 3-11, 11-8.
---
WOMEN'S SINGLES
Mesa Cup: Waters def. Brooke Buckner 4-11, 11-9, 11-5.
---
As I said at the top, Waters is still the best women's player in the game and continues to win at an extremely high clip. But rather than winning 90-95% of the time like we've seen over the past several years, she's winning about 70% of the time in doubles so far in 2025.
That makes women's doubles and mixed doubles far more exciting, and it will be interesting to see if this trend continues over the next several months.
There also are some regulars on the list above: Anna Bright, Tyra Black and Jorja Johnson, who are arguably the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 women's players right now, with the order depending on the week.
It's notable that two of those players -- Bright and Johnson -- have put new paddles into play this season, and both of their games seem to have benefited from those changes.
Bright is using the JOOLA Scorpeus Pro IV (it comes out on April 15, but you can pre-order it here), while Johnson is using the new Franklin C45 (check out our review here and buy it here).
Both of those paddles are especially good options for women's players right now, with lower swingweights (which means more maneuverability) but also a lot of pop.
But although Bright has clearly upped her mixed game lately, the so-called "Girlies" (the team of Bright and Rohrabacher) have struggled in recent weeks. They were beaten by Parris Todd (who also uses the Franklin C45) and Tyra Black in the semifinals at the Texas Open last month, then upset this week in the quarterfinals at the North Carolina Open by Jackie Kawamoto and Jade Kawamoto.
All of this is to say: It's clearly no longer a foregone conclusion that Waters and Parenteau are going to win women's doubles (likely over Bright and Rohrabacher) and Waters and Johns are going to win mixed doubles.
There are multiple other teams in both of those divisions that have shown they can slay the giants. The question now is whether they will be able to do so on a regular basis.
Watch this space.
Join Pickleball’s Greatest Community
Subscribe to our FREE newsletter to be the most well-informed pickleball fan on the court, featuring news, giveaways, and much more!
