Pro player opinion: Who is most likely to beat Anna Leigh Waters in singles?

Zoey Weil

Contributor

Last Edited

Apr 06 2026

1. Kaitlyn Christian

Christian is one of the only players who consistently plays close games against ALW. Even during Waters' untouchable start to 2026, Christian was able to take a game off of her at the Masters in January. Christian possesses phenomenal power off the ground with a professional tennis background, and she also has length. This asset allows her to control the kitchen line better than most female players. That is one thing that ALW lacks (she could still be growing, who knows). The overall matchup seems good for Christian, even though she is still a bit behind.

2. Genie Bouchard

This might be a hot take, but I think Bouchard is the best female athlete on the PPA Tour. Her transition to the singles court is nothing short of remarkable. If she decides to start practicing doubles, we might all be in trouble. Genie has a great combination of ball striking, movement, length and (most importantly) her nonchalant attitude about pickleball in general could be a benefit to her if she is ever in the position to upset the GOAT. She won’t know (or care) how big the moment is. Genie is also going to keep getting better -- she is nowhere near her ceiling, which is something that I don’t think is true of some of the players on this list.

3. Kiora Kunimoto

Kunimoto is another player that is just going to keep getting better. While her young career will still have some ups and downs, she has racked up wins against some big names, showing she isn’t afraid of the spotlight. She possesses incredible power for a fairly slight frame. She is a great mover and hits passing shots that I have never seen before. The only downside to her game is that it is somewhat similar to ALW’s. They have played twice before, with Waters winning handily both times, but I expect the scorelines to tighten up moving forward -- Kunimoto has several more months (or years) of development to go through before she could make some headway against ALW.

4. Salome Devidze

Where is Salome? She shows up out of nowhere every several months, makes some of the worst calls I’ve ever seen, puts together a phenomenal singles performance and then disappears again. We need a Salome Davidze: Spotted map. She took a game off of ALW last year in Lakeland 11-3 -- which might be the biggest margin of defeat our queen has ever suffered in a game -- before ultimately losing in three games. With Devidze pushing 40 and playing a seemingly truncated schedule, it is hard to tell how engaged she is. She is also sitting at No. 33 in the women’s singles rankings, so if she does play more tournaments in 2026, her draw would not be friendly. She could even meet ALW in the Round of 16 or quarterfinals. Earlier in the tournament could be a better scenario for an upset, though -- once she gets to Championship Sunday, ALW looks to be untouchable. When all is said and done Devidze could always set aside $5,500 to make 22 bad line calls and call it a day.

5. Kate Fahey/Lea Jansen

Prior to Utah, I would have given the world No. 2 and world No. 5 a really slim chance at getting over the hump against ALW. She had taken both of them to the woodshed in their recent meetings. But something changed in Utah. Jansen had a strong semifinal showing, implementing and executing some new strategies. Fahey blazed out to a 10-0 lead on Championship Sunday before falling in three games. The tenacity and grit of these ladies to regroup after being beat down so frequently by ALW was impressive to see. Fahey recently hired a new coach that has been beneficial to both her doubles game and singles game. Even if they don’t finish the job, these are two of the most competitive ladies on tour and it seems they will certainly go down swinging.

Zoey Weil is a pro pickleball player who plays on the PPA Tour and for Major League Pickleball's Florida Smash. She currently holds Top 40 rankings in all three divisions -- women's doubles, women's singles and mixed doubles -- on the PPA Tour. Follow her on Instagram (zoey_weil) or on X (zoeyweil66).

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