--- description: Find out why Anna Leigh Waters was selected for TIME‘s 2026 list of the most influential people in sports. title: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026: Anna Leigh Waters image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b920d51166268f2/6a209ced9bc7a3e1cf5cc621/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Anna-Leigh-Waters.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jun 09, 2026 # Anna Leigh Waters by [Sean Gregory](/author/sean-gregory/) ## Sean Gregory Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent  Franklin Sports As pickleball popularity has soared since the COVID pandemic, and the sport has become a ubiquitous presence in communities across the United States, one player has set a standard of excellence. Anna Leigh Waters, 19, the top-ranked player in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles on the PPA (Pro Pickleball Association) Tour, is not just the best; she’s nearly unbeatable. Waters, who lives in Boynton Beach, Fla., discovered pickleball in 2017 when her grandfather introduced her to the game in Pennsylvania–her family had evacuated up north during Hurricane Irma–and she and her mother started playing at a local club back in Florida. Waters turned pro at 12, making her the youngest professional pickleball player ever, and climbed to the top of the rankings at 15\. In January, Nike signed her as its first pickleball athlete, which has only raised her profile. During Super Bowl week in February she appeared on [_The_ _Pat McAfee Show_](/collection/time100-sports/2026/pat-mcafee/ "undefined") and snapped a photo with Joe Montana. Anna Leigh Waters: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/anna-leigh-waters/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/anna-leigh-waters/"},"headline":"Anna Leigh Waters","datePublished":"2026-06-09T12:00:48.666Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T12:00:48.832Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/anna-leigh-waters/","keywords":["list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b920d51166268f2/6a209ced9bc7a3e1cf5cc621/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Anna-Leigh-Waters.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"creator":"Sean Gregory","articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b920d51166268f2/6a209ced9bc7a3e1cf5cc621/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Anna-Leigh-Waters.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/anna-leigh-waters/","name":"Anna Leigh Waters"}}]}] ```