An Unforgettable Afternoon with #1 Pickleball Player Anna Leigh Waters at CityPickle Times Square

Last week, CityPickle, in partnership with Franklin Sports and City Parks Foundation, had the honor of hosting Anna Leigh Waters, the number one female pickleball player in the world. At 12, she became the youngest professional pickleball player and champion in history, and she holds a sport record of 194 gold medals and 44 triple crowns across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Now at age 19, she is the GOAT of the sport.

ALW’s mom, Leigh Waters, a former pro pickleball number one herself, joined her daughter on court for a match with CityPickle regular Jay Hu and his twin brother, the winners of the Play the Pro auction to benefit the nonprofit City Parks Foundation in its mission to create free youth sports programs in underserved neighborhoods.

Jay Hu with his partner Anna Leigh Waters

CityPickle, Franklin Sports, and City Parks Foundation then welcomed 40 enthusiastic girls from the Girl Forward Program for a clinic with Anna Leigh Waters and a number of CityPickle's excellent female coaches. While many of these girls had never played pickleball before, they were excited to learn from the GOAT herself.

ALW began by giving an overview of the rules of the game and then demonstrated proper technique and shots. Anna Leigh also highlighted the importance of having inspiring female athletes to look up to growing up, including her own mother, Leigh Waters.

After the initial introduction of the basics, the girls spread out across our seven courts to put what they learned into action.

The event highlighted our key mission of spreading the joy of pickleball and uniting players of all levels, with the goal of promoting women in sports.

Mary Cannon, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of CityPickle, stated, “CityPickle is a women-founded and 70%-women-managed company, so we are dedicated to contributing to women and girls in sports and introducing pickleball to girls of all ages.”

The event was MC’d by another special guest at CityPickle, Tara Fieri, a co-owner of Major League Pickleball’s Brooklyn Pickleball Team and a respected voice in women’s sports.

While she was with us at the event, Anna Leigh Waters signed a number of bags and paddles available now online and at our Times Square location.  There is also an exclusive giveaway of a signed bag, signed paddle, and signed mini paddle for one lucky winner. Check out our @citypickle IG account to enter!

All Photo Credit goes to Franklin Sports