Youngest professional pickleball player (female)
- Who
- Anna Leigh Waters
- What
- 12:26 year(s):day(s)
- Where
- United States (Bonita Springs)
- When
- 21 February 2019
The youngest professional pickleball player (female) is Anna Leigh Waters (USA, b. 26 January 2007), who was aged 12 years 26 days when she competed at the Florida Grand Slam in Bonita Springs, Florida, USA, on 21 February 2019.
Playing with her mother and coach Leigh Waters, Anna Leigh went on to take gold in the women’s doubles category in a shock defeat against the top-ranking pair of Simone Jardim and Corrine Carr - making them the first parent-child pickleball team to be crowned pro doubles champions and Anna Leigh the youngest professional pickleball champion overall, aged 12 years 29 days on the day of the final (24 February).
After starting out with tennis from the age of eight, Waters began playing pickleball aged 10 after her family moved to Pennsylvania in the wake of Hurricane Irma. She has gone on to become arguably the most successful female player with a total of 128 PPA titles (singles and doubles) as of 13 October 2024.