Anna Leigh Waters Net Worth 2026: Pickleball Career and Nike Deal

No reputable publisher has estimated Anna Leigh Waters' net worth, and the $3 million figure this page used to show came from an entertainment site that gave no basis for it. What reputable business outlets do report is her income: CNBC said in January 2026 that she earns $2 million a year from her United Pickleball Association contract alone, and Sports Business Journal says she earns seven figures annually on and off the court. On top of that she has sponsorship deals with Nike, Franklin Sports, Delta Air Lines, DoorDash and Ulta Beauty.

What is Anna Leigh Waters' net worth?

Forbes, Bloomberg and Celebrity Net Worth have not published a figure. Her earnings are well documented in parts, but her savings, taxes, agent fees and expenses are not, so any net worth number would be a guess. We give none. The best-sourced pieces are:

• League contract: $2 million a year from the United Pickleball Association, which runs the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, according to a person familiar with her earnings quoted by CNBC.
• Nike: signed in January 2026 as Nike's first pickleball athlete, covering apparel and footwear. Terms were not disclosed.
• Franklin Sports: a long-term paddle deal announced the same month, including a signature product line. Terms were not disclosed; a Forbes contributor wrote that industry rumors put it at eight figures, which is unconfirmed.
• Other sponsors: Delta Air Lines, DoorDash and Ulta Beauty, per CNBC.

Yearly earnings, monthly income and salary

Her guaranteed league pay is the one hard number: $2 million a year, as reported by CNBC. Prize money and sponsorships come on top of that. Sports Business Journal reported in November 2025 that she sits at the top of the UPA's salary sheet and earns seven figures a year across her playing and business activities. Exact sponsorship amounts are private. Before 2026 her main sponsors were Paddletek, her paddle maker for her whole early career, and Fila, whose apparel deal expired in 2025.

Early life and family

Waters was born on January 26, 2007, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to Wikipedia. The old page said she was born in Delray Beach, Florida; her family moved there in 2015, after living in Clinton, North Carolina. Both parents played college sports at the University of South Carolina: her mother, Leigh, in tennis and her father in golf. Before pickleball she played competitive soccer.

She found the sport in 2017, when her family left Florida during Hurricane Irma and stayed with her grandparents in Pennsylvania. Her grandfather, Neil, suggested they play to pass the time. She told Sports Business Journal she first thought it was "an old person's sport," but she was hooked almost immediately. She now lives in Boynton Beach, Florida, Time reported.

Pickleball career

As of September 2026 she was ranked No. 1 in singles, doubles and mixed doubles by the PPA and had won 196 PPA national championship medals and 39 triple crowns (winning singles, doubles and mixed doubles at one event), Wikipedia reports. She plays for the New Jersey 5s in Major League Pickleball, where she was a No. 1 draft pick. Her mother, Leigh, is her coach and sometimes her doubles partner; they are the only mother-daughter team on the pro tour.

Her profile reaches well beyond the tour. She has played exhibition matches with swimmer Michael Phelps, actor Jamie Foxx, boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and golfers Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth, according to Wikipedia. Her manager, Ryan Harwood, told Sports Business Journal she is the Tiger Woods or Serena Williams of pickleball. Harwood is also co-owner of her Major League Pickleball team and a shareholder in the UPA.

Age, height and education

She is 19, having turned 19 in January 2026. The old page said she was 18 "as of 2023" and then called her 16 in its conclusion; both were wrong. Her height and weight were listed without a source and have been removed. She was homeschooled so she could train and travel; we found no reliable report on college plans.

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Why estimates differ

Pickleball salaries only became public in the last few years, as the United Pickleball Association, which now houses both the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, began signing players to contracts. Figures on fan sites range widely because they guess at sponsorship values. The numbers above are the only ones attributed by established business outlets. For comparison, see our profiles of fellow pickleball pro Tyson McGuffin and tennis great Venus Williams.