Anna Leigh Waters is undoubtedly the biggest name in women’s pickleball at the moment. However, her form at the Major League Pickleball (MLP) Orlando has hit rock bottom, with the star pickler suffering two shocking losses in a single day as the St. Louis Shock handed the New Jersey 5s their first loss of 2025 with a 3-1 victory.Anna Bright and Kate Fahey handed Anna Leigh Waters and Meghan Dizon their second defeat of the day.
This was an interesting result, given that Waters will pair up with Bright for the remainder of the season on the PPA Tour.Waters and Bright decided to pair up with Bright after snapping their ties with Rachel Rohrabacher and Catherine Parenteau. Bright faced both her old partner in Rohrabacher and her new partner in Waters in the MLP on Saturday, coming away with wins both times.”All of the nerves and anxiety and excitement kind of hit me all at once,” Bright said. “I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night, and there were definitely some matches for me today with a lot of storylines. You just have to kind of keep things in perspective and think about the bigger picture because it’s only the start of the season.”With two wins in the MLP 2025, St. Louis will look to build on their positive start in the Sunshine State next week at MLP Columbus, while New Jersey will return to the court at MLP Austin, scheduled for May 23-26.After Bright and Fahey won their match, Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio dispatched Will Howells and Zane Navratil to give St. Louis a commanding 2-0 lead going into mixed doubles.Waters and Howells registered an 11-0 win over Fahey and Patriquin. However, drama unfolded on the court when Patriquin said something that caused Waters to immediately confront him, even as members tried to block her way up.According to reports, Patriquin called Waters a “f**ing b**ch.” The moment led members of both organizations, as well as MLP officials, to get involved as tensions reached a fever pitch.