World No. 1s Anna Leigh Waters and Scottie Scheffler exchange pickleball, golf expertise

The pair are teaming up for the Deep Eddy Vodka Celebrity Pickleball Showdown at Nationals

Pickleball superstar Anna Leigh Waters and six-time PGA Tour winner Scottie Scheffler are the top-ranked athletes in their respective sports, so it’s only natural that they join forces for the Deep Eddy Vodka Celebrity Pickleball Showdown on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, TX.

Waters and Scheffler got together for a practice session on Tuesday in Dallas to begin preparing for the exhibition matchup that will also feature a host of current and former pros, including Tony Romo, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Tyler Seguin, and John Isner.

“He’s pretty good at pickleball,” Waters revealed after training with Scheffler. “He’s gotten a lot better in a year, which proves that practice can make you better at something.”

As opposed to focusing on general strategy, Waters and Scheffler are taking a different approach to the match by adapting their practice efforts specifically to their opponents. 

Those tactics, of course, will be revealed on the court.

“Just being in the presence of somebody who’s really good at something makes you want to get better at something,” she said. “It’s not necessarily a tip they give you, it’s just inspiring.” 

After their pickleball workout was done, the pair took a couple of practice swings on Scheffler’s golf simulator.

It was a perfect opportunity for Waters to learn from the best.

“He was inspiring me to get better at golf too,” she mentioned. “My golf swing is really bad, so he was helping me out with that.”

While her swing is definitely a work in progress, Waters admits that her biggest weakness in golf is actually her grip. 

“Changing your grip in anything is super tough,” Waters explained. “Even in pickleball my grip is changing a bit, so I’ve had to work on changing it back to what it was.” 

Along with swing and grip tips, Scheffler gave her a few additional pointers as well, some of which she’d previously heard from her father, Stephen, who played college golf.

Funnily enough, the Waters were already big fans of Scheffler before pickleball entered the picture.

“It was really cool for me because I grew up watching golf with my dad, and my dad was fangirling over Scottie,” Waters revealed. “He was telling me, ‘Anna Leigh, you don’t know who you’re playing with,’ so it made the experience even better because my dad had hyped him up so much.” 

Watching his daughter get advice from one of his favorite players was particularly special for Mr. Waters.

“My dad was loving it. He enjoyed being around Scottie, too,” Waters shared. “You wouldn’t know that he [Scottie] was number one in anything just because of how nice he is. And he’s also good at pickleball, so maybe I can be good at golf, too.” 

If Waters wants to go head-to-head with Scheffler on the golf course, however, she would need some time to get her game in order. 

“I need a couple of years of hitting 1,000 balls a day before I can compete with him,” she joked.