Welcome to 2026 everyone! The first newsletter of the year - how crazy! I figured it was only right to start the year off by sharing the answer to the burning question I know everyone in the pickleball world has been wanting to know. But before we get into that, please vote for me on the Dink awards!!!
I cannot, in good conscience, ask for you to vote for me for women’s player of the year - that should be all ALW, but the other categories? Thank yewwwww❤️☺️💁🏽♀️
So anyways, back to the question at hand- you thought I was going to tell you Anna Leigh’s new clothing sponsor? Why Nico is the new co-host of the PicklePod? Speak publicly about the drama in Japan? Don’t be ridiculous! The only question anyone really wants the answer to, is the following:
Is the most eligible bachelorette in pickleball (this is both self-proclaimed and something pickleball.com said independently, so I’m not entirely self-absorbed in saying this, only a little bit) finally settling down? The answer would be… sort of (?).
Who is my man (men) in 2026? 🫦
I hope you all saw my dating wrapped video on Instagram, I am planning on making a YouTube version soon but if you haven’t, it’s truly some of my best work.
Anyways, through the first half of 2026 I will be playing with three different partners. I don’t think any of the names will be a surprise to anyone. I’m playing with Hayden, Andrei, and with Ben in Asia again (I do seem to love being the other woman!)😂😂.
I have most of my tournaments with Hayden - I’ve written at length about his ceiling, and we have pushed Ben and Anna Leigh very hard. I didn’t want to fully commit to anyone in 2026 (it’s giving commitment issues ???), but I did enjoy mixing up partners in 2025 as I felt it kept things fresh and exciting, and helped me develop different parts of my mixed game. I have 3 with Andrei, and he is always a joy to play with. The intensity, the fire, the questionable/foreign humor… all 10/10. This was Andrei’s response to my silly dating wrapped video:
andrei over here saying what we are all thinking honestly
And Ben is, well, Ben! I really enjoyed playing with him in Malaysia and am excited to run it back. Will be doing my darnedest to beat him though otherwise😂😂😂
2026 Pickleball Goals!
On court - I really want to continue to be more process oriented, so hardlining actual goals feels a little counterproductive to this. I don’t want my year to be a failure as a player if I don’t do these things, but I also do think it’s good to put some things in writing for myself. Maybe I should view sharing these with you all as more of a manifestation exercise? I like that. Okay. This is me ✨manifesting✨.
In 2026, I want to:
Win 3 mixed titles in a full field
Go undefeated with ALW
Win the overall MLP season (presumably with the Shock, but who knows!)
Become a true left side queen and get comfortable enough over there I would be happy to play the left in mixed again (Max needs me, after all)
Conquer my anger issues in practice (I may have rage-quit a practice the other day😂)
Become an off-speed demon
Those aren’t all quantifiable, but you get the point. I also won’t be losing sleep or crying if I don’t accomplish the first three - well maybe if I lose in another MLP Semi I will, but I don’t think it’d be genuine of me to sit here are say I want to win 85% of my WD matches this year. Yes, the field is improving, and I know going undefeated isn’t particularly likely, but I want to win everything. I’ll say it with my chest!
2026 Goals- off the court!
I mentioned in my last post that my word for 2026 is ✨intention✨. So far, I’ve done a great job of trying to both interject and be mindful of intentionality, but as the legitimate PPA season gets going, I will have to really embrace it even more. I’m not very good at saying “no” to things, but it’s something that I am going to have to get a lot better at this year.
I’m lucky in that when I think of myself, I think of myself moreso as a whole person rather than as just a pickleball pro. The pickleball is more… tangential to me? Of course, it permeates everything, but is not an intrinsic part of my identity. If you want to read more about this and get to know me far too well, Jon from Speak Pickleball wrote a beautiful piece that gives a solid synopsis of my life so far.
My goals in 2026 off-court are all about becoming a better version of myself. I want to build my brand and grow into a figure that permeates beyond just pickleball. I want to continue to build out Brighter Pickleball and I want to do more to connect with you guys. I want to grow my social media and my YouTube, in particular, and I want to do more things for the first time. I’ve started a journal that will track my whole year (if I stick to it, but I think I will), in which I have a section for tracking habits I’m looking to implement, wins, firsts, quotes of the day, and gratitude. Filling it out is something I look forward to every night and I am excited to see the notebook fill up, and I can share bits and pieces with you guys, if you’re interested.
That’s all for this edition everyone, my next piece will be previewing the Masters and discussing some of my 2026 predictions on the PPA tour. Can’t wait to get properly back into the swing of things!!!
XOXO, your internet bestie, Anna❤️