Decoding Anna Leigh's Devastating 'Rhythm' Could Change Your Game Forever

Anna Leigh Waters plays at a rhythm and tempo no one else on tour can match. Senior pro Eva Welsher has spent months studying how — and why it could work for you game, too

"Rhythm" is not a commonly studied concept in pickleball. But it should be, according to multiple gold medalist and former #1 women's senior pro, Eva Welsher.

And the best place to study it is the game of Anna Leigh Waters.

Welsher has spent years as one of the top women's senior pros on the planet, and she watches the game the way a coach does. This spring, after watching Waters at the US Open in Naples and analyzing her matches over the years, she published her observations in a series of public Facebook posts.

Taken together, they form one of the sharpest breakdowns yet of why the world No. 1 is so hard to play, pulling out insights like this one:

"She deprives the opponent of any time they have earned and before they know it, the ball is past them or in their face."

Here is Welsher's case, in her own words.

The 3 Things That Separate Anna Leigh Waters

After watching Waters at the US Open in April, Welsher identified three things that really separate her from the rest of the tour.

Waters is the most dominant player in the sport, with more career titles than Ben Johns and a multi-year singles streak that borders on absurd. But Welsher's list goes deeper than the trophy count.

1. Minimal unforced errors. "Her unforced errors are minimal. Even playing aggressively she makes very few unforced errors."
2. She knows her patterns. "Hit ball here, you get this response. She has no hesitation attacking because she already knows where the ball is going better than anyone else."
3. A faster rhythm than everyone else. "MOST importantly, she has a faster rhythm than other pro players. She doesn't let her opponent breathe or have time. She attacks off of everything right off the bounce and the ball is coming back faster than they sent it to her."

That third point is the one Welsher kept coming back to. Her description of the receiving end is borderline chilling.

"Balls that opponents feel safe on executing are never safe. Opponents need to react faster, keep their head up and expect the ball coming hard, shorten their swings to almost nothing and play at her rhythm to even begin to compete with her. There is no down time."

What Is Rhythm in Pickleball?

Rhythm, as Welsher uses the term, is the tempo a player imposes on a match: how quickly the ball comes back within a point, and how little time passes between points.

Most players accept the tempo they're given. Anna Leigh Waters dictates it, and treats tempo itself as a weapon.

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Why Does Playing Fast Between Points Work?

A week later, Welsher expanded the idea. The speed between points, she argued, does just as much damage as the speed inside them.

"Extremely fast in the point and between the points. Smart move. It doesn't allow the opponent to think strategy, it gets them feeling rushed. It makes them physically have a response of tensing up because they feel pushed. It's a strategy in itself to potentially affect the outcome of the next point."

Opponents know this, and they fight back the only way they can: by slowing everything down.

"Anna Leigh knows that most of her opponents attempt to slow her down," Welsher wrote. "This has been attempted in many, many matches by numerous opponents in the past. Nothing she isn't used to."

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Welsher also offered a contrarian read on a recent flashpoint.

In plenty of singles and doubles matches this year – think about any matchups between ALW and the hard-hitting, ultra-intense Kate Fahey – the pace of play itself at times became the storyline.

Understandably, at times, opponents of ALW are accused of stalling. But Welsher isn't buying the villain edit, as she lays out using a match with Fahey as an example.

"Although everyone thinks Kate was trying to dramatically slow the match down, Kate was actually trying to slow it down to a normal pace to counter ALW rushing her. Personalities abound on the court. Each player has their positives and negatives with their behavior out there. Neither were perfect."

Welsher's verdict on the whole spectacle: "The spectators love it and want drama and it makes for good viewing. In the end, Pickleball wins!! The result we wanted."

The Lightbulb Moment: She Attacks When You Think You've Earned Time

The most interesting post came weeks later, after a drilling session.

"Today, I was drilling with my husband and a lightbulb went off regarding the rhythm at which Anna Leigh Waters plays," Welsher wrote. The realization was about when Waters chooses to accelerate.

"Even when Anna Leigh is out of position in a point, or the ball is below the net level, she still hits hard and attacks at the kitchen, just WHEN the opponent THINKS they bought themselves TIME by resetting. That is when Anna Leigh speeds up to catch the opponent in a semi-relaxed state."

In other words, the reset is the trap. You drop one into the kitchen, exhale, and mentally bank a second or two to get organized. That exhale is exactly what Anna Leigh Waters is hunting.

"She sees that the opponent is not in a rush to prepare for the next ball, since they think they have earned an exact second or two, but they have not. "That is when Anna Leigh strikes. That's when the rhythm of Anna Leigh's game accelerates. She deprives the opponent of any time they have earned and before they know it the ball is past them or in their face."

Not everyone in Welsher's comments bought it. One reader pushed back that "nobody is relaxing when they're playing AL," since anyone sharing a court with her knows she might attack anything.

Fair. But that's sort of the point: knowing the rhythm and matching it are two different things. As another commenter put it, Waters gets to the same balls other pros do, "but then she actually does something with them instead of simply resetting."

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How Do You Steal This for Your Own Game?

You don't need Waters' hands to use Welsher's insight. You need her timing. A few practical ways to apply it:

• Attack the exhale. Watch your opponent after they hit a good reset. If their paddle drops or their posture softens, that is your green light. Knowing when to speed up matters more than how hard you hit it.
• Never fully relax after your own reset. Welsher's whole thesis, flipped. The second or two you think you earned is when you're most vulnerable, so keep your paddle up and be ready to counter a speed up at the kitchen. It's also the first rule of counterattacking like a 5.0.
• Control the between-point tempo. If a faster opponent is rushing you to the line, take your full allotted time. If you want to be the one applying pressure, get back to the line first, every time.

Welsher closed her drilling post with the simplest homework assignment you'll get all year: "Next time you are playing and you see your opponent relaxing ... maybe attack and see what happens."

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Eva Welsher?

Eva Welsher is a professional on the senior pro circuit and has long ranked among the best women's senior pros in the world. She also posts frequent strategy breakdowns, insights, and other pickleball-related musings on social media.

What is rhythm in pickleball?

Rhythm is the tempo of play a player imposes on a match, both inside the rally (attacking off the bounce, countering quickly) and between points (resetting to the line fast, serving quickly). Per Eva Welsher, Anna Leigh Waters plays at a faster rhythm than any other pro, which rushes opponents into tension and errors.

Has anyone figured out how to beat Anna Leigh Waters' pace?

Rarely, and it makes news when it happens. The most notable blueprint involved refusing to feed her speed, a plan The Dink broke down in the deceptively simple strategy that finally beat Anna Leigh Waters. Slowing the match to a normal pace, as Kate Fahey tried, is the other common counter.

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