The 4 Reasons JW Johnson Beats Anna Leigh Waters Where Ben Johns Can't

JW Johnson keeps solving Anna Leigh Waters in a way nobody else can, including Ben Johns. Here is the breakdown of exactly why it works and what every player can take from it.

If you've ever watched JW Johnson play and thought he looked casual, low-energy, paddle too low, not moving enough, you're not alone.

For most of this year, that read felt accurate. But something shifted.

And the proof showed up at the worst possible time for Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns: the semi-finals, second year in a row, same event, same result.

This breakdown comes from The Dink Pickleball on YouTube, covering exactly what went wrong for the top seeds and why the Johnson team keeps cracking a code nobody else can.

Here is what actually happened, and what you can pull from it for your own game.

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The Record That Nobody Talks About Enough

Jorja Johnson and JW Johnson are now 3 and 22 lifetime against Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters. Let that number sit for a second.

Ben and Anna Leigh have roughly seven or eight total losses combined - nearly half of those belong to the Johnson team.

That is not a fluke. That is a pattern.

Other teams have had moments. Anna Bright with a rotating partner has caused problems, and Hayden Patriquin and Anna took the top seed this cycle.

But no mixed doubles pickleball pairing has turned JW Johnson vs Anna Leigh Waters into sustained, repeatable success the way JW and Jorja have.

So the question is not "did they get lucky?" The question is "what are they doing that everyone else isn't?"

Why Does JW Johnson Neutralize Anna Leigh Better Than Ben Johns Does?

The answer is simpler than most people expect.

Anna Leigh Waters attacks Ben Johns constantly when they face each other in mixed doubles, mostly in Major League Pickleball (MLP), firing at him, creating offense, and dictating pace.

Ben's offense works, but hers often works more.

In JW Johnson vs Anna Leigh Waters, that dynamic disappears entirely.

JW was on everything. Every ball Anna Leigh tried to do something with, JW was already there.

That kind of consistent coverage forces a player like Anna Leigh into a reactive mindset instead of an aggressive one.

When she goes passive, the rest of her game loses its edge too.

This principle applies all the way down to your local 4.0 game.

When you take away someone's favorite shot, you do not just win that rally. You change how they think for the rest of the match.

Anna Leigh is so hard to stop for most teams because she sets the tempo, which is exactly why she sits at the top of the 2025 medal counts.

That is what makes JW Johnson vs Anna Leigh Waters different. JW is one of the only players who refuses to let her do that.

What Jorja Johnson Did in the Kitchen That Changed the Match

Game one was sloppy for the Johnson team. Not every point, but they lost the unforced error battle and it cost them.

Game two looked completely different. Jorja Johnson locked into dead crosscourt dinks against Anna Leigh. Not flashy. Not aggressive.

Just consistent, low, and difficult to do anything with.

Here is what that does tactically: when your dinks are not popping up, the opponent cannot attack.

And when they cannot attack, they start second-guessing. Anna Leigh's offense never got traction because there was nothing to work with.

The neutralizing began in the kitchen before a single speed-up was ever thrown.

If your own dinks keep floating up and giving opponents easy attacks, this breakdown on why dinks pop up covers exactly where that error starts and how to fix it.

How to Stop Popping the Ball Up at the Kitchen

If you want to stop popping the ball up at the kitchen, the problem almost always starts before you even swing. This guide breaks down the root causes and gives you the exact mechanical fixes to keep your dinks low and your opponents off-balance.

The Dink PickleballThe Dink Media Team

What Changed About JW Johnson's Game This Year

JW Johnson 2.0 is real, and here are the specific things that are different:

1. He is moving his feet now. The version of JW that stood flat-footed and still got results is gone. He is actively moving to cover angles, which means fewer balls catch him off-guard.
2. He is lobbing. Not often, but the lob threat is there, and a well-timed lob against an aggressive team resets everything. He is also intercepting balls he never used to go for.
3. He is poaching and moving laterally. JW is intercepting balls he never used to go for, which puts pressure on the opposing team to think twice about every cross-court shot.
4. He is using bounce speed-ups. This is a shot he rarely pulled out before. Taking the ball off the bounce and accelerating it is a different look that opposing teams have not fully adjusted to.

The bounce speed-up in particular is worth understanding. Most players speed up from the air, which gives the opponent a familiar read.

Hitting a speed-up off the bounce changes the angle, timing, and difficulty entirely. JW adding that to his toolkit makes him far harder to predict.

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This is a recap of the PickleballCentral PPA Vintage Sacramento Open that took place from September 24-28, 2025 at the Life Time Arden, in Sacramento, California.

The Dink PickleballErik Tice

Does the Paddle Actually Matter Here?

JW spent the first half of the year switching constantly. Selkirk, Franklin, JOOLA, Paddletek, and Pikkl. He was tinkering, and you could see it affecting his consistency.

He appears to have landed on the Pickle paddle, which tracks with the wave of pro paddle movement in 2026.

Here is the honest take: the paddle itself probably is not the reason he is playing better. But settling on something is.

This happens in baseball all the time. A player goes into a slump, changes the smallest thing, and breaks out.

The change is rarely the cause. The act of committing and moving forward with confidence is what does it.

Confidence is a real performance variable, and the sport psychology research on self-efficacy and execution backs that up.

When you stop second-guessing your equipment, you free up mental space to focus on the ball, and it showed up in JW Johnson vs Anna Leigh Waters.

If you have been paddle-hopping yourself, look at what pro players actually prioritize when it comes to consistency.

Equipment is usually near the bottom of that list.

Backhand Flick Pickleball: Fix Your Paddle Face Now

Your backhand flick pickleball shot keeps hitting the net because your paddle face is open at the wrong moment. Fix the wrist position first and everything else falls into place.

The Dink PickleballThe Dink Media Team

What Does This Mean for the Jorja and JW Trajectory?

They started the year looking rough.

Now they are taking out the top team in mixed doubles for the second year in a row at the same event, one of the biggest storylines of the last twelve months.

That is not a slump recovery. That is a team figuring out who they are and committing to it.

Jorja's role is specific and underrated. Her ability to hit dead crosscourt dinks consistently is what creates the conditions for JW to do damage.

When she is missing forehand dinks, the whole structure falls apart. When she is locking in, no team in pickleball makes Anna Leigh look more uncertain.

If your own forehand dink breaks down under pressure, here is why that happens and how to fix it.

The Johnsons Get Double Gold, Gladiator Ge Earns His First - PPA Daytona Beach Recap

The PPA Florida Dairy Farmers Daytona Beach Open was the last stop of the 2025 year and the Johnson siblings won double gold, while Augie Ge earned his first Gold medal in his career.

The Dink PickleballErik Tice

What Can You Actually Take From This?

Most recreational players watch a match like this and think "that's fun, but what does it have to do with me?" Quite a bit, actually.

Here are four things from this match that apply at every level:

• Neutralize before you attack. Jorja did not try to overpower Anna Leigh. She removed the opportunities for Anna Leigh to attack by keeping the ball low and crosscourt. You can do the same thing against your most aggressive opponent.
• Coverage beats offense. JW's improvement was not about hitting harder. It was about being in position earlier. Your ready position is what makes coverage feel effortless or impossible.
• Unforced errors lose games, not the opponent. Game one slipped away because the Johnson team beat themselves. Game two they stopped doing that. Error reduction is the most underrated competitive skill in pickleball.
• Adding one new shot changes everything. JW's bounce speed-up is not something opponents have a trained response to yet. Adding a single unfamiliar shot to your pattern does more than adding five new mechanics. Understanding when and how to use a speed-up is a skill worth developing now.

The Johnson team is not winning because they are overpowering anyone.

They are winning because they have a system that removes what the other team wants to do, and they execute it under pressure.

That is pickleball IQ. And it is learnable. Start with your dinks, build your coverage habits, and think about the strategies pros run every single match to control tempo before a single rally is decided by power.

The revival of Jorja and JW Johnson is real. And if the first half of the year was their floor, the ceiling is suddenly looking a lot higher.

Watch for them to keep making life difficult for Ben and Anna Leigh every time they meet.

The lifetime record suggests this is far from over.

For a deeper look at the tactics used against Ben Johns specifically, this breakdown of what actually beats Ben Johns is worth your time.

And if you want to understand the full picture of Anna Leigh Waters' real weaknesses, she has actually addressed some of them herself.

The Johnsons are not a fluke. They are the answer to a question most teams have not figured out how to ask yet.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many times have JW and Jorja Johnson beaten Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters?

JW Johnson and Jorja Johnson are 22 and 3 lifetime against Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters. That makes them the most successful mixed doubles team against the top pairing in the sport. No other active team comes close to that record.

Why does JW Johnson neutralize Anna Leigh Waters better than other players do?

JW Johnson covers the court in a way that removes Anna Leigh's ability to set the tempo. When she fires at Ben Johns, she often gets away with it. When she tries the same thing against JW, he is already in position, which forces her into a passive game where she is less effective.

What changed about JW Johnson's game that made him more effective?

JW added movement, poaching, lobs, and bounce speed-ups to his game, shots he rarely used before. He also settled on a paddle after months of switching, which appeared to restore his confidence and consistency. The combination of new tools and mental clarity made him far harder to defend against.

What is a bounce speed-up in pickleball and why does it matter?

A bounce speed-up is when you let the ball land and then accelerate it from below the net level rather than hitting it out of the air. It creates a different angle and timing that opponents have a harder time reading. JW Johnson using it regularly adds an element of unpredictability that most teams have not adjusted to yet.

What role does Jorja Johnson play in the team's success against top teams?

Jorja controls the dinking exchanges, particularly crosscourt against Anna Leigh Waters, by keeping the ball low and consistent. When she is not missing, she removes Anna Leigh's opportunities to attack and forces passivity. Her role is the foundation that allows JW to take risks and apply pressure.