Waters Sets December 9 Manila Return as Alshon's Social Media Manager Wins in Australia

Waters Locks In December 9 Manila Return

Anna Leigh Waters has wrapped up a three-day visit to Manila by announcing she will return on December 9 for the IAM Worldwide Pickleball Showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The stop comes as part of her Franklin Asia Pickleball Showcase, which continues with legs in Malaysia and Hong Kong.

At 19, Waters holds the world No. 1 ranking in women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles, with more than 200 PPA Tour titles and another triple gold sweep in the United States to her name. The Manila press conference was co-presented by Franklin Sports and IAM Worldwide, where she now serves as global sports ambassador. She showed off her signature Franklin C45-degree Aurelius paddle and a blacked-out Franklin Whip prototype she has used in recent tournament wins.

Franklin Sports says it plans to support regional tournaments, youth clinics and wider equipment distribution through major Philippine retailers, while IAM Worldwide frames the partnership as a way to push its wellness mission to a wider global audience.

Social Media Manager Steps In and Wins for Alshon

Benjamin Bramblett, who works as Christian Alshon's hitting partner and social media manager, filled in as Alshon's doubles partner at the Australia Pickleball Cup after original partner Federico Staksrud could not travel because of visa issues. The pair won their round of 32 match 11-4, 11-2, then won again in the round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals, where they will face 11th seeds George Wall and Joey Wild.

Staksrud joked about the swap, saying, "Ben is the future and I am the past." Alshon said, "We have low expectations because Ben has been out of the pro game for a while."

Upsets and Mismatched Pairings in Virginia Beach

In mixed doubles at the Virginia Beach Open, second-seeded Tina Pisnik and Noe Khlif beat 16th-seeded Anderson Scarpa and Alex Walker 9-11, 11-6, 12-10, with the final point upheld on a replay review. In women's singles, 30th-seeded Maria Ford upset 10th-seeded Milan Rane 3-11, 11-7, 11-9.

Pisnik, 45, is teamed in women's doubles with 13-year-old Elsie Hendershot, a left-hander from Utah, a 32-year age gap between partners. Quarterfinals in all five pro events resume Friday at noon at the Pickleball Virginia Beach facility, where top-seeded Roscoe Bellamy, fresh off winning last week's Chicago event, faces sixth-seeded Jaume Martinez Vich of Spain, and second-seeded Khlif takes on eighth-seeded Rafael Lenhard, who grew up in Brazil.

Bright and Fahey Launch Tour Podcast

Anna Bright and Kate Fahey have started a podcast called Let Her Cook, spending an hour swapping tour stories. Bright revealed she once started seeing spots mid-match from exhaustion and nerves during a final, and a paddle mix-up in Vegas nearly forced her to borrow an opponent's paddle.

The hosts also said that winning the MLP Cup could lower gas, milk and egg prices.