Anna Leigh Waters, mother advance to U.S. Open Pickleball semis

As Andre Agassi's partner, Anna Leigh Waters took an early exit from the mixed pro doubles draw at the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships, but the No. 1-ranked woman in the world is still alive in the women's pro doubles competition.

Waters and her mother, Leigh Waters, advanced to the semifinals in women's doubles with an 11-2, 11-5 victory over Alexa Schull and Ava Cavataio on Thursday in Naples, Fla.

The mother and daughter are the defending champions in the event. Their next match will come against Daria Walczak and Allison Harris, who edged Bobbi Oshiro and Susannah Barr 11-6, 3-11, 12-10.

Anna Leigh Waters, 18, entered the mixed pro doubles bracket with tennis star and eight-time Grand Slam winner Agassi, who turned 55 this week. They won their first match Wednesday, then lost their second to Len Yang and Trang Huynh-McClain.

Meanwhile, Megan Fudge remains alive for a triple crown of sorts at the massive tournament that calls itself the biggest pickleball party in the world.

Fudge -- the Association of Pickleball Players' No. 1-ranked female -- advanced to the semifinals in women's pro singles, women's pro doubles and mixed pro doubles with wins on Thursday.

In women's doubles, Fudge and Jillian Braverman beat Nicole Eugenio and Riley Bohnert 11-2, 13-11. The duo's semifinal match will be against Shelby Bates and Sofia Sewing, who blew out Huynh-McClain and Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall 11-2, 11-2.

In mixed doubles, Fudge and Jack Munro are one of four teams left standing after an 11-3, 11-0 beatdown of Pei chuan Kao and Ryler DeHeart. They'll meet the team of Sewing and Casey Diamond, who beat Eugenio and Kyle Koszuta 11-2, 11-6.

And in singles, Fudge faced Walczak and posted an eye-catching score of 11-0, 20-18. Fudge's next opponent there will be Simone Jardim, who got past Katerina Stewart 12-10, 4-11, 11-9.

Oshiro is in the other semifinal after rallying past Kao in the quarterfinals 6-11, 11-5, 11-0. Her next foe, Amanda Hendry, edged Emilia Schmidt 11-8, 11-9.

In men's singles, Christopher Haworth remains alive for the gold medal after settling for silver in 2024. Haworth beat Frank Davis 11-6, 12-10 in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Next, Haworth will meet Ammar Wazir, an 11-9, 11-6 winner over Eduardo Irizarry. The other half of the bracket will feature Grayson Goldin (11-3, 8-11, 11-8 over Armaan Bhatia) against Ronan Camron, who received a free pass into the semifinals when opponent Patrick Kawka withdrew.

The other semifinal in mixed doubles will see Richard Livornese and Bohnert meet Mark Dancuart and Braverman. Livornese and Bohnert beat Yang and Huynh-McClain 11-7, 11-7, while Dancuart and Braverman topped Oshiro and Andre Mick 11-6, 11-7.

--Field Level Media