Key Highlights
- St. Louis Shock defeated the New Jersey Fives by executing a strategy that minimized Anna Leigh Waters' touches.
- Kate Fahey and Anna Bright admitted they intentionally avoided hitting to Waters throughout the match.
- Pickleball figures Zane Navratil and Dave Fleming praised the tactic as a strategic masterclass.
- Match statistics showed Waters was involved in just 20% of her team's shots, highlighting how effectively the game plan worked.
St. Louis Shock Executes Winning Game Plan Against Anna Leigh Waters
The St. Louis Shock made headlines across the pickleball community after defeating Anna Leigh Waters and Jorja Johnson of the New Jersey Fives in the Edward Jones MLP Mid-Season Tournament Final on Sunday in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Fans watching at the venue and on FOX quickly noticed the Shock's unusual approach. Rather than engaging Waters, one of the sport's biggest stars, the team consistently directed play away from her.
Following the match, Kate Fahey confirmed that avoiding Waters was a deliberate part of the game plan. "We came out with a specific game plan and it started working. To hit the ball to Anna Leigh is a little bit scary, so we tried to avoid that."
Anna Bright Explains the Discipline Behind the Strategy
While the approach appeared straightforward, Anna Bright explained that sticking to the plan required patience and commitment. According to Bright, the strategy demanded discipline and a willingness to put ego aside, even though it was obvious to everyone what the team was trying to accomplish. The willingness to consistently avoid Waters proved to be the difference as the Shock captured the title.
Pickleball Experts Praise the Tactical Masterclass
The unconventional strategy quickly sparked debate across social media, but experienced pickleball voices defended the Shock's approach. Zane Navratil dismissed criticism that the tactic was unsportsmanlike, arguing that winning within the rules is all that matters.
Navratil pointed out that isolating Anna Leigh Waters is a difficult skill in itself and noted that if it were easy, every team would attempt the same strategy. He also praised how effectively the Shock frustrated Jorja Johnson despite her status as one of the world's top women's doubles players.
Veteran broadcaster Dave Fleming echoed those sentiments, calling the performance a "strategic masterclass." According to Fleming, the Shock repeatedly used soft, non-attackable dinks in front of Johnson while refusing to engage in fast exchanges that favored their opponents. He credited Anna Bright and Kate Fahey for remaining disciplined throughout the match and putting execution ahead of personal pride.
Match Statistics Reveal Just How Effective the Plan Was
Statistics compiled by Jim Ramsey highlighted the success of the Shock's tactical approach. Excluding serves, returns and rallies ending immediately after either shot:
- Anna Leigh Waters hit just 20% of her team's shots.
- She played only 16% of her team's third shots.
- Waters averaged 1.6 shots per rally, compared to 6.4 for Jorja Johnson.
- In 11 rallies, Waters did not hit the ball at all, while Johnson was involved in every rally.
- Waters hit only one shot in 10 rallies, while Johnson did so only five times.
- At the timeout with the New Jersey Fives trailing 8-3-1, Waters had struck just 11 shots across 19 rallies.
- During the longest rally of the match—77 shots—Waters played only 9 of her team's 38 shots (24%), while Johnson hit 19 consecutive shots.
- In the second-longest rally, which lasted 51 shots, Waters touched the ball only once out of her team's 24 shots.
- Of the 19 rallies that ended with either Waters or Johnson hitting the final shot, Waters accounted for only three (16%).
- There was only one rally during the entire match in which Waters hit more shots than Johnson.
The numbers reflected just how thoroughly the Shock executed their plan from start to finish.
Could the Shock Have Revealed Their Strategy Too Early?
Despite praising the execution, Navratil questioned whether the Shock may have shown their hand too soon. He suggested that Anna Leigh Waters rarely loses twice in succession and believes the New Jersey Fives will now be better prepared if they face the same tactic again.
Navratil noted that while the Mid-Season Tournament plays an important role in determining playoff seeding, the Shock and the New Jersey Fives were already expected to finish as the top two teams. That raised the question of whether saving the strategy for the playoffs might have offered an even greater advantage.
For now, however, the St. Louis Shock's disciplined performance has become one of the most talked-about tactical victories of the 2026 Major League Pickleball season.
