Nike signs deal with pickleball player Anna Leigh Waters

Who’s the face of pickleball? We know what Nike thinks.

The sports giant has signed an apparel and footwear contract with 18-year-old star Anna Leigh Waters, its first deal in the widely popular sport. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

No. 1 ranked Waters also becomes Nike’s global ambassador for one of the fastest-growingsports in America. Prior to signing with Nike, Waters was a Fila ambassador. According to CNBC, Waters earns $2 million annually from the United Pickleball Association.

“Growing up, I watched my idols wear the swoosh in their biggest moments, so joining the Nike family is a dream realized,” Waters said in a statement to CNBC.

Going big: Nike will be hoping for the kind of impact on pickleball that its now legendary 1984 partnership with Michael Jordan had on basketball, or its 1996 deal with Tiger Woods had on golf. Both those athletes dominated for years, while opening up their sports to new global audiences.

The deal with Waters comes at a tumultuous time for Nike. Its latest earnings report showed weakness in the Chinese market, something of a recurring theme in recent years. The company is in the midst of a broad turnaround strategy under CEO Elliott Hill, who has been at the helm for over a year.

After his appointment in 2024, Hill said Nike had lost its “obsession with sport.” It has since been on a mission to put sport, and athletes, at the core of everything it does.

Nike added women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark as a signature athlete last year, where she also costarred in its first Super Bowl ad in 27 years. The deal with Anna Leigh Waters suggests these types of partnerships are still very much the assignment.

There’s more to the turnaround than just athletes, however. Nike also embarked on a strategic partnership with Kim Kardashian’s Skims brand for women’s athletic wear last year and has just announced the first line of footwear from the collection, the NikeSkims Rift shoe, launching later this month.