The Breakup of Anna Leigh & Catherine

By now, you’ve already heard the biggest news to hit pickleball since… the breakup of Ben and Collin? On Monday, Catherine took to social media with a goodbye “letter” to Anna Leigh, breaking the news that the pair is parting ways.

On Hannah Johns’ Podcast Wednesday, Catherine said Anna Leigh called her Monday with a “short and sweet” conversation announcing her desire to “try something different.” Clearly, it came as a surprise to her as much as it did to all of us; it was clear from Catherine’s interview that this news was not expected, planned, or previously discussed.

What’s next for Catherine?

There’s a lot of options on the table for Catherine: Etta Tuionetoa, Parris Todd, Rachel Rohrabacher (more on that in a bit), Tina Pisnik. Jorja & Tyra are also options but, let’s be real, they’ll probably want to stick it out together.

On Hannah’s podcast, Catherine said she’s excited to try out some new partnerships, but it’s not likely she’ll secure a single partner for the remainder of the year, since so many people are already committed to others. Not that dropping a partner for a better option is unheard of. Ahem.

Anna Leigh’s new partner

Hours after Catherine made the goodbye post on IG, Pickleball.com announced that Anna Leigh would be partnering with Anna Bright for the remainder of 2025. This is hardly a surprise— Tyler and Jimmy predicted it as the news broke live during a pod recording— given that Anna is arguably the #2 best woman after ALW, and to date, the biggest consistent rival alongside fellow (now former) Girlie, Rachel Rohrabacher.

Where does this leave Rachel?

As abrupt as AL & CP’s news was, Anna Bright dumping her girlie, Rachel, was perhaps even more of a shock (at least for RR). Rachel stayed painfully silent for a few days, but finally made a statement of her own on IG, citing health reasons for the delay.

One factor that hasn’t really been discussed in all this: money. As discussed on today’s special pod, UPA is moving away from guaranteed contracts in favor of a prize-money focus. So, these partnerships have major financial implications. Anna Leigh isn’t likely to see much of a change, and AB consistently at #2, is also unlikely to see any significant monetary difference.

But to Rachel, whose partnership with AB took her to the medal stand event after event, may struggle to get to semis, and even quarters, in the future. As a dominant right-side player, there’s few top women available who play well on the left. And without a mixed partner who can consistently medal (unlike Catherine), the drop by AB means her salary could take a significant hit. Catherine can weather the storm with strong mixed partnerships that often take her to the finals.

Though Rachel owes a lot of her elevation in the sport to Anna, as she pointed out in her IG post, AB is also responsible for leaving her in an unexpected lurch that could hit her in the wallet.

North Carolina Open: Results

NEW EPISODE

The guys recap the NC Open and the venue’s sub-par conditions. Plus, watch as they get the raw reaction as they get real-time news of AL & CP’s breakup!

SPECIAL EPISODE:

UPA pay restructure and what it means for the future of pickleball