A 25th Birthday Matchup Against Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters Reveals Valuable Lessons for the Rising Pickleball Pro
Tanner Tomassi, a rising pro from New Jersey now residing in Delray Beach, Florida, had a milestone experience during the PPA Tour’s CIBC Atlanta event. Partnering with Samantha Greenhut, Tomassi advanced through the Mixed Doubles Pro Qualifiers, only to face the #1 team in the world: Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters. The match, which took place on Tomassi's 25th birthday, provided him with an up-close look at what it takes to compete against the very best. Though the result didn’t go in his favor, Tomassi walked away with invaluable insights on the level of precision and strategy required to excel at the highest level.
Facing the Best: A Challenge from the Start Entering the match, Tomassi and Greenhut knew they were up against the most dominant mixed doubles team in professional pickleball. Their strategy was clear: play hyper-aggressive, end points quickly, and minimize the length of rallies. The pair knew that extended points would give the seasoned champions an edge.
However, as Tomassi soon found out, the game plan didn’t unfold as expected. The first game was a disaster—an 11-0 shutout loss. Reflecting on the lopsided result, Tomassi admitted they had overcommitted to the aggressive approach, leading to hasty decisions and missed opportunities.
“We started off way too aggressive,” Tomassi noted, in his article in The Dink, adding that their early-game speed-ups led to rushed errors and easy putaways for their opponents. Despite the scoreline, Tomassi learned a critical detail during that first game: the contrasting styles of Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters.
Adjusting to the Styles of Johns and Waters Johns and Waters, despite playing as a cohesive unit, each bring unique approaches to the game. Ben Johns, known for his precision, primarily opts for third-shot drops, a tactic that keeps the pace of the game measured and deliberate. Waters, on the other hand, is known for her heavy, spin-laden drives that pressure opponents into making mistakes. This combination of finesse and power creates a constant challenge for anyone on the other side of the net.
After realizing the dangers of Waters’ drives, Tomassi and Greenhut shifted their strategy for game two, opting to target Johns more often, hoping to neutralize the risk of popping up balls that Waters could easily smash away. The adjustment allowed them to settle into longer rallies and avoid the frantic pace that plagued them in the first game.
A Stronger Second Game In game two, the pair’s changes bore fruit, as they played more patiently and selectively, treating Johns and Waters like any other team instead of placing them on an unreachable pedestal. This mental shift helped Tomassi stay competitive, even winning a few hand battles with Johns, something he took pride in despite the eventual 11-5 loss.
Tomassi left the court encouraged by the improvements made between games, highlighting that loosening up and playing without fear was key to their stronger performance. “When we loosened up and just played, we faired much better than when we treated the other team like they were untouchable,” he remarked.
Lessons from the Pros: Precision and Punishment Despite the improvement in game two, Tomassi was quick to acknowledge the sheer difficulty of facing players like Johns and Waters. The smallest misstep—a weak dink or a poorly placed return—was swiftly punished. “The biggest difference,” he noted, “was that whenever we hit a weak dink or made the tiniest mistake, they seized control of the point and never let go.”
That relentless precision, where even the smallest error results in losing the point, is what sets the best apart from the rest. The pressure to be perfect was palpable, but it also provided Tomassi with a deeper understanding of where he needs to improve.
A Birthday to Remember Though the outcome of the match wasn’t the birthday gift Tomassi had hoped for, the experience of playing against the best in the world was a milestone in his young career. Reflecting on the match, he expressed a sense of privilege at having had the opportunity to play against Johns and Waters on such a special day. The loss was a tough pill to swallow, but it was overshadowed by the excitement of learning from the best and the realization that even against top-tier talent, his game has room for growth.
“I wouldn’t change a thing—okay, maybe a win would've been nice,” Tomassi said with a laugh. “But it was a privilege to be exposed to that level of play.”
As he continues his journey on the PPA Tour, Tomassi is eager to apply the lessons learned from this encounter. His drive to improve and refine his game, along with a deeper understanding of the mental and physical demands of playing against elite competitors, has left him more motivated than ever.
The future is bright for this 25-year-old, and while the road to the top may be long, matches like these are what fuel his passion to compete among the best in the sport.
Takeaways
1️⃣ If you are playing against a team you know is stronger than you.. don't veer away from how you typically play. I tried to go for WAY to much on the majority of my shots, ultimately, beating myself. 2️⃣ They would punish you for hitting dead dinks. If we hit a bad dink, they would capitalize on it, and make it next to impossible to get the point back to neutral. 3️⃣ Their anticipation was on another level. Whenever we would initiate a speedup, they were all over it. It felt as if Ben was always making contact to the ball directly in the center of his paddle. No mis-hits.
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