Despite being the world’s fastest-growing sport, pickleball continues to have detractors, including some that dismiss it as a mere “activity” and not a sport.

Consider what Charles Barkley, a legend in the sport of basketball, once said about it: “The problem with pickleball is I don’t like playing with old people. When I go to the gym, I don’t want to play with no 80-year-olds.”

It’s just one of the many jabs critics have lobbed at pickleball, and there are many more—coming from casuals to celebrities like Barkley. But as the world’s millions of picklers would know, pickleball is more than what the nonbelievers say it is. And in its latest campaign, Not a Real Sport, global paddle brand Paddletek by Young & Laramore tries to address those burning stereotypes by highlighting the power, athleticism, and intensity behind the growing sport.

Paddletek also recruited none other than Anna Leigh Waters, arguably one of the best, most popular pickleball players today, to be the face of this campaign.

Anna Leigh Waters Shows the Best Things About Pickleball

In Not A Real Sport, Paddletek stands up for pickleball by featuring the world’s top women’s player and her athletic feats to audio clips of familiar pickleball stereotypes: “not a real sport,” “not a real athlete,” “not a real challenge” and “isn’t real work, real talent, real skill.”

“Every player has heard the comments and despite that, people of all ages and skillsets are passionate about pickleball, making it the fastest-growing sport in America,” said Curtis Smith, President at Paddletek. “The campaign is a tribute to the hours of training, fierce gameplay and relentless determination to win, a stark contrast to pickleball haters.”

As the sport soars in popularity, more brands are entering the market, including adidas, so the campaign also uplifts Paddletek as both the forerunner, founded in 2010, and the sport’s greatest supporter.

“We’re just saying what players already know to be true. At the highest levels, this sport demands intense physicality and hard work,” said Trevor Williams, Principal and Executive Creative Director at Young & Laramore, which has done project work for Paddletek since 2019. “We want to champion them: the diehards, the ones who truly love the game. By connecting Paddletek to the fast, physical style of play captivating players and fans, we’re proving it’s the paddle for serious competition.”

Needless to say, Paddletek made the right choice with Anna Leigh Waters, who undeniably represents all the great things pickleball is about.

(You can watch the Not a Real Sport spot below.)