More women become empowered as athletes as the women’s sports economy shows relentless momentum
From trend to tipping point: since our 2026 trend, “Women and Sports: The Revolution Continues,” was released in January, the momentum behind women’s sports has accelerated across leagues, investment, media, fandom and participation. What looked like a cultural shift is increasingly becoming a structural one, with women’s sport moving firmly into the mainstream—and creating new opportunities across the wider wellness economy.
The biggest change since January is the sheer expansion of the professional landscape. New women’s leagues are launching across hockey, volleyball, baseball, softball, basketball, flag football, lacrosse and rugby, while established properties are attracting new investment and audiences. The result is a much more diverse women’s sports ecosystem—and more opportunities for fans to find a sport, team or athlete that speaks to them.
Investment is following the audience. New funds and financing rounds are targeting women’s sports and its surrounding media and commercial ecosystem, while broadcasters and platforms are giving women’s sport more prominent space. Women’s sports bars are also becoming a visible part of the culture, creating dedicated places for female fans to watch, socialize and build community.
Female athletes are increasingly powerful cultural and commercial platforms in their own right. They are moving beyond traditional endorsements into fashion, beauty, wellness, footwear, media and other businesses, using their own experiences to identify gaps and create products and services for women.
At the grassroots level, the shift is equally striking. Women are lifting heavier, joining leagues, and taking upall kinds of sports–from women globally training hard and competing in the spawning hybrid fitness competitions like Hyrox to Gen Z women in China rushing to golf. And the women-only fitness and strength training studios just continue to multiply. Sports are increasingly being framed not simply as a way to change the body, but as a source of strength, confidence, connection and identity.
The trend is also becoming more global. From the growing participation and viewership of women’s sports in India to new women-focused sporting initiatives across Asia and the Middle East, the appetite is expanding well beyond the Western markets that have traditionally driven the market and conversation.
The trend explores the diverse ways that the trend is impacting the wellness market, from gyms, fitness studios and wellness resorts shifting their women’s training programs from “smaller to stronger” to more wellness brands partnering with elite female athletes, whether as brand ambassadors or in designing their programs.
Together, these shifts signal a structural change, not a moment: women’s sports are no longer asking for permission, but actively redefining what power, performance and possibility look like—on the field, in culture and across the global wellness economy.
The “Women and Sports” trend is written by Amy Eisinger in The Future of Wellness 2026 Trends report. Purchase it HERE.
Global Women’s Sports Market Set to Reach $3 Billion in 2026, Unlocking New Opportunities -The Wall Street Journal,May 2026 Women’s sports aren’t “on the rise” anymore, they’re here. According to a new report by Deloitte, global revenue will top $3 billion in 2026 after handily beating the 2025 projections, with revenue jumping an amazing 340% since 2022. Investment in women’s sports is expected to generate increased commercial, broadcast, and matchday revenue this year.
Per Nielsen, US women’s sports viewership jumped 18% YoY in the first half of 2026. BofA projects 250%+ revenue gains across US women's sports by 2030. Women’s leagues are drawing in new, young, affluent, and educated female fans. Attracted to inspirational stories and cultural impact over talent alone, 62% follow individuals before teams. Emotional resonance is creating superconsumers, with ads seeing up to 426% higher engagement during women’s sports broadcasts. Sports have never been more influential, and a new wave of highly engaged fans is solidifying the women’s game as an AI-proof asset class.
Money is flowing into start-ups in softball, baseball, volleyball and basketball, and TV viewership is following. Two weeks ago, women’s pro baseball was launched, bringing new energy to the stacked sports marketplace. Baseball is one of 10 new pro women’s leagues debuting since 2024, including: the Professional Women’s Hockey League, Athletes Unlimited Softball League, Major League Volleyball, Unrivaled, 3XBA basketball and the Upshot League, the Women’s Lacrosse League, Women’s Elite Rugby and next year, a flag football league sponsored by the NFL. As the catcher for the brand-new New York Heights women’s baseball team put it: “We are the newbies, but…women’s sports is such a huge movement right now, across not just the U.S. but across the world.”
A study by the BBC and Collective Newsroom, titled “Attitudes Towards Women’s Sports, Sportswomen and Women in India,” reveals a decisive and positive shift in participation and viewership. More than half (51%) of respondents report watching women’s sports in the last six months, showing a narrowing viewership gap with male sports. Women reporting that they play cricket has doubled from 2020, from 5% to 10%. The gender divide has significantly narrowed, with a quarter of cricket-playing respondents (24%) being women (up from 17% in 2020). Striking finding: one in four young women between ages 15 and 24 have considered sports as a career option. There’s much momentum, but barriers to participation still exist. While 70% of Indian women report playing sports in childhood, only half continue as adults, and two-thirds report that lack of time is their primary cause for non-participation.
The VC firm focused on consumer tech launched a health and performance platform called Optima that delivers women's health innovations directly to female athletes. It’s an example of the new intersections between women's health/wellness companies and women athletes, and the companies providing the tech reads like a who's who of the women's health ecosystem: Eli Health (hormone health), Midi Health (longevity), Beekeeper’s Naturals (wellness) and Mahmee (doula and postpartum care), to name a few. Women's pro sports revenue is growing 4.5 times faster than men's, yet female athletes remain underserved by sports science. The platform aims to put evidence-backed solutions to optimize women athlete’s health, their careers, and longevity.
Exclusive Sponsor of The Future of Wellness 2026 Trends Report
Global Wellness Summit, 333 S.E. 2nd Avenue, Suite 2045, Miami, FL 33131, United States
