Trend: Women and Sports: The Revolution Continues
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.
Women’s Sports Create Superconsumers—Fitt Insider, August 21, 2026
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.
Women’s Sports Leagues Have Exploded Around the US—The New York Times, September 2, 2026
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.”
More Women in India Are Playing and Watching Sports, But Barriers Persist: Report—The Wire, March 16, 2026
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.
Muse Capital Launches Program to Put Women’s Health and Wellness Tools Directly in the Hands of Elite Female Athletes—Femtech Insider, April 9, 2026
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.
The Future of Wellness report goes in depth on ten trends that will transform wellness in 2026 and beyond. It can be purchased HERE.