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A thunderous roar at Twickenham crowned a landmark 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup that shattered attendance records, while India’s first Women’s Cricket World Cup title ignited celebrations across the nation.
A’ja Wilson produced a season for the ages in the WNBA, redefining dominance, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone stunned the world by claiming a global title at a new distance in the 400 meters.
Beyond the unforgettable moments, 2025 marked a turning point for women’s sports, driven by new franchises, swelling television audiences and growing commercial power, momentum that now carries confidently into 2026.
At the center of it all, England hosted and won a Rugby World Cup that broke barriers and reset expectations for what the women’s game can be.
More than 440,000 tickets were sold, triple the total from the 2021 edition, and the crescendo came at Twickenham, where 81,885 fans, the largest crowd ever to watch a women’s rugby match, saw England’s Red Roses defeat Canada 33-13.
Sally Horrox, World Rugby’s chief of women’s rugby, described the spectacle as “something girls’ dreams are made of.”
More than half of tournament spectators were female, and about 50% attended their first women’s rugby match.
The event generated a peak TV audience of 5.8 million in the UK. While the United States did not advance out of the pool stage, the spotlight helped American Ilona Maher further cement her status as the world’s most followed rugby player, male or female, with more than 9 million followers across Instagram and TikTok.
WNBA soars again
The WNBA soared once more, bolstered by expansion to 13 teams and the electrifying play of MVP Wilson, who led the Las Vegas Aces to their third title in four seasons.
The season was marked by record viewership and attendance, rising merchandise sales and major new media rights deals.
After welcoming the Golden State Valkyries this year, the league will expand to 15 teams in 2026 with new franchises in Toronto and Portland. Additional teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia will bring the total to 18 by 2030.
Wilson became the first four-time WNBA MVP and won her third Defensive Player of the Year award. She also earned Finals MVP honors and recently appeared on the cover of Time magazine, prompting Nike to launch an ad reading, “Only a magazine can cover her.”
India’s maiden World Cup triumph
India’s maiden Women’s Cricket World Cup victory turned the streets of Mumbai into a carnival as fireworks lit up the night sky, drivers honked their horns and crowds danced.
Similar celebrations erupted nationwide as fans gathered around televisions in tea stalls and homes, a cultural milestone that sent the brand value of India’s top women cricketers soaring.
In athletics, McLaughlin-Levrone dazzled at the World Championships, seamlessly switching from the 400-meter hurdles to win the flat 400 in the fastest time in 40 years.
She clocked 47.78 seconds, the second-fastest time in history behind East Germany’s Marita Koch, whose record was set during the country’s state-sponsored doping era.
Euros reach new peaks
In football, the Women’s European Championship in Switzerland reached new heights, eclipsing ticket sales from the 2022 tournament with two matches still to be played.
Switzerland’s surprise run to its first quarterfinal ignited fresh interest in the women’s game in a country better known for producing elite skiers and tennis players.
“We lost the game, but I think we gained a lot,” coach Pia Sundhage said after the hosts fell to Spain. “When people shouted my name, I felt they were shouting for women’s football.”
European champions Arsenal shattered the women’s transfer record by signing Canadian forward Olivia Smith from Liverpool for 1 million pounds ($1.34 million), making her the first female player to break the seven-figure barrier.
Women’s sports extend reach
The year also saw continued expansion across women’s sports with the launch of several new leagues.
The Unrivaled 3×3 women’s basketball league was co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart as a domestic option for players during the WNBA offseason. Rose BC, led by Chelsea Gray, won the inaugural title.
Despite being a fledgling league, Unrivaled paid players an average salary of $220,000, compared with the WNBA’s average salary of about $120,000 per season.
Investors include tennis great Serena Williams, NBA players Trae Young, Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner, and football star Alex Morgan. Warner Bros. Discovery, which holds exclusive media rights, recently increased its stake in the league.
Other leagues debuting in 2025 included the Women’s Professional Baseball League, the first U.S. pro women’s league in the sport since 1954, League One Volleyball and the Northern Super League, Canada’s first professional women’s football league.
