Female Athletes who have taken women’s sports to the next level

• In recent years, women’s sports are attracting more attention and investments.
• Numerous female athletes have made it possible for women’s sport to be mainstreamed.
• FromFrom Babe Didrikson Zaharias and the Williams sisters to these 36 legendary athletes who put women’s sports on the map.

Female sports are on the increase.

Recent breakthroughs have brought female athletes closer to mainstream status than ever before. According to a 2018 Nielsen report about the rise in women’s sport84% of sports fans are interested in women’s activities.

For decades, however, women who have pioneered in sport have done so to inspire others and foster progress.

While Billie Jean King was the original pioneer of women’s sport, Billie Rudolph and Wilma Rudolph are now part of the movement to make women’s sport accessible to all. 

We take you through 36 of the most famous female athletes who have made women’s sport a global phenomenon.

Alexandra Licata contributed an earlier version to this story.