The big strides in women's sport in 2024

The year 2024 was notably marked by the organization of the first equal Olympic Games in the French capital, but this is only one of the many strides made by women's sport over the last 12 months.

Many professional women's leagues around the world have seen the value of their franchises reach new heights. More and more fans are coming to the event, whether at the ticket office or in front of their television, and sponsors are not shy about investing in this industry which is growing at breakneck speed.

In Canada, this enthusiasm notably allowed the Professional Women's Hockey League (LPHF) to experience a successful inaugural season, and the Super League of the North, in Soccer, is preparing to follow suit in 2025. We will come back.

Tennis, the benchmark

On a global scale, women's tennis continues to be the locomotive of this fast-moving train. According to the specialized media Sporty9 of the 15 highest paid female athletes in the world in 2024 play on the circuit of the WTA. Eleven sportswomen earned more than 10 million US dollars this year, compared to only 6 in 2023.

Coco Gauff sits at the top of this list for a second year in a row thanks to 21 million in sponsorships and 9.4 million in tournament winnings over the last 12 months. The 20-year-old American also pocketed the tidy sum of 4.805 million by winning the finals of the WTAan unprecedented amount for a women's tournament.

Gauff is only the third female athlete to earn more than 30 million in the space of a calendar, after Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, two other tennis players.

Despite everything, the stars of the WTA do not yet receive the same amounts as their male colleagues in all tournaments. The circuit has, however, committed to ensuring that there is salary parity in the 1000 and 500 category competitions which take place in the same city by 2027. This is already the case in the grand slam tournaments and that can't be long before the National Bank Open.

The Fever Caitlin Clark

No athlete, male or female, has had more influence on the growth of their sport in 2024 than Basketball player Caitlin Clark. The 22-year-old leader aroused the amazement of crowds wherever she went, and her undeniable talent offered unprecedented visibility to the NCAA and to the WNBA.

The American started the year in the university ranks with the Hawkeyes of Iowa, which she guided to the national championship for a second year in a row, breaking numerous records in the process. The final of March Madness The women's game was watched by more than 18.7 million people, surpassing the audience for the men's final match for the first time in the history of the United States College Sports Network.

Clark then made the jump to the pros, where she once again set some records after the Fever of Indiana had made her the 1st overall pick in the draft. Some 2.45 million people tuned in to their televisions to witness this moment, an increase of 328% compared to 2023.

During the season, the league's audience increased by 21% and many teams had to move their matches to amphitheaters in the NBA when they received a visit from Fever to respond to the request of the supporters, who wanted to see CC at work. Although her rookie contract only earned her $76,535 this year, she was rewarded by her sponsors, who earned her more than US$11 million in 2024.

Canadian basketball fans will soon no longer have to travel south of the border to witness his prowess. Starting in 2026, Toronto Tempo will be part of the WNBA as an expansion team.

The LPHFhere for good

In 2024, the best female hockey players on the planet finally seem to be able to count on a league that matches their talent. There LPHF is not the first of its kind in North America, but it stands out from previous ones by the solidity of its marketing plan, according to several experts.

The teams didn't yet have a clearly defined visual identity during their inaugural season, which began in January, but that didn't stop their fans from developing a sense of belonging.

They played 24 matches, some of which were sold out in amphitheaters in the NHLbefore starting the playoffs, which ultimately allowed the Minnesota team to be crowned, in May.

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The six franchises have since revealed their name, logo and uniforms; enough to make the project even more concrete than it already was. The schedule has been improved, with 30 matches per team before the start of the playoffs, and the LPHF is already thinking about its first expansion.

In short, the first signs are more than encouraging for the thousands of young hockey players who dream of following in the footsteps of their idols one of these days. And for those who would prefer a career behind the bench, a glass ceiling was shattered in 2024 when Jessica Campbell became the first woman to hold an assistant coaching role in the NHLwith the Kraken de Seattle.

Soccer's turn in 2025

Are the successes of the LPHF mean that we can expect the same result with the Super Ligue du Nord, this professional women's soccer circuit which will officially see the light of day in Canada in April 2025? Not necessarily, but there are many reasons to be optimistic.

Football remains the most popular sport on the planet, and this is, among other things, what justified the creation of the CPKC Stadiumthe first stadium built specifically for a professional women's team, at a cost of $120 million. The new home of Current of Kansas City was inaugurated in March in front of a packed house of 11,500 spectators.

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This major investment was not made on a whim; rather, it was dictated by the growing popularity of NWSL. This fall, the league's seven playoff games attracted an average of 562,900 viewers, five times more than in 2023.

In England, the Women’s Super League (WSL) is no exception to this trend. The British league has managed to generate over £10 million in broadcast rights alone, with some matches available for free on YouTube to increase the circuit's visibility.

Many players of the Canadian national team had called for the creation of a professional league in the country after their winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. They had to wait four years for their wish to be fulfilled. be granted. But if we trust what is happening elsewhere on the planet, the wait will have been worth it.

Go back to move forward

If all these leagues are flourishing visibly, it is partly thanks to the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), which became the first women's professional circuit in all sports in 1950.

As she prepares to celebrate her 75th birthday, the LPGA recently announced that the upcoming campaign will be the most lucrative yet for female players. More than 131 million dollars will be distributed in the 35 tournaments scheduled in 2025, an increase of 90% over the last four years.

The generous scholarships awarded to the most deserving ensure that three golfers on the circuit have carved out a place among the 15 best-paid female athletes in the world, namely the American Nelly Korda (8th), the Thai Jeeno Thitikul (12th) and New Zealander Lydia Ko (15th).

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The only downside: the significant investments made by the LPGA in 2024 have ensured that it will end the year with a deficit of $2 million.

The association's commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, is however not too concerned by this negative financial result. She recalled that after all, you have to spend money to make money.

When we take a look at the economic impact of other major women's professional leagues in 2024, we have to admit that she is right!