Women’s sports continue to strengthen their commercial position, with sponsorship investment, digital engagement and audience growth reaching new highs. According to GlobalData’s latest report, Strategic Intelligence: Women in Sport 2026, the number of sponsorship agreements dedicated exclusively to women’s sports increased by 103% between 2020 and 2025, while the average value of those deals rose by 15.5% over the same period.
The report highlights record-breaking audiences and commercial growth across women’s sports but warns that significant gender pay disparities remain due to a lack of long-term investment.
Major brands increase investment
GlobalData identifies Mercedes-Benz’s partnership with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and Barclays’ title sponsorship of the Women’s Super League (WSL) as two of the most significant sponsorship agreements in women’s sports in 2026.
Among individual athletes, Naomi Osaka’s partnership with Nike and Coco Gauff’s deal with New Balance continue to rank among the most valuable endorsement agreements in women’s sports.
Global tournaments drive commercial momentum
The report points to the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 and the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup as two landmark events that accelerated visibility, professional investment and commercial development across the sector.
The Women’s Rugby World Cup delivered particularly strong commercial results:
- Revenue increased 330% compared with the previous edition.
- The tournament generated 147 million hours of global viewing.
- Social media content surpassed one billion impressions.
- More than 440,000 tickets were sold, more than tripling attendance from the previous tournament.
Social media fuels rapid growth
According to Olivia Snooks, Sports Analyst at GlobalData, women’s sports are experiencing rapid digital acceleration driven by athletes telling their own stories, the growth of women-focused streaming and highlights platforms, and younger audiences discovering sports primarily through social media.
She noted that TikTok and Instagram have become particularly important growth engines, with women’s leagues and teams increasing video views at a faster rate than their men’s counterparts.
“The way fan communities are being built and global attention is being captured is fundamentally changing,” Snooks said.
WNBA leads short-form content
The report also found that the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) was the leading women’s sports property for short-form content across Instagram and TikTok in 2025.
The league published more than 1,000 additional Instagram videos compared with the WTA, the second-largest women’s sports account, reinforcing its leadership in digital content production.
Investment gap remains
Despite record commercial growth, GlobalData stresses that women’s sports continue to face structural challenges.
The report attributes the persistent gender pay gap to insufficient long-term investment, unequal media coverage and weaker commercial revenue streams compared with men’s sports.
Nevertheless, the continued rise in sponsorship investment, expanding digital audiences and record-breaking attendance figures indicate that women’s sports are becoming an increasingly valuable part of the global sports economy.