Women's professional sports
Encyclopedia
Professional athletes are distinguished from amateur athletes by virtue of being paid. Throughout the world, most top female athletes are not paid, and work full-time or part-time jobs in addition to their training, practice and competition schedules. Women's professional sports organizations defy this trend. Such organizations are relatively new, and are most common in very economically developed countries, where investors are available to buy teams, and businesses can afford to sponsor them in exchange for publicity and promotion of their products. Very few governments support professional sports
, male or female.
. Among them was Joan Weston
, a roller derby
star who was once the highest paid female in sports, but she was the exception rather than the rule.
Things began to change in 1973 when Billie Jean King
won "the Battle of the Sexes" and cracked the glass ceiling
on pay for female athletes. Other players, like Martina Navratilova, broke through that ceiling, decreasing the gap between women and men athlete's pay on a regular basis rather than occasionally.
Even now, in the 21st century, most professional women athletes around the world receive very little notoriety or pay compared to men. Life
acknowledged the importance of King's achievement in 1990 by naming her one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century."
. The WNBA (under the NBA Board of Governors) pays the top women players 60 times less than the top men. In 2005, the WNBA team salary cap was $0.673 million. The NBA cap was over 60 times higher, at $43.87 million. The Women's United Soccer Association
became the first American women's pro league in 2001, but lasted only briefly because of financial sponsorship. Fans enjoyed women's pro soccer for three seasons before executives announced suspension of the league, in spite of the fact that the Women's national socccer team
was rated one of the world's top teams. Absence of a Women's professional football (soccer) league in the United States made it difficult for the Soccer women's national football team to find new players until Women's Professional Soccer
was founded. A 2004 effort to revive the WUSA was launched. On September 4, 2007, a new North American women's professional football league, tentatively named Women's Soccer LLC, was announced, and ultimately launched in 2009 as Women's Professional Soccer
.
(AAGBL), in place of Major League Baseball, was created in 1943 to provide entertainment of people exhausted by the war. It was such a success that the number of people who attended women's baseball games reached almost 1 million in 1948. Yet, when the war ended and Major League Baseball players came back home, female baseball players were obliged to fill the role of housewife at home. AAGBL lost its audience, struggled with finances, and ceased to exist in 1954.
Forty years later, in 1994, a businessman in Atlanta struck a $3 million sponsorship deal with Coors and formed a women's professional baseball team called Colorado Silver Bullets. About 20 members were selected from 1,300 baseball players nationwide for this team. The Bullets played games with men's semiprofessional teams and regional teams. In 1997, when the Ladies League Baseball was born and it included four teams, the Bullets fought with them.
The Ladies League Baseball changed its name into the Ladies Pro Baseball and added two teams into the league in 1998. However, after the first month, the league has been suspended, being faced with financial difficulties of its sponsors. The Bullets have not operated also since 1998 as Coors terminated its contract.
The Women's Professional Basketball League
(WBL) was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league is generally considered to be the first American professional women's basketball league to be founded. The Women's Basketball Association (WBA) was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the summer of 1993 to the summer of 1995. The league is considered to be the first American professional women's basketball league to be successful as a summer league, like the WNBA. Also the American Basketball League (ABL) was founded in 1996 during an increase in the interest in the sport following the 1996 Summer Olympics. The league played two full season (1996–97 and 1997–98) and started a third (1998–99) before it folded on December 22, 1998.
(Ladies Professional Golf Association) was founded in 1950 and is the longest running women's professional sports association.
Kathy Kusner mounted a successful legal case in 1968 to become the first licensed female jockey in the United States. Since the age of 16, she had been regularly winning unrecognized flat and timber races. As a licensed jockey, she rode races up and down the eastern seaboard and Canada and became the first licensed female jockey to ride races in Mexico, Germany, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Panama, South Africa, and what was then Rhodesia. She was also the first woman to ride in the Maryland Hunt Cup, the toughest timber race in the world. ABC Television filmed an award-winning documentary in Saratoga about her being the first woman in modern times to ride in a steeplechase at the racetrack.
league, formed in September 2007, began its league play in March 2009. In 2011 season, there are currently 6 teams in the east of United States.
(WTA) was founded in 1973.
has started many programs to help women's golf.
started in Canada, as did the first-ever attempt at launching a pro league in the 1990s. The Canadian Women's Hockey League
(CWHL) have a historic legacy, but the current incarnation of the League began operations in 2007. Over the decades, the League has had many names: In the late 90s and early 2000s, it was the National Women's Hockey League
(NWHL) . Many of the current stars were culled from that league after its demise in 2007. At the time, owners were losing money and unable to forge a cohesive plan for how to move the league forward . The prospect of having no professionnal league for women left the world’s top players with nowhere to play. In the summer of 2007, a groundbreaking initiative launch a player-run league with a new vision. Along with fellow players Allyson Fox, Kathleen Kauth
, Kim McCullough
, Sami Jo Small
, Jennifer Botterill
, Lisa-Marie Breton
and a group of keen business people, they formed the Canadian Women's Hockey League
(CWHL), following the example of the National Lacrosse League
. The result was a non-profit organization that favoured a centralized league over the old ownership model. This new league would cover all basic travel, ice rental, uniforms and equipment costs for the league’s 6 teams across Eastern Canada. Until the 2010-11 season
the players in the league had to pay over $ 1,000 each to play hockey. While these female elite hockey players hope to make a living playing someday, everyone involved in the League, from players to staff, work “pro bono,” leading double lives as National Team athletes, journalists, policemens, fire brigades, school principals and teachers.
league, Damehåndboldligaen, is all-pro and internationally considered the strongest and most well paid in the world. Leading clubs are GOG, Slagelse
, Aalborg DH
and Viborg HK
.
The Danish women's football league, Elitedivisionen
is semi-professional. Leading clubs are Fortuna Hjorring and HEI.
, is semi-professional. The major women's clubs competing are affiliates of male club counterparts, usually bearing the same names with the acronyms LFC or WFC, but they do not share the same large stadiums, instead renting smaller stadiums from lower-level clubs (no women's club actually owns their stadium). The competition is semi-professional, meaning that the players are paid above the old maximum for professionals but rely on part-time jobs or schooling outside the game. Full professionalism has been tried, mostly on the part of individual teams (Fulham L.F.C.
was the first side to go full pro, but was downgraded later by the owners), but it will take years to develop a fully professionalised women's league in England. Backing by a male club does not necessarily equal success, and the level of success achieved by male clubs may be reversed in female counterparts (compare these local derbies: Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City; Bristol City vs. Bristol Rovers
; Liverpool vs. Everton
; and Sunderland vs. Newcastle United
)
Similar semi-professionalism examples exist in women's rugby union
and cricket
. Common to most Europe
an sports, promotion and relegation
is used for the leagues (which the WNBA and WPS do not have).
Forbes list: 2011
Forbes list: 2010
Professional sports
Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...
, male or female.
History of Women's Professional Sports
Beginning in the late 1960s, a few women gained enough recognition for their athletic talent and social acceptance as role models to earn a living playing sports. Most of these were in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Among them was Joan Weston
Joan Weston
Joan Weston or Joanie Weston , known as the "Blonde Bomber", "Blonde Amazon", "Golden Girl", and "Roller Derby Queen", was a U.S...
, a roller derby
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
star who was once the highest paid female in sports, but she was the exception rather than the rule.
Things began to change in 1973 when Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
won "the Battle of the Sexes" and cracked the glass ceiling
Glass ceiling
In economics, the term glass ceiling refers to "the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements." Initially, the metaphor applied to barriers in the careers of women but...
on pay for female athletes. Other players, like Martina Navratilova, broke through that ceiling, decreasing the gap between women and men athlete's pay on a regular basis rather than occasionally.
Even now, in the 21st century, most professional women athletes around the world receive very little notoriety or pay compared to men. Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
acknowledged the importance of King's achievement in 1990 by naming her one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century."
USA
Though women have been pro athletes in the United States, since the early 1900s, paid teams, leagues and athletes are still uncommon and, as of 2006, paid far less than their male counterparts. For instance, the WNBA had its first season in 1997, 51 years after inception of the men's NBANational Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
. The WNBA (under the NBA Board of Governors) pays the top women players 60 times less than the top men. In 2005, the WNBA team salary cap was $0.673 million. The NBA cap was over 60 times higher, at $43.87 million. The Women's United Soccer Association
Women's United Soccer Association
The Women's United Soccer Association, often abbreviated to the WUSA, was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the United States...
became the first American women's pro league in 2001, but lasted only briefly because of financial sponsorship. Fans enjoyed women's pro soccer for three seasons before executives announced suspension of the league, in spite of the fact that the Women's national socccer team
United States women's national soccer team
The United States women's national soccer team represents the United States in international soccer competition and is controlled by U.S. Soccer. The U.S. team won the first ever Women's World Cup in 1991, and has since been a superpower in women's soccer. It is currently ranked first in the world...
was rated one of the world's top teams. Absence of a Women's professional football (soccer) league in the United States made it difficult for the Soccer women's national football team to find new players until Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...
was founded. A 2004 effort to revive the WUSA was launched. On September 4, 2007, a new North American women's professional football league, tentatively named Women's Soccer LLC, was announced, and ultimately launched in 2009 as Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...
.
Women's baseball
Since many men were on the battlefield during the Second World War, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball LeagueAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. During the league's history, over 600 women played ball.-History:...
(AAGBL), in place of Major League Baseball, was created in 1943 to provide entertainment of people exhausted by the war. It was such a success that the number of people who attended women's baseball games reached almost 1 million in 1948. Yet, when the war ended and Major League Baseball players came back home, female baseball players were obliged to fill the role of housewife at home. AAGBL lost its audience, struggled with finances, and ceased to exist in 1954.
Forty years later, in 1994, a businessman in Atlanta struck a $3 million sponsorship deal with Coors and formed a women's professional baseball team called Colorado Silver Bullets. About 20 members were selected from 1,300 baseball players nationwide for this team. The Bullets played games with men's semiprofessional teams and regional teams. In 1997, when the Ladies League Baseball was born and it included four teams, the Bullets fought with them.
The Ladies League Baseball changed its name into the Ladies Pro Baseball and added two teams into the league in 1998. However, after the first month, the league has been suspended, being faced with financial difficulties of its sponsors. The Bullets have not operated also since 1998 as Coors terminated its contract.
Women's basketball
There are many countries where women's professional basketball league exists besides the United States, such as Italy, Germany, Spain, and Brazil. Many Americans players went overseas and some WNBA players play basketball in foreign countries during WNBA's off-season.The Women's Professional Basketball League
Women's Professional Basketball League
The Women's Professional Basketball League was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981...
(WBL) was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league is generally considered to be the first American professional women's basketball league to be founded. The Women's Basketball Association (WBA) was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the summer of 1993 to the summer of 1995. The league is considered to be the first American professional women's basketball league to be successful as a summer league, like the WNBA. Also the American Basketball League (ABL) was founded in 1996 during an increase in the interest in the sport following the 1996 Summer Olympics. The league played two full season (1996–97 and 1997–98) and started a third (1998–99) before it folded on December 22, 1998.
Women's golf
The LPGALPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
(Ladies Professional Golf Association) was founded in 1950 and is the longest running women's professional sports association.
Women in horse racing
In 1906 Lula Olive Gill became the first female jockey to win a horse race in California; later that same year, Ada Evans Dean rode her own horse to victory after her jockey had become ill. Indeed, Dean won twice — in spite of never having raced before.Kathy Kusner mounted a successful legal case in 1968 to become the first licensed female jockey in the United States. Since the age of 16, she had been regularly winning unrecognized flat and timber races. As a licensed jockey, she rode races up and down the eastern seaboard and Canada and became the first licensed female jockey to ride races in Mexico, Germany, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Panama, South Africa, and what was then Rhodesia. She was also the first woman to ride in the Maryland Hunt Cup, the toughest timber race in the world. ABC Television filmed an award-winning documentary in Saratoga about her being the first woman in modern times to ride in a steeplechase at the racetrack.
Women's Football
The Women's Professional SoccerWomen's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...
league, formed in September 2007, began its league play in March 2009. In 2011 season, there are currently 6 teams in the east of United States.
Women's softball
The first women's professional softball league was established in 1976, but it only lasted for four years because of its financial reasons and failure in marketing. In 1994, the Women's Professional Fastpitch emerged to prepare a rebirth of the professional league, which came into existence with 6 teams in 1997. The teams were divided into 2 groups, had 66 games a year, and the winners of both groups did play-off. Several games were on the air. Another team joined the league in 1999 and the league will consist of 18 teams in 5 years.Women's volleyball
The Women's Professional Volleyball Association was established in 1986. The association organized professional 6-player indoor volleyball leagues and beach volleyball leagues, such as Budlight Pro Beach Volleyball League in 1997, in which 4 teams participated. It was unfortunate that the Women's Professional Volleyball Association dissolved in April 1998.Women's tennis
The Women's Tennis AssociationWomen's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
(WTA) was founded in 1973.
Australia
In Australia, the Australian Institute of SportAustralian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
has started many programs to help women's golf.
Women ice hockey
At the turn of the 20th century, the first organized women’s ice hockey leaguesCanadian women's ice hockey history
The first instances of organized women's ice hockey in Canada date back to the 1890s when it is played at the university level. The Women's Hockey Association claims that the city of Ottawa, Ontario hosted the first game in 1891. In February 1921 a women’s international championship series that was...
started in Canada, as did the first-ever attempt at launching a pro league in the 1990s. The Canadian Women's Hockey League
Canadian Women's Hockey League
The Canadian Women's Hockey League is one of two major women's ice hockey leagues in Canada. The league was founded in 2007. The league currently has six ice hockey teams: three in Ontario, one in Quebec, one in Alberta and one in Boston, Massachusetts....
(CWHL) have a historic legacy, but the current incarnation of the League began operations in 2007. Over the decades, the League has had many names: In the late 90s and early 2000s, it was the National Women's Hockey League
National Women's Hockey League
The National Women's Hockey League was a women's ice hockey league. This League was in service between 1999 and 2007.-History:The NWHL superseded the old Central Ontario Women's Hockey League in 1998-99. After the old COWHL dropped down to three teams in 1997-98, the new league expanded to...
(NWHL) . Many of the current stars were culled from that league after its demise in 2007. At the time, owners were losing money and unable to forge a cohesive plan for how to move the league forward . The prospect of having no professionnal league for women left the world’s top players with nowhere to play. In the summer of 2007, a groundbreaking initiative launch a player-run league with a new vision. Along with fellow players Allyson Fox, Kathleen Kauth
Kathleen Kauth
Kathleen Kauth is an American ice hockey player, formerly playing for the Brampton Thunder, when they were affiliated with the NWHL.-USA Hockey:...
, Kim McCullough
Kim McCullough
Kim McCullough was a women's ice hockey player for the Dartmouth Big Green women's ice hockey program. She is also a coach and the writer of a series of hockey training books called Best Hockey Season Ever.-Playing career:...
, Sami Jo Small
Sami Jo Small
Sami Jo Small is a women's ice hockey player.-Hockey Canada:Small is a three time Olympian, acting as a third goaltender on the Canadian women's hockey team at Turin and Nagano.-CWHL:...
, Jennifer Botterill
Jennifer Botterill
Jennifer Botterill, OM is a retired women's hockey player who played for the Canadian national women's hockey team, Mississauga Chiefs and the Toronto Aeros. Her final game was the 2011 Clarkson Cup final, a 5-0 loss to the Montreal Stars...
, Lisa-Marie Breton
Lisa-Marie Breton
Lisa-Marie Breton is an ice hockey player for the Montreal Stars. For the 2010–11 Montreal CWHL season, Breton is the team captain.-Playing career:...
and a group of keen business people, they formed the Canadian Women's Hockey League
Canadian Women's Hockey League
The Canadian Women's Hockey League is one of two major women's ice hockey leagues in Canada. The league was founded in 2007. The league currently has six ice hockey teams: three in Ontario, one in Quebec, one in Alberta and one in Boston, Massachusetts....
(CWHL), following the example of the National Lacrosse League
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...
. The result was a non-profit organization that favoured a centralized league over the old ownership model. This new league would cover all basic travel, ice rental, uniforms and equipment costs for the league’s 6 teams across Eastern Canada. Until the 2010-11 season
2010–11 CWHL season
The 2010–11 CWHL season is the fourth in the history of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. For the season, the league will run on a budget of $500,000 and players will pay for their own equipment.-Offseason:...
the players in the league had to pay over $ 1,000 each to play hockey. While these female elite hockey players hope to make a living playing someday, everyone involved in the League, from players to staff, work “pro bono,” leading double lives as National Team athletes, journalists, policemens, fire brigades, school principals and teachers.
Denmark
The Danish women's team handballTeam handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
league, Damehåndboldligaen, is all-pro and internationally considered the strongest and most well paid in the world. Leading clubs are GOG, Slagelse
Slagelse
Slagelse, a town in east Denmark, is in Slagelse municipality on the island of Zealand. It is about 100 km southwest of Copenhagen. The population is 31,979 ....
, Aalborg DH
Aalborg DH
-History:Aalborg DH was promoted to the top league in Denmark in 2002-2003. The club finished second in the top league once, and obtained third place in 2005-2006...
and Viborg HK
Viborg HK
Viborg HK is the name of a Danish handball club from Viborg. The club has many teams for both women and men, but especially the professional women's team is one of the most successful in Danish and European handball since the beginning of the 1990s...
.
The Danish women's football league, Elitedivisionen
Elitedivisionen
Elitedivisionen is the highest-level league competition for women's football clubs in Danish football. The first national championship was contested in 1973...
is semi-professional. Leading clubs are Fortuna Hjorring and HEI.
England
In England, the top competition of women's football, the FA Women's Premier LeagueFA Women's Premier League
The FA Women's Premier League is the second tier of women's football in England. It previously formed the top tier prior to the creation of the FA Women's Super League in 2011. The Women's Premier League has been run by The Football Association since the 1992–93 season...
, is semi-professional. The major women's clubs competing are affiliates of male club counterparts, usually bearing the same names with the acronyms LFC or WFC, but they do not share the same large stadiums, instead renting smaller stadiums from lower-level clubs (no women's club actually owns their stadium). The competition is semi-professional, meaning that the players are paid above the old maximum for professionals but rely on part-time jobs or schooling outside the game. Full professionalism has been tried, mostly on the part of individual teams (Fulham L.F.C.
Fulham L.F.C.
WFC Fulham, previously known as Fulham LFC, was a Ladies Football Club formerly associated with Fulham Football Club. The team were dissolved as of 16 May 2006, but were later re-established with independence from Fulham F.C....
was the first side to go full pro, but was downgraded later by the owners), but it will take years to develop a fully professionalised women's league in England. Backing by a male club does not necessarily equal success, and the level of success achieved by male clubs may be reversed in female counterparts (compare these local derbies: Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City; Bristol City vs. Bristol Rovers
Bristol derby
The Bristol derby is the name given to football matches played between Bristol Rovers and Bristol City . The fans of each club both consider the other to be their main rivals, leading to a heated atmosphere at these matches...
; Liverpool vs. Everton
Merseyside derby
The Merseyside derby is the name given to any football match contested between Everton and Liverpool football clubs, the two most successful clubs from the city of Liverpool in England...
; and Sunderland vs. Newcastle United
Tyne-Wear derby
The Tyne and Wear derby is a local derby between the association football clubs Newcastle United and Sunderland. The derby is an inter-city rivalry in North East England with the two cities of Newcastle and Sunderland just ten miles apart. The first meeting of the two sides took place in 1883, with...
)
Similar semi-professionalism examples exist in women's rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. Common to most Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an sports, promotion and relegation
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
is used for the leagues (which the WNBA and WPS do not have).
Top earning sportswomen
According to Forbes Magazine, the top ten earning female athletes are:| 2011 rank | Name | Earnings (USD) | Sport |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25.0 million | Tennis | |
| 2 | $12.5 million | Tennis | |
| 3 | $12.0 million | Motorsport | |
| 4 | $11.5 million | Tennis | |
| 5 | $11.0 million | Tennis | |
| 6 | $10.5 million | Tennis | |
| 7 | $10.0 million | Figure skating | |
| 8 | $8.0 million | Tennis | |
| 9 | $6.0 million | Tennis | |
| 10 | $5.5 million | Golf | |
Forbes list: 2011
| 2010 rank | Name | Earnings (USD) | Sport |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $24.5 million | Tennis | |
| 2 | $20.2 million | Tennis | |
| 3 | $15.4 million | Tennis | |
| 4 | $12.0 million | Motorsport | |
| 5 | $9.7 million | Figure skating | |
| 6 | $8 million | Golf (retired) | |
| 7 | $7.2 million | Tennis | |
| 8 | $5.3 million | Tennis | |
| 9 | $5.2 million | Golf | |
| 10 | $5.0 million | Golf (retired) | |
Forbes list: 2010
Women's professional sports competitions
- Women's sport at the OlympicsWomen's sport at the OlympicsOlympic recognition is an important issue for women's sport like netball, women's cycling, field hockey and lawn bowls. Sports that have been historically popular with women often are not included in the Olympics or are only recent additions to the games. The lack of women's sport appearing in...
Football (soccer)
- Women's World CupFIFA Women's World CupThe FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the...
- Algarve CupAlgarve CupThe Algarve Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's football . Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious women's football events, alongside the Women's World Cup and Women's Olympic Football...
- Four Nations Tournament
- CONCACAF Women's Gold CupCONCACAF Women's Gold CupThe CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup is a football competition sponsored by CONCACAF, and serves as a qualifying competition to the Women's World Cup. It is played every four years since it replaced the CONCACAF's Women's Championship, a tournament that was held in the 1990s, which sometimes included...
- Copa do Brasil de Futebol FemininoCopa do Brasil de Futebol FemininoThe Copa do Brasil de Futebol Feminino is a Brazilian women's football competition organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation with the help of the Brazilian Ministry of Sports. It is designed as an equivalent to the men's Copa do Brasil. The first edition is scheduled to start in the end...
- CONMEBOL Sudamericano Femenino
- FA Women's CupFA Women's CupThe Football Association Women’s Challenge Cup Competition, commonly referred to as the FA Women's Cup, is the top cup competition for women's football clubs in England – designed as an exact equivalent to the FA Cup created 99 years earlier...
- FA Women's Premier League Cup
- FA Women's Community ShieldFA Women's Community ShieldThe FA Women's Community Shield is the female football equivalent of the FA Community Shield in the male football. It is the first competitive match of the football season, although it is seen by most fans as a showpiece event...
- U-20 World Cup
- U-17 World CupFIFA U-17 Women's World CupThe FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament for female players under the age of 17. It is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association...
- OFC Women's ChampionshipOFC Women's ChampionshipThe OFC Women's Championship is a competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Oceania Football Confederation . 8 tournaments have been held, with the current champions being New Zealand....
- UEFA Women's ChampionshipUEFA Women's ChampionshipThe UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro and unofficially the "European Cup", held every fourth year, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA Confederation...
Ice hockey
- Alpine CupAlpine CupThe Banff Winter Carnival women’s ice hockey tournament was an ice hockey tournament played in Banff, Alberta, Canada. In the early years, it was contested to determine the women’s ice hockey provincial champions of Alberta...
- Asian Winter GamesIce hockey at the Asian Winter GamesIce hockey tournaments have been staged at the Asian Winter Games since 1986. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1986 Asian Winter Games.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:-Men:-Women:- References :*...
{ - Canadian Interuniversity Sport women's ice hockey championshipCanadian Interuniversity Sport women's ice hockey championshipThis is a list of Canadian Interuniversity Sport women's ice hockey champions....
- Clarkson CupClarkson CupThe Clarkson Cup is an ice hockey trophy, which since 2009 has been awarded to the winner of the Canadian Women's Hockey Championship. Like the Stanley Cup, it was created by and named after a former Governor General of Canada: Adrienne Clarkson....
- Coupe DodgeCoupe DodgeThe Coupe Dodge is a provincial championship in the men's and women's amateur ice hockey leagues in Quebec, Canada. This tournament is sanctioned by both Hockey Quebec and Hockey Canada.-History:...
- Elite Women's Hockey LeagueElite Women's Hockey LeagueThe Elite Women's Hockey League is an international competition for differents Europeans Women's ice hockey clubs. Created in 2004 by International Ice Hockey Federation , the EWHL sets teams resulting from several countries of Central Europe and deceives in parallel national...
- Esso women's hockey nationals
- 4 Nations Cup4 Nations CupThe 4 Nations Cup is an annual women's ice hockey tournament, held between four major national teams in the sport; currently, these are Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland. Until 2000, when Sweden joined, the tournament was the 3 Nations Cup. In general, it is held in or around November...
- MLP Nations CupMLP Nations CupThe Meco Cup is an annual women's ice hockey tournament, held in Germany and Switzerland. Six nations are participating, five countries with their national team and Canada who are playing with their national under-22 team.-Results:-Overall medal count:-External links:* *...
- NCAA Women's Frozen Four
- IIHF Challenge Cup of AsiaIIHF Challenge Cup of AsiaThe IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia are a series of international ice hockey tournament on the continent of Asia. The purpose of the tournament is to provide competitive opportunities for Asian teams that are either in the lower divisions of the IIHF World Championship or do not compete in the World...
- IIHF European Women's Champions CupIIHF European Women's Champions CupIIHF European Women's Champions Cup is an European competition of Women's Ice Hockey clubs, organized annually by International Ice Hockey Federation . The current format of this competition includes two phases of groups followed by a playoff for four teams.-History:The competition was created...
- IIHF European Women ChampionshipsIIHF European Women ChampionshipsThe IIHF European Women Championships is a former international competition of Women ice hockey between nations in Europe. The competition was organized by International Ice Hockey Federation to 1989 at 1996...
- IIHF World Women's Championships
- IIHF World Women's U18 ChampionshipsIIHF World Women's U18 ChampionshipsThe IIHF World Women's U18 Championships are the junior edition of the IIHF World Women's Championships. The championships are limited to female ice hockey players under 18 years of age...
- Women's hockey Tournement at the Olympic GamesIce hockey at the Olympic GamesIce hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games programme in 1924. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics...
*Samsung Wickenheiser FestivalSamsung Wickenheiser International Women's Hockey FestivalThe Wickenheiser International Women's Hockey Festival is an international female junior Ice Hockey tournament. The tournament was the brainchild of Canadian hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser.-Tournament:...
*1987 World Women's Hockey Tournament - Women's Pacific Rim Championship1995 Women's Pacific Rim ChampionshipThe 1995 IIHF Women's Pacific Rim Championship was held between April 3–8, 1995. The tournament was held in San Jose, CA, USA.Canada won the first of these tournaments the hard way, after losing in the Group Stage 5-2 to the United States, they defeated China in a shootout before taking the US to a...
- Winter UniversiadeIce hockey at the Winter UniversiadeIce hockey tournaments have been staged at the Universiade since 1962. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1962 Winter Universiade. women's tournament was introduced at the 2009 Winter Universiade.- Medal winners :MenWomen...
Softball
- Softball at the OlympicsSoftball at the Summer OlympicsSoftball was introduced as an Olympic sport for women in the 1996 Summer Olympics. On July 11, 2005, the IOC voted to drop baseball and softball from the Olympic program for 2012, a decision that was reaffirmed on February 9, 2006...
- Softball at the 1996 Summer OlympicsSoftball at the 1996 Summer OlympicsSoftball made its first appearance as an official medal sport at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The competition was held at historic Golden Park in Columbus, Georgia. Final results for the Softball competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics:-Medal summary:...
- Softball at the 2000 Summer OlympicsSoftball at the 2000 Summer Olympics-Medals:-Schedule:Starting September 17, there will be four preliminary games each day until September 23 for a total of 28 games.Two semi-final games played September 25, with the game for third place same day. The final game for the gold medal played on September 26 at 7:30pm local...
- Softball at the 2004 Summer OlympicsSoftball at the 2004 Summer OlympicsSoftball at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Olympic Softball Stadium in the Helliniko Olympic Complex from August 14 to 23. The United States won the gold while Australia took silver and Japan , the bronze....
- Softball at the 2008 Summer OlympicsSoftball at the 2008 Summer OlympicsSoftball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing took place over a ten day period starting August 12 and culminating in the medal finals on August 21. All games were played at the Fengtai Softball Field...
- Women's College World SeriesWomen's College World SeriesThe Women's College World Series is the final portion of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship for college softball in the United States. The tournament format consists of two four-team double-elimination brackets. The winners of each bracket then compete in a best-of-three title game series...
See also
- Professional sportsProfessional sportsProfessional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...
- Women's sportsWomen's sportsWomen's sports include amateur and professional competitions in virtually all sports. Female participation in sports rose dramatically in the twentieth century, especially in the last quarter, reflecting changes in modern societies that emphasized gender parity...
- List of female sportspeople
- :Category:Sportswomen by sport
- :Category:Women's national sports teams
Links
- Women's National Basketball AssociationWomen's National Basketball AssociationThe Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
(WNBA) - Women's Professional SoccerWomen's Professional SoccerWomen's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...
(WPS) - W-LeagueW-LeagueThe USL W-League is a national women's soccer league in the United States on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the Women's Premier Soccer League and below Women's Professional Soccer....
(USL W-League) - Women's United Soccer AssociationWomen's United Soccer AssociationThe Women's United Soccer Association, often abbreviated to the WUSA, was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the United States...
(WUSA) - National Pro FastpitchNational Pro FastpitchNational Pro Fastpitch , formerly the Women's Pro Softball League , is the only professional women's softball league in the United States. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001. The NPF revived the league in 2004 and currently features four teams: USSSA Pride, Akron Racers, Chicago...
(NPF) - National Ringette LeagueNational Ringette LeagueThe National Ringette League is the top level ringette league in Canada. It is composed of 18 teams divided into two conferences. The 2009-10 regular season began on October 17th, 2009 and concluded March 21st, 2010.- Teams :-External links:* *...
(NRL) - Western Women's Hockey LeagueWestern Women's Hockey LeagueThe Western Women's Hockey League is one of two major women's hockey leagues in Canada. The league was established in 2004, and consisted of teams in Canada and one from the United States...
(WWHL) - Canadian Women's Hockey LeagueCanadian Women's Hockey LeagueThe Canadian Women's Hockey League is one of two major women's ice hockey leagues in Canada. The league was founded in 2007. The league currently has six ice hockey teams: three in Ontario, one in Quebec, one in Alberta and one in Boston, Massachusetts....
(CWHL)
External news story
- Meg Hewings, Women's pro league could help grow hockey in Hour.ca, September 16, 2010.
- Mike Beamish, Equality in sports? Women aren't there yet in Vancouver Sun March 7, 2011.
- John MacKinnon, Women remain under-represented in sports leadership roles in Times Colonist, March 8, 2011.
- Stephanie Myles, Women’s hockey in need of more promotion, sponsors in Calgary Herald, March 23, 2011.