According to SponsorUnited, tennis and golf are by far the leading women's sports in terms of sponsorship growth in 2023 24, but football is growing at a rapid pace amid an unprecedented increase in interest in women's sports.
The organization's 2023 24 annual report found that the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and the ATP Tour tied for first place, while the Women's Professional Golf Association (LPGA) led by a wide margin.
Sponsorship value increased by 26% for WTA and ATF and 25% for LGPA5%, and both alliances have reached more than 1,000 sponsorship deals. WTA closed 1,080 deals and LPGA closed 1,100 deals.
In 2023 alone, more than 200 deals were closed each for both events, reaching this impressive 1000 mark – from 2022 to 2023, the number of sponsorships increased by 275 for the WTA and 223 for the LGPA over the same period.
Given the popularity of many female tennis players and the level of interest generated by the sport's tournaments – such as Wimbledon, Australian Open, US Open, etc. – it's no surprise that the sport is attracting interest from sponsors.
Women's tennis players such as Serena Williams, perhaps the most widely known example, have become one of the most famous athletes in the world.
Recent rising stars, such as Japan's Naomi Osaka and the UK's Emma Raducanu, have built sponsorship portfolios worth tens of millions of dollars.
At the same time, golf, both men's and women's competitions, remains a lucrative sponsorship opportunity. In the U.S., this includes agreements with the country's booming gaming industry, such as the partnership between BETMGM and LPGA in 2021.
However, women's basketball remains a key area of interest for sponsors, with SponsorUnited observing a 7% increase in WNBA transactions, surpassing 500 agreements for the first time last year.
According to the report, there appears to be some discrepancies between consumer interest and sponsor interest. Despite the fact that WTA ATP and LPGA are at the top of the sponsor rankings, internet searches show that the WNBA is way ahead.
Of the five most searched North American women's sports clubs, three are from the WNBA – the Chicago Sky, the Las Vegas Aces, and the New York Liberty, while two of the five most searched athletes are also women's basketball players.
They are NCAA players Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, who both competed in the highest-rated NCAA women's basketball finals of all time last April.
However, this changes if Europe is taken into account, and the five most searched athletes are all WTA ATP players – Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens and Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka – This suggests that European interest may be driving sponsorship growth in women's tennis.
The dominance of tennis in the minds of sports consumers will largely influence sponsorship interest in the sport, which has also been cemented globally, with the US Open, WTA Tour, Wimbledon, Australian Open and French Open being the most searched events.
However, there is another significant difference between European and American sports, although this change is not surprising given the differences in preferences between the two regions.
That said, women's football dominates the minds of European consumers, with Chelsea Women, Manchester City Women, Arsenal Women, Real Madrid Women and West Ham United Women being the most searched teams.
With four of the five teams coming from the English Women's Premier League (WSL), it's no surprise that the league's sponsorship activity has grown by 11% from 2022 to 2023.
The commercial success of the 2022 UEFA Women's Euro and the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup has greatly boosted the European public's interest in women's football.
However, with Team USA winning the Women's World Cup four times, this also continues to drive momentum for the sport in the country, with an 18% increase in the number of sponsorship deals for the NWSL.
Overall, there are more than 5,500 active sponsorship deals across all sectors of women's sports, and this is expected to continue to be strong in 2024 as consumer and commercial interest continues to grow.