This year the WNBA drew more than 2.5 million fans to its games, set a television audience average of nearly 800,000 per contest, and surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time. The growth has been explosive, and it has not happened by accident.
At the heart of the surge are transcendent players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers, athletes whose talent and charisma turned them into cultural forces well beyond basketball.
Basketball finds its moment, golf lags behind
While the WNBA has rewritten its narrative, the LPGA Tour finds itself struggling to capture a wider audience despite having elite players and record-setting prize money.
The numbers reveal the gap. A 2025 survey of women’s sports fans showed that interest in the WNBA climbed five percentage points from the year before, rising to 63 percent.
Women’s tennis also thrives, drawing 33 percent of women’s sports fans, compared to just 13 percent for men’s tennis. Golf, however, tells a different story. Men’s golf enjoys 21 percent fan support, while the LPGA remains stalled at 18 percent, showing no growth.
This discrepancy is not about talent. The LPGA features world-class athletes from nearly 30 countries, and prize money hit an unprecedented $131 million this season.
But the tour has struggled with execution in marketing, media partnerships, and sponsorship retention, leaving it behind other women’s sports that have figured out how to harness momentum.
One striking example came in late 2024, when Caitlin Clark teed off in The Annika pro-am. The basketball superstar’s mere presence drew crowds larger than most final-round golf groups. Fans overwhelmed security in pursuit of her autograph, and Golf Channel shifted its broadcast schedule to air her round live.
Ticket sales skyrocketed 1,200 percent compared to previous editions of the event. LPGA star Maria Fassi even sprinted toward Clark on the 18th hole, not just for a photo but to thank her for supporting women’s sports. That single day demonstrated the type of star power the LPGA has yet to cultivate from within.
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