More women are playing sports. Why is no one watching?
Something unprecedented happened at the U.S. Open 鈥� before the stunning upset that Bianca Andreescu delivered to Serena Williams on Saturday.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka invited Coco Gauff to the post-match on-court interview after she beat the 15-year-old in the third round. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 better than going into the shower and crying,鈥� Ms. Osaka is as Ms. Gauff wipes away tears with her wristbands.聽
Ms. Gauff, a rising star and fan favorite, appeared reluctant but agreed to address the 23,000 fans in the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York, and . 鈥淪he鈥檚 been so sweet to me, so thank you for this,鈥� she said, gulping down sobs. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want people to think I am trying to take this moment away from her because she really deserves it.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
Why should inspiration be limited to one gender? Grassroots efforts are aimed at making the stories of all athletes, regardless of sex, known to the public. The first step: engaging fans.
It was a moment of compassion in a high-stakes arena 鈥� not unlike the year prior, when Ms. Osaka defeated Ms. Williams in the 2018 final amid controversial calls that brought boos raining down on the court. In that moment, it was Ms. Williams who consoled an overwhelmed Ms. Osaka.聽
Women athletes supporting each other is a message that those working to expand women鈥檚 professional sports hope will continue, not only on the international stage but also as a grassroots, fan-driven movement.
If you were one of the millions of viewers who tuned in to the U.S. Open, you may have seen aired by the United States Tennis Association. Narrated by Billie Jean King, the 聽ad points out women athletes receive and invites viewers to use #womenworthwatching to 鈥渢ag your videos and pictures of the indomitable female athletes who inspire you聽and together we can change not just how women are watched, but how they鈥檙e seen.鈥�
The 90-second spot brings into sharp focus questions that have long troubled the business of women鈥檚 professional sports. League after league has struggled to gain traction, even as hundreds of thousands of girls and young women have growing access and opportunity to excel in athletic careers. With data showing that聽, some observers wonder why women鈥檚 sports receive minimal media coverage. Would a groundswell of fans at games draw sponsors and TV contracts 鈥� or do fans need the media to provide more stories in order to be drawn to regular-season matches?聽
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the million-dollar question,鈥� says Cheryl Cooky, an associate professor of American studies and women鈥檚, gender, and sexuality studies at Purdue University. 鈥淭he interest for women鈥檚 sports is there. It鈥檚 just a problem of how leagues and teams are marketed. 鈥� We don鈥檛 see the same amount of coverage. We don鈥檛 see the same investment in women鈥檚 sports.鈥�
Interest is strong and growing
Consistent high viewership for major tournaments reaffirms interest in women鈥檚 sports. Coverage of this year鈥檚 final match between Ms. Williams and Ms. Andreescu earned ESPN its ever for a U.S. Open women鈥檚 tennis championship game.聽In 2018, the U.S. Open final between Ms. Williams and Ms. Osaka averaged 3.1 million viewers, according to ESPN. The men鈥檚 final, in which Novak Djokovic beat Juan Mart铆n del Potro, drew 2.07 million viewers. (Numbers for the 2019 tournament have yet to be released.) This summer, the FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup final match between the U.S. and the Netherlands outperformed the men鈥檚 2018 World Cup final by 22% among U.S. viewers, according to . That鈥檚 in part because the U.S. men failed to qualify for the tournament.
International tournaments are strong pulls for fans. But translating that interest into day-to-day fan engagement with women鈥檚 professional sports leagues is proving difficult.
鈥淲hen we look at the Olympic events, the coverage of men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 events is relatively equitable. So you get these really high-profile international events where people are tuning in. People are excited, fans are going, but then what ends up happening is that as soon as that event is over ... the cameras shut down,鈥� says Professor Cooky.
A large part of sustaining fan interest, experts say, is accessibility 鈥撀爓hether it is TV contracts that regularly air games, stories in the sports pages, or stadiums that are in close proximity to city centers.
Over 25 years of research, Professor Cooky says the amount of media coverage of women鈥檚 sports on ESPN鈥檚 鈥淪portsCenter鈥� and other TV highlight shows has stayed at about 2%. However, she notes one recent positive trend: The objectification of women athletes has declined.
Grow the sport from the stands
Brenda Andress, for one, is tired of pointing fingers at low media coverage. The former commissioner of the Canadian Women鈥檚 Hockey League wants to grow women鈥檚 sports from the stands. In 2018, she founded SheIS to elevate women and their sports alike. Through a partnership with Adidas, SheIS encourages cross-pollination among women鈥檚 leagues by buying up tickets at 12 professional women鈥檚 sports events in North America 鈥� from hockey and basketball to boxing and surfing 鈥� and sending fans to the games. SheIS says it鈥檚 on target to send 5,000 fans to women鈥檚 professional sports matches this year. Ms. Andress hopes by 2025 that number will reach 50,000, more than enough to fill a baseball stadium.聽
鈥淸W]e鈥檙e asking the entire population to ... not just say they are a fan of women鈥檚 sports but to actually purchase a ticket or watch it because that鈥檚 what makes the difference,鈥� says Ms. Andress.聽
If anyone feels the urgency to help grow women鈥檚 sports, it鈥檚 Ms. Andress. In March, the Canadian Women鈥檚 Hockey League folded after 12 years 鈥撀燼 surprise to its 150 players that came despite the sport鈥檚 growing popularity after the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, . A recurring criticism centered on the fact that games regularly drew only 400 to 500 fans on average.
But there are positive signs. The National Women鈥檚 Soccer League, still riding the high of the World Cup, league-wide attendance has increased 70% since the July tournament 鈥� a 53% increase from the 2018 season. Before the tournament ended, , its third, to televise 14 matches 鈥� including all three playoff games 鈥� this season.
Staff writers Lindsey McGinnis, Riley Robinson, and Dwight Weingarten contributed to this report.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that Brenda Andress is the founder of SheIs.
