As pro women’s sports boom, study finds red flags in pipeline

October 1, 2026

From the WNBA to the NWSL and beyond, the professional women’s sports boom is no secret. But progress is a mixed picture, with girls facing significant barriers to entering and remaining in competition.

That’s all according to the Women’s Sports Foundationfounded by Billie Jean King in 1974, which released its inaugural WSF Sport Report on Wednesday. The first-of-its-kind annual assessment examines the state of girls’ and women’s sports throughout every stage (youth sports, college, professional, Olympic and Paralympic levels), based on surveys of more than 6,100 parents and children and 60 women’s sports professionals.

While women’s professional sports continue to experience unprecedented growth and visibility, some of the most glaring red flags uncovered in WSF’s report include that girls are hampered by a high cost of entry into sports, a declining sense of belonging and a lack of awareness of their rights provided by Title IX. Omaha World Herald