It’s great to see female athletes receive the credit they deserve. With social media allowing us to support and follow our favorite athletes’ journeys, many professionals get to reap the results of their success both online and offline.
We’ve already covered the greatest female athletes in history. According to SponsorUnited, here are the top 10 female athletes with the biggest social media clout.
(Note: The following data is based on total branded engagement across Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok in the last 12 months.)
1. Mikaela Shiffrin
Source: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
- Sport: Alpine Skiing
- Total branded engagement: 21,282,278
Mikaela Shiffrin is one of the best alpine skiers ever to exist. As the winner of the most World Cups of any alpine skier, she’s made quite a name for herself as an athlete. In fact, “She stands as the only skier to win a race in all six World Cup disciplines — combined, downhill, giant slalom, parallel, super-G and slalom,” according to ABC News.
It’s no surprise, then, that Shiffrin currently has the biggest social media clouts of female athletes.
2. Iga Świątek
Source: Igor Link / Shutterstock.com
- Sport: Tennis
- Total branded engagement: 13,052,997
Iga Świątek is a professional tennis player from Poland who has a loyal social media following. The Women’s Tennis Association ranks Świątek as No. 1 in women’s singles. Perhaps even more impressively, she has held this rank for 107 weeks.
On social media, Świątek shares her journey as an athlete with millions of followers. However, she has been quite vocal about her feelings toward social media, noting it can be a distraction at times.
At a press conference, she stated, “I don’t use really social media during the tournaments. I just post my stuff and that’s all. For sure, when I go on social media when I’m not playing tournaments, yeah, it can distract a person.”
3. Alisha Lehmann
Source: Igor Link / Shutterstock.com
- Sport: Soccer
- Total branded engagement: 11,875,981
Alisha Lehmann is a Swiss professional soccer player for Aston Villa Women and Switzerland women’s national soccer team. On both teams, she plays as a forward. Previously, Lehmann played for BSC YB Frauen and West Ham United, as well as on loan with Everton. Many now know her as one of the best soccer players in the world.
At the Women’s World Cup 2023 last year, Lehmann was also the most followed player on social media. She upholds a clean image that has attracted millions of followers, sharing both her soccer career and life updates.
4. Lucy Charles-Barclay
Source: Gibson Outdoor Photo / Shutterstock.com
- Sport: Triathlon
- Total branded engagement: 8,305,019
Lucy Charles-Barclay is an English professional triathlete and best known for winning the 2023 World Ironman and 2021 World Champion. At age 8, Charles-Barclay began swimming and won the County Swimming Champs in Hertfordshire the next year, aged 9. From there, she began training and competing at a national and eventually worldwide level, pursuing triathlons. The multisport endurance race consists of swimming, cycling, and running.
Due to her success, Charles-Barclay has gained popularity on social media, where she shares her professional journey with her loyal audience.
5. Jessie Diggins
Source: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
- Sport: Cross-country skiing
- Total branded engagement: 4,380,122
American cross-country skier Jessie Diggins has won two World Cup overall titles, three Olympic medals, six World Championship medals, and other event championships. As a result, she’s become the most accomplished U.S. cross-country skier in history. This has naturally attracted countless fans to support her and her brand, which extends to social media. In fact, one reporter has even deemed her “the most-covered, most popular, and most visible American cross-country skier of all time.”
Perhaps one of the main reasons she’s attracted so many followers is her vulnerability and humanness on social media. In the past, Diggins has opened up about her mental health — including her eating disorder — on Instagram. In response, most of her fans thanked her for her willingness to speak about important topics.
6. Sofia Goggia
Source: Mayumi.K.Photography / Shutterstock.com
- Sport: Alpine Skiing
- Total branded engagement: 3,862,797
Sofia Goggia is an Italian alpine skier, two-time Olympic downhill medalist, and four-time World Cup downhill title winner. She specializes in both downhill and super-G skiing. Unfortunately, however, the athlete crashed while training in February and broke two bones in her right leg. Though she needed surgery, the operation was successful, and she returned to the snow on June 18.
“The doctors initially predicted six months from surgery to return to snow,” Goggia said. “But the surgery was successful, and the recovery went so well that we decided to put the skis back on earlier.”
Arguably, this shows even more resilience and grace from the professional skier, both of which attract social media clout. Goggia has opened up about her injury and recovery on social media, where fans expressed their support.
7. Hailie Deegan
Source: Darunrat Wongsuvan / Shutterstock.com
- Sport: Motor Racing
- Total branded engagement: 3,786,896
Hailie Deegan is a professional stock car racing driver and Ford Performance driver who competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Formerly, she was a Toyota Racing Development driver.
Deegan has a strong social media presence, including her own YouTube channel where she shares race day footage and videos encompassing her “NASCAR crazy lifestyle.”
Back in 2022, Deegan noted, “Little girls come up to me when I am at the dirt track, telling me how they watch my YouTube videos so they can see how I drive, and how I act.” Her inspiring content — as well as her success in motor racing — are driving forces behind her social media clout.
8. Danielle Brandon
Source: Niccolo' Simoncini / Shutterstock.com
- Sport: CrossFit
- Total branded engagement: 3,700,202
Danielle Brandon is a popular CrossFit athlete who ranked 4th worldwide in the North America East Semifinal CrossFit 2024 Games. Previously, she worked with Underdogs Athletics. However, they parted ways a few years back.
Her social media presence includes content of her CrossFit training as well as personal updates and photos.
9. Janja Garnbret
Source: zedspider / Shutterstock.com
- Sport: Sport climbing
- Total branded engagement: 3,447,098
Janja Garnbret is a Slovenian professional rock climber. Specializing in sport climbing and competition climbing, she’s made a name for herself through her continued success. Garnbret won multiple events (in competition lead climbing and competition bouldering) and even became the first female Olympic gold medalist in climbing.
Online, she shares her personal and professional updates with her loyal followers. She’s even published her own children’s book about her life called Janja and the Magic Flower.
10. Katrin Davidsdottir
Source: Arsenii Palivoda / Shutterstock.com
- Sport: CrossFit
- Total branded engagement: 2,445,536
Katrin Davidsdottir is another CrossFit champion. The Icelandic athlete is best known for her eight appearances at the CrossFit Games, as well as her victories at the 2015 and 2016 CrossFit Games. With over a million followers on Instagram, Davidsdottir shares both personal content about her life and professional updates. She is also the 2015 & 2016 Fittest Woman on Earth and the author of Dottir: My Journey to Becoming a Two-Time CrossFit Games Champion and What is The Way.
Why We Are Covering This
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The above information helps provide better marketing insights to companies and professionals seeking exposure on social media. For example, brands looking to build strong marketing partnerships or sponsorship deals will benefit from understanding the social media popularity of different brands and individuals, such as women athletes.
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