REVEALED: The 2025 Most Influential Female Athletes

1) Simone Biles

PHOTO: Kirby Lee/Imagn Images

Simone Biles has been named the most influential female athlete.

As the most decorated gymnast in history, she commands an impressive 12.4 million Instagram followers and generates an average of 982,937 likes per post. Her strong engagement rate of 8% helps her earn an estimated $134,021 per sponsored Instagram post.

2) Alexia Putellas

In second is Alexia Putellas. The Barcelona midfielder has a smaller following of 3.2 million but boasts the highest engagement rate in the top 10 at 11.8%. It’s estimated that she could earn $36,535 per sponsored Instagram post.

3) Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark, the 23-year-old American basketball player, is third. Despite only having 125 posts on her account, the Indiana Fever sensation has 3.5 million followers and an average of 235,312 likes per post.

With an engagement rate of 6.8%, Clark could earn around $37,411 per sponsored post.

4) Serena Williams

Tennis legend Serena Williams is fourth. Although Williams has the most followers in the study at 18.1 million, her engagement rate is one of the poorest at just 0.3%. Compared to Simone Biles, her likes per post are down 94%, averaging just 52,366. However, she does have the highest estimated sponsored post earnings at a whopping $182,281 per post. It would take the average American nearly three years to earn what she makes in a single post.

5) Naomi Osaka

Another tennis star follows as Naomi Osaka ranks fifth. With 2.8 million followers and a strong 6.4% engagement rate, Osaka has built substantial influence both on and off the court, often using her platform to speak on mental health and social issues.

She averages 178,172 likes per post and 2,490 comments.

6) Alex Morgan

In sixth is retired American soccer player Alex Morgan. Although she has a relatively low engagement rate of 0.9%, Morgan has a very respectable following of 9.6 million. It’s estimated she could earn $97,844 from a single sponsored post.

7) Sam Kerr

Chelsea player Sam Kerr places seventh.

Kerr has 1.7 million followers with an engagement rate of 7.8%. She averages 133,883 likes per post and earns an estimated $18,708 per sponsored post.

8) Tatiana Weston-Webb

Brazilian surfer Tatiana Weston-Webb ranks eighth.

9) Iga Świątek

Polish tennis player Iga Świątek is ninth

10) Chloe Kim

American snowboarder Chloe Kim is tenth.

Emre Aksu, a game critic at 1337games.io, commented on the findings:

“In 2025, over two-thirds of Americans report following at least one women’s sport, which has increased from just over half in 2022. Furthermore, a study by UK Sport found that 48% of young Britons see female athletes as role models, with 53% of adults under 55 believing there’s still not enough media coverage of women’s sports. Despite this, media coverage has seen an uptick, tripling since 2019, from 5% to 15%, with growth driven by streaming platforms and social media. 

“As visibility increases, so does commercial potential. The rise in media coverage and fan engagement signals a valuable moment for marketers to align with female athletes who resonate across demographics.” 

Methodology and Sources 

This study ranks every sportswoman who has a Wikipedia page based on their Instagram presence.

Each sportswoman was assigned a score based on their follower count (weighted at 75%) and their engagement rate (weighted at 25%).