Forbes tapped the most powerful women in sports this week, ranking the Top 25 players, executives, and others pushing the needle in the ever-growing sports — and women's sports — sector.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is the highest-ranked athlete at No. 4, joined by Unrivaled co-founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart at No. 9, as well as tennis stars Serena Williams (No. 11) and Coco Gauff (No. 13), reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson at No. 15, gymnastics titan Simone Biles at No. 18, and world No. 2 golfer Nelly Korda at No. 21.
Also making the 2025 Forbes Most Powerful Women in Sports roster are tennis legend Billie Jean King (No. 23), NCAA basketball coaching icon Dawn Staley (No. 20), and Las Vegas Aces sideline leader Becky Hammon (No. 22).
Women's sports multi-team owner Michele Kang came in at No. 5, with NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman (No. 7), New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai (No. 10), US Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone (No. 14), and more representing the off-field lineup.
According to the publication, the new annual list honors leaders "who are transforming one of the world's most influential industries, shaping strategy, driving innovation, and expanding the role of women across the sports economy."
Investments, influence, and growth drivers were all taken into consideration, with Forbes also dividing selectees into five categories: owners/investors, business executives, front office leaders, athletes, and amplifiers.
World No. 3 Coco Gauff won her 11th career WTA title over the weekend, taking down fellow US star No. 5 Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to become the 2025 Wuhan Open champion on Sunday.
With the victory, Gauff also is the first US player to lift the Wuhan Open trophy since Venus Williams in 2015.
Gauff now holds a perfect 9-0 record in hardcourt tournament finals, lifting her first WTA 1000 trophy of 2025 and claiming her second title of the year alongside her French Open victory in June — all without needing a single third set throughout her five-match run in Wuhan.
"Winning every match in straight sets, I don't know if I've done that before on a title run," the 21-year-old said afterwards. "I just felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of the result today."
Despite the Sunday stumble, Pegula also saw significant success at the tournament, handing world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — who won the last three editions of the competition — her first-ever loss in Wuhan on Saturday.
Even more, Pegula clinched the three-set semifinal by snapping Sabalenka's dominant streak of winning 19 straight tiebreaks.
Overall, the weekend furthered a dominant 2025 WTA campaign for US tennis stars, with a US-based athlete featuring in every Grand Slam final this year.
US women also top the current WTA rankings, with Gauff and Pegula joined by No. 4 Amanda Anisimova and No. 7 Madison Keys in the sport's Top 10.
Additionally, those four contenders have all booked spots in the 2025 WTA Finals, guaranteeing that half of the eight-player field will hail from the States when the tennis season's finale kicks off next month.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is back like she never left, following up her brief post-US Open championship recovery break and booking a spot in the 2025 Wuhan Open semifinals by blowing past the tournament's competition with a straight-set victory over No. 9 Elena Rybakina on Friday morning.
With the last three Wuhan Open titles under her belt — 2018, 2019, and 2024 — Sabalenka extended her career tournament record to 20-0 on Friday, as she gears up to take on US star No. 6 Jessica Pegula in the semifinals early Saturday morning.
"Honestly, that's just crazy," Sabalenka said of her success at the WTA 1000 event. "I feel a really great connection with the Chinese fans, I guess. I feel like at home playing in this stadium."
Sabalenka and Pegula aren't the only big names advancing this week, as No. 3 Coco Gauff cruised past unseeded Laura Siegemund 6-3, 6-0 to book her own semifinal appearance on Friday.
While the US star had little trouble dispelling her quarterfinals opponent, Polish phenom No. 2 Iga Świątek wasn't so lucky, falling to Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 6-2 to set up a tight Saturday semifinals clash between Gauff and Paolini.
Sabalenka and Pegula's semi could also go the distance — Pegula is coming off six straight three-set matches dating back to the 2025 China Open, emerging victorious from five of them.
How to watch the 2025 Wuhan Open semifinals
Gauff and Paolini will kick off the 2025 Wuhan Open semifinals at 5 AM ET on Saturday, with Sabalenka taking on Pegula shortly after the first match.
The semifinal winners will then battle for the championship trophy on Sunday.
Live coverage of the semifinals and final will air on the Tennis Channel.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka keeps pushing, as the world No. 16 tennis star followed up her blockbuster comeback run at the 2025 US Open with a first-round win at the Wuhan Open this week.
The Japanese fan favorite battled back from a first-set loss to defeat 2021 US Open finalist and current world No. 27 Leylah Fernandez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 late Monday night, just weeks after suffering an unexpected exit in the first-round of the 2025 China Open.
Monday's Round of 64 win marked Osaka's seventh come-from-behind victory this year, tying her own single-season comeback record.
Osaka still has hills to climb against other top players in Wuhan, including the likes of No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who will return to action early Wednesday morning in her first competitive match since her successful US Open title defense last month.
Also in the mix at the 2025 Wuhan Open are No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula, with Świątek already cruising through her Round of 32 hurdle in straight sets early Tuesday morning.
Notably, after powering through a lingering calf injury to win the 2025 China Open on Sunday, US star No. 4 Amanda Anisimova withdrew from the Wuhan tournament to recover and gear up for her first-ever WTA Finals next month.
How to watch the 2025 Wuhan Open
The 2025 Wuhan Open resumes at 11 PM ET on Tuesday, with Pegula, Gauff, Sabalenka, and Osaka all facing their Round of 32 opponents before dawn on Wednesday.
Live coverage of the WTA 1000 tournament airs on the Tennis Channel.
World No. 3 tennis star Coco Gauff is through to the semifinals in Beijing, downing Germany's No. 66 Eva Lys in straight sets on Thursday to continue her title defense at the 2025 China Open.
With the quarterfinal win, Gauff booked her first WTA semifinals spot in nearly four months, last appearing the late rounds during her 2025 French Open championship run in June.
The 21-year-old overcame several obstacles in her current quest to become the first-ever back-to-back women's champion at the China Open, including a pair of heated three-set battles against Canada's No. 25 Leylah Fernandez and Switzerland's No. 16 Belinda Bencic in the Round of 32 and 16, respectively.
Not all top-ranked WTA stars were as lucky, however, as No. 2 Iga Świątek exited the Round of 16 after ceding a final-set bagel to No. 17 Emma Navarro on Wednesday.
Gauff and Navarro aren't the only US stars showing out on the 2025 China Open court, as No. 4 Amanda Anisimova punched her semis ticket by ousting Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Navarro will meet No. 7 Jessica Pegula in an all-US quarterfinal battle on Friday — guaranteeing that three of the four tournament semifinalists will hail from the US.
Along with her China Open success, Gauff also secured her spot in the 2025 WTA Finals this week, marking her return as the end-of-season tournament's reigning champion while also becoming the youngest player to qualify for the event in four straight years since Maria Sharapova in 2007.
Considered the most prestigious tennis event except for the four Grand Slams, the eight-player 2025 WTA Finals will kick off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 1st, with Świątek and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka also taking part.
How to watch the 2025 China Open
The 2025 China Open quarterfinals will wrap early Friday morning, with England's No. 81 Sonay Kartal facing Czechia's No. 27 Linda Noskova at 3 AM ET before Navarro takes on Pegula at 6 AM ET.
Friday's winners will contend with each other alongside Gauff and Anisimova in Saturday's semifinals.
All tournament matches will stream live on the Tennis Channel.
As the 2025 tennis calendar hits the home stretch, the WTA's finest will hit the hardcourt at the 1000-level China Open this week — with invites to November's WTA Finals on the line.
Top US players including world No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 7 Jessica Pegula will begin their 2025 China Open campaigns when the tournament's Round of 64 starts late Thursday night.
Also aiming for the lion's share of the competition's nearly $9 million prize pool — including a winner's check over $1.1 million — are 2023 China Open champ No. 2 Iga Świątek, 19-year-old rising star No. 23 Victoria Mboko, and recent US Open semifinalist and fan favorite No. 14 Naomi Osaka.
The world No. 1, however, will miss this edition of the tournament, as back-to-back US Open champ Aryna Sabalenka withdrew due to "a minor injury" earlier this month.
As for the competition's reigning champion, Gauff will kick off both her title defense and the Round of 64 on Thursday, following up her 2024 success by winning her second career Grand Slam at the 2025 French Open in June.
"I think winning the French Open helped me take that weight off," Gauff told reporters about the pressure of defending her 2024 trophy. "I definitely feel a lot lighter. It feels like a practice tournament."
How to watch the 2025 China Open
The Round of 64 at the 2025 China Open kicks off with Gauff taking on No. 89 Kamilla Rakhimova at 11 PM ET on Thursday.
All tournament matches will stream live on the Tennis Channel.
Aryna Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam of the 2025 WTA season on Saturday, with the world No. 1 defeating then-No. 9 Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6(3) to claim the US Open trophy — the final Slam of the year.
"To bring the fight and be able to handle my emotions the way I did in this final, it means a lot," Sabalenka said following the match. "I'm super proud right now of myself."
After successfully defending her 2024 US Open title — and claiming tennis's top 2025 paycheck in the process — Sabalenka is now the tournament's first repeat champion since 2014, when Serena Williams claimed a third straight trophy at the New York Slam.
The 27-year-old narrowly avoided a Slam-less year, going without a trophy despite reaching both the Australian Open and French Open finals as well as the Wimbledon semifinals.
"I think because of the finals earlier this season, this one felt different," Sabalenka said. "All of those lessons are making me tougher, tougher, and tougher."
As for Anisimova, the US rising star added a new career-high WTA ranking alongside her second straight Grand Slam final appearance on her 2025 resume, rising to world No. 4 in Monday's update.
Also earning a noticeable bump on Monday was Japanese star Naomi Osaka, who clocked in at No. 14 after a stellar Grand Slam comeback run to the 2025 US Open semifinals.
The Naomi Osaka comeback tour at the 2025 US Open has ended, as the two-time New York Grand Slam champion and world No. 24 star ceded her Thursday semifinal to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, who battled back to claim the 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.
"Naomi is playing amazing tennis," the 23-year-old said of Osaka's US Open run. "She's back where she belongs. I told her I'm so proud of her after having a baby and playing at this level — it's insane."
With her Thursday win, Anisimova is now the only player to ever defeat Osaka in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, semifinal, or final — ending the Japanese fan-favorite's 13-0 run in the later rounds of tennis's major tournaments.
Anisimova's US Open success is even more impressive considering the result of her first-ever Grand Slam final — a brutal 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon in July.
In a massive turnaround, Anisimova handed No. 2 Iga Świątek, the 2025 Wimbledon champion, a redemptive straight-set loss in Wednesday's US Open quarterfinals en route to reaching this weekend's championship match.
Anisimova's victory means that a US player has now competed in every women's Grand Slam final dating back to the 2024 US Open, extending the country's championship-match streak to five straight Slams.
With even more history on the line, the US rising star now has a second shot at joining No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 3 Coco Gauff in hoisting a 2025 Grand Slam trophy for the US — a feat not accomplished by any single country since Serena Williams won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2015.
How to watch the 2025 US Open championship match
Just like Keys and Gauff, Anisimova will have to defeat Aryna Sabalenka to claim her own 2025 Grand Slam trophy — with the hard-hitting US finalist holding a 6-3 all-time record against the world No. 1 player, most recently downing the 2024 US Open champion in this year's Wimbledon semifinals.
Anisimova will battle Sabalenka in for the 2025 US Open crown on Saturday, with live coverage of the championship match beginning at 4 PM ET on ESPN.
World No. 24 Naomi Osaka is climbing the ranks, taking down No. 11 Karolína Muchová 6-4, 7-6 (7) at the 2025 US Open on Wednesday night to extend her WTA comeback run and cruise to a third career appearance in the New York Grand Slam's semifinals.
"There's been so much hard work that you guys haven't seen, but I'm just really grateful to my team, and I'm just happy to be healthy," she said afterwards.
"Last year was really, really tough for me," Osaka later told ESPN, addressing her previous stumbles. "I wished I had results, and it just kind of got into my head a lot. And this year I just, I kind of just stopped caring if I won or lost."
While the four-time Grand Slam winner continues to work her way back from the 2023 birth of her daughter, Osaka also has a notable streak on the line.
The Japanese fan favorite has never lost a Grand Slam in which she's advanced past the Round of 16, securing two US Open titles and two Australian Open trophies after making the quarterfinals in those hardcourt tournaments.
"It's been a while since I've been in this position, but I think you play the best players in the world towards the end of a Slam, and we all are hoping to achieve the same thing," the 27-year-old added after Wednesday’s victory. "So it's kind of like boxing with a tennis ball."
Osaka next faces stiff competition in the 2025 US Open semifinals, taking on No. 9 Amanda Anisimova after the US ace avenged her recent Wimbledon loss by silencing No. 2 Iga Świątek in straight sets on Wednesday.
How to watch the 2025 US Open semifinals
The 2025 US Open semifinals take over the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens on Thursday night, with defending champion No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka facing New York product No. 4 Jessica Pegula in a rematch of the 2024 US Open final at 7 PM ET.
Shortly after the first semifinal, Osaka will square off against Anisimova for the last ticket to the Grand Slam final.
Both semifinals will air live on ESPN.
The Naomi Osaka comeback tour continued on Monday, as the world No. 24 tennis star took down No. 3 Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-2 in the pair's Round of 16 match at the 2025 US Open — booking her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2021 in the process.
"I'm a little sensitive and I don't want to cry, but honestly, I just had so much fun out here," Osaka said following the upset victory. "I was in the stands like two months after I gave birth to my daughter, watching Coco. I just really wanted an opportunity to come out here and play."
Already a two-time US Open champion, Osaka has been eyeing a deep tournament run since returning from maternity leave in January 2024 — and she managed to take advantage of Gauff's fluctuating form to achieve her goal.
"It's disappointing," Gauff said after Monday's loss. "For sure it was not the level that I wanted to bring, but it is a step in the right direction, I feel. I maybe was a little bit empty — she forced me to earn every point out there today."
Japan's four-time Grand Slam winner will next face No. 13 Karolína Muchová in a Wednesday quarterfinal, with Osaka most recently ousting the Czechia national from the 2025 Australian Open's Round of 64.
How to watch the US Open quarterfinals
The 2025 US Open quarterfinals kicked off on Tuesday, with US star and world No. 4 Jessica Pegula booking her second straight semifinals berth at the New York Slam by defeating Czechia's No. 62 Barbora Krejčíková in straight sets.
The quarterfinals will continue when defending champion No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka faces another Czech contender, No. 60 Markéta Vondroušová, at 7 PM ET on Tuesday.
Wednesday will cap the round, with Osaka battling Muchová and Poland's No. 2 Iga Świątek taking on No. 9 US star Amanda Anisimova in a rematch of the 2025 Wimbledon final.
Live coverage of the 2025 US Open airs across ESPN platforms.