The biggest moments in women’s sport in 2025: From Lionesses and Red Rose glory to India’s success and the emergence of new stars! | Soccer News

This year was expected to be a big one for women’s sports, and it certainly lived up to its expectations with the continued success of female athletes.

From the Lionesses successfully defending their European title and the Red Roses reclaiming the Rugby World Cup trophy, to the incredible growth of the Netball Super League and a major contract with the WSL.

Here are some of the most notable women’s sports moments in 2025.

the lioness does it again

July saw a very tense performance for the Lionesses, who worried their fans in each round, but managed to defend their European title with a score of 1-1 (3-1 on penalties).

Throughout the tournament we saw the impact young star Michel Agyemang and Euro 2022 icon Chloe Kelly had when they were eventually brought on from the bench.

In this year’s final, not only did Kerry shine again by scoring the winning penalty.

But it also meant officially changing goaltending guard to Hannah Hampton, who crucially avoided two penalties during the shootout in the final.

And as if Lionesses fans weren’t already loving the success Sarina Wigman brought, her love for Burna Boy warmed the hearts of even more people when the Nigerian musician surprised the team at the homecoming parade.

Red Roses break record for World Cup wins

At the 2021 Rugby World Cup, England lost a player to a red card and suffered a heartbreaking 34-31 defeat, but created a perfect recovery story. At last they won again, but this time on their home turf.

The Red Roses had won every match since losing to New Zealand in the previous RWC final and were expected to win this time.

They did just that, showing their superiority and winning by defeating an impressive Canadian team 33-13 in front of a sold-out Twickenham crowd of 81,885 spectators, a world record for a women’s rugby union match.

Canada may have found the try line first, but England hit back quickly and took the lead in the first half with tries from Ellie Kildon, Amy Cockayne and Alex Matthews.

The second half was much the same, with Matthews scoring a try and Abbey Ward also scoring a try, while Zoe Harrison scored all but one.

Cowboy hats, TikTok dances, a sold-out Twickenham and an entire generation inspired by the Roses, it was all there.

India makes history at home

Mumbai was the perfect stage for the Indian women’s team to defeat South Africa and win their maiden World Cup title.

In a watershed tournament on so many levels, India was more excited about women’s cricket than ever before, with millions watching the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma and Jemima Rodriguez win on home soil for the fourth time.

The 45,000-capacity DY Patil Stadium was packed to capacity for the final, with local fans erupting to watch history being made.

And the star of the show? Shafali Verma, a 21-year-old batsman, joined the team as an injured substitute.

Signing a record-breaking football player

In January, Chelsea made history by paying more than $1 million for a centre-back and signing Naomi Girma, making her the first $1 million player in the women’s game.

But this is just the start of multi-million dollar deals in women’s football this year, with Arsenal, London City Lionesses and Orlando Pride also joining the mix.

Olivia Smith was a big moment for the WSL when she joined Arsenal from Liverpool, becoming their first £1 million player when she signed in July.

However, just a month later, things broke up again when Lisbeth Aubale moved from Tigres to reigning NWSL champions Orlando Pride for £1.1 million ($1.5 million).

And on WSL deadline day, Grace Geyoro signed for London City Lionesses for a rumored transfer fee of £1.43 million, although Lionesses sources claim the deal is worth up to £1 million including add-ons.

This summer’s deadline day was particularly busy with big transfers, as Chelsea swooped in for a new star player. This time it was Alyssa Thompson from Angel City.

The 20-year-old forward was signed for a fee of around £1 million, making him the third player to sign for a WSL club for more than £1 million that summer.

lottie ward acceleration

Playing in majors and winning tournaments is great at any age, but Lottie Ward achieved it as an amateur before finding further success in the professional ranks.

Great things were always expected of Ward, England’s only winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and former Women’s World Amateur No. 1, but she made even bigger headlines in July when she won the KPMG Women’s Irish Open as an amateur.

He then placed third at the Evian Championship, threatening to win a major as an amateur with a big comeback on the final day, giving him a winning start to his LPGA Tour career.

Ward won the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three strokes, becoming only the third player in history to make her first appearance on the LPGA Tour. Further success is expected in 2026 as he aims for his first major success and Solheim Cup debut with Team Europe.

Beau Greaves finally steps into the spotlight

Luke Littler quickly became famous for taking over the darts world in 2023, but Beau Greaves put her name in the spotlight in October this year.

She stunned the darts world with her victory in the semi-finals of the World Youth Championship, outscoring Littler, the youngest ever World Darts Champion.

But Greaves’ success began long before that, as she has dominated the women’s circuit for years and, at just 21 years old, has already won three consecutive women’s world titles.

This year, she also accepted a contract to play on the PDC Pro Tour for the next two years, making history as the second woman to qualify through the Tour Card system.

Netball Super League soars

Netball Super League 2.0 launched this year with the new introduction of Super Shots, which allow players to score up to two points at a time.

But the real highlight of the season came when record-breaking crowds packed into the O2 Arena for the first Grand Final to be held at the iconic venue.

The tournament attracted the biggest netball crowd in England since 2002, when Manchester hosted the Commonwealth Games, with 9,326 people watching London Pulse claim their first title against Loughborough Lightning, who are expected to win their third straight title.

Arsenal are European champions again

Almost 20 years after their last victory, Arsenal beat defending champions Barcelona 1-0 in the Champions League in Lisbon.

They are the only English club to win Europe’s elite club competition, making it their first defense since conquering Europe in 2007.

Barcelona went into the final as heavy favorites having won three of the last four European titles, but a second-half goal from Stina Blackstenius was enough to lift the Gunners to glory.

Two-time Ballon d’Or winners Aitana Bommati and Alexia Putelas may have been dominant in club and country football of late, but they failed to make an impact in Lisbon.

GB Women’s Lead Tokyo Medal Charge

Of the five medals won by Team GB at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, four were won by women.

After a medalless first half of the championships, Team GB made a statement when Amy Hunt stormed through in the stacked 200m final to shock the world and win silver.

And on the penultimate day, two-time world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson crossed the finish line after two grueling days of competition that ended with a bang in the 800 meters, winning bronze in the heptathlon.

For the first time in world or Olympic history, two heptathletes finished with exactly the same number of points, as Johnson-Thompson shared the bronze medal with American Taliyah Brooks.

Then, on the final day, Olympic champion Keeley Hodgkinson and her training partner, Olympic 1500m bronze medalist Georgia Hunter-Bell, battled it out over 800m, winning bronze and silver respectively.

Aja Wilson’s dominance skyrockets

The Las Vegas Aces defeated the Phoenix Mercury in the Finals, earning star A’ja Wilson her second Finals MVP title and advancing to her third WNBA Championship in four years.

But the Aces star didn’t stop there; he also won WNBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive First Team, All-Star honors, WNBA Peak Performer, Leading Scorer, and Block Leader.

Wilson also reached another milestone in May when she headlined Nike and her A’One basketball shoe, a unique ad that celebrated black girlhood.

Her influence on women’s athletics has been huge, with LeBron James even acknowledging her as a role model for young girls, including his daughter.

“Aja Wilson is the definition of a great black woman,” James said. “I’m so grateful that she’s giving my daughter the same inspiration that I got from Michael Jordan and Ken Griffey.”

We also saw record broadcast and social media numbers in 2025, showing that demand for women’s sports exists and is growing.

So let’s take a look at what’s in store for women’s sports in 2026.