Tipping point Women's sport cashes in on year of explosion

From netball to cricket, female sport began to realise its commercial possibilities in 2023 but, writes Emma John, rapid growthbrings its own challenges

- Emma John

When the 24-year-old Satheesh Shubha set India on course for victory over England in this month's Test match, it was the first time she had ever batted for her country. And yet Shubha was already worth more than most of the women in India's cricketing history. Earlier in the month, Royal Challengers Bangalore had purchased her for the second season of the Women's Indian Premier League, the tournament that changed not just women's cricket, but the entire landscape of women's sport.

When its 951 crore (£95.4m) rights deal was announced in January, the WIPL instantly became the second most valuable women's sports league in the entire world. Nat Sciver-Brunt, the highest paid overseas player in the draft, received £320,000 for the three-week tournament. Alex Hartley, the former England bowler who announced her retirement in August, calls it "unheard of amounts of money". "And as a result we've seen young Indian players come through who've done really well. When you have a high-cost competition like the WIPL, people improve quickly."

2023 may well be remembered as the tipping point year for women's sport - the one it finally began to realise its commercial possibilities. In November, the US National Women's Soccer League signed a four-year media rights deal for $240m, a 40-fold increase.

A report by Deloitte predicted that global revenues would top £1bn in 2024-a 300% increase on the industry's valuation in 2020. The creation of NewCo to govern toptier women's football in England - breaking the shackles of FA control-proved that the industry is preparing for one giant leap.