Sports have historically been a male-dominated industry. Still, women trailblazers have broken barriers and accomplished great feats in a variety of sports (sometimes, even against men). They have competed at the highest levels against the best athletes and inspire the next generation of young women to play sports. Using their determination, confidence, and incredible talent to beat their opponents, elite female athletes have solidified themselves as some of the best athletes in history. In this article, we'll take a closer look at some of the most inspiring women trailblazers in sports, exploring their stories of perseverance, triumph, and impact on the world of sports and beyond.

Related: New Year, New Legislation: The Who, What, When, Where, and Why of the Fair Play for Women Act

Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King is a trailblazer for sports equality. In the 1970's King founded the Women's Tennis Association and started an all-women tennis tournament. In 1973, she competed against Bobby Riggs in a tennis match dubbed “Battle of the sexes,” an exposition match that took place in Houston, Texas. Billie Jean King was already a women's champion going up against Bobby Riggs, a former tennis champion on the men's side, and the Match was played in front of tens of thousands of spectators and broadcasted to millions across the country. Many watched as Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the first three sets, winning the match and making history in the process. 

Billie Jean King showed everyone that women can be great tennis players and athletes.  Billie Jean King enjoyed great success besides the battle of the sexes with 39 grand slam titles and maintaining her #1 ranking in women's tennis for 6 years.

Danica Patrick

Motorsports are dominated by men, but this started to change when Danica Patrick started to compete in open-wheel racing called Indycar. Her success started when she competed in the Indy Japan 300 and finished 1st, becoming the only woman to win an Indycar race. In 2013, Patrick earned pole position in the prestigious Daytona 500 race, completing the circuit faster than any other driver. She ended up finishing in eighth place, the highest finish ever by a female NASCAR driver. Patrick's success in a male-dominated sport showed young women that they are capable of accomplishing anything.

Related: Looking Back on 2022: Title IX Turned 50 But Progress is Still Needed

Serena Williams

Serena Williams dominated tennis for two decades and within that time, she won the most titles by a woman in the current era of tennis, winning 23 single Grand Slam titles and 14 Grand Slam Doubles titles over the course of her career. Serena and her sister, Venus, tore down barriers becoming some of the first women of color to dominate in the sport, and Serena has used her platform to promote gender and racial equality. In an interview with Vogue, she reflects on her impact on women athletes: “I don't particularly like to think about my legacy. I get asked about it a lot, and I never know exactly what to say, But I'd like to think that thanks to opportunities afforded to me, women athletes feel that they can be themselves on the court. They can play with aggression and pump their fists. They can be strong yet beautiful. They can wear what they want and say what they want and kick butt and be proud of it all.” 

Whether it's Serena Williams' ability to come back from injury or handle discrimination with poise, her strength and perseverance is an inspiration to women all over the world. 

Pat Summitt

The late, legendary coach for the University of Tennessee women's basketball team has shown women can coach at the highest levels. She began her coaching career right after she graduated from University of Tennessee in 1974, just two years after Title IX was passed. Pat Summitt coached at Tennessee for 38 years, retiring in 2012, and in this time she accrued 1,098 wins, more than any other basketball coach in either mens or womens basketball. She also won 8 national titles, 18 final four appearances, and 32 SEC titles in her 38 seasons at Tennessee. Even after her death in 2016, Pat Summitt continues to be one of the best basketball coaches ever, and is a continuing inspiration for women in sports.

Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities, and Campus Visits

Lia Thomas

Thomas is a trailblazer for being one of the first transgender athletes to compete in the NCAA. In 2022, Lia Thomas became the first transgender women to compete in the NCAA Division 1 swimming and diving championship, and became a topic of huge controversy in the process. Many people cite her physical attributes and hormone levels to be an unfair advantage, although she has followed all rules and regulations by the NCAA. Throughout the debate about transgender participation in sport, Lia Thomas has stayed strong and continues to advocate for better inclusion of transgender people in sports. Sports are important and Lia Thomas has shown men, women, nonbinary, and transgender people should have the same access to sport and compete. 

Related: Happy Pride Month: Honoring 6 Notable LGBTQIA+ Athletes (Part 1)

Women's History Month is about celebrating the accomplishments of women–including women in sports. All of these women faced some type of obstacle in their careers, but they overcame them and created a path for future athletes. In doing so, they challenged the stereotypes of female athletes through the feats they were able to accomplish and inspired the next generation of young female athletes for their grit, determination, and perseverance.

Image Credit: Parade/Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame

* Originally published on March 17, 2023, by Ryan Wiley