Women in Sports, Women’s Health: Why the Conversation Can’t Wait

The Start of Every Star

Every girl has a first memory in childhood of playing a sport, accompanied by their family or friends, whether it is soccer or tennis; every girl finds, at some point in their life, a bit of love for one sport.

Now, those girls have grown up; some of them quit the sport when life got busy, but others have become professionals, with the passion and love that filled them with joy in their early years. Those are the women in the fields, courts, and big leagues. A clear example of this is the WNBA's success and performance.

Yet somehow, they do not receive the same level of health equity as men.

In comparison, women and men differ in performance based on their biological composition, including muscular mass, bone structure, and, primarily, hormones.

Hormones on the field

Hormones play a crucial role in athletic performance, influencing everything from recovery and hydration to strength and endurance. Yet they can also mask underlying health conditions.

Take, for example, PMOS (Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome), formerly known as PCOS. This Syndrome affects an estimated 30% of female Olympic athletes, a far higher proportion than in the general population. It can  provide physiological traits such as increased muscle development and bone density.

Getty Images 2018

However, its hallmark symptoms, including irregular or absent periods, are often mistaken for the effects of intense training, delaying diagnosis for years.

Olympic athletes like Samantha Schultz and Carly Patterson only discovered they had PMOS after seeking fertility care, highlighting the need to treat menstrual health as a vital sign rather than dismissing it as a normal consequence of elite sport.

The Invisible Illness in sports

Women's health advocacy extends beyond performance. Many female athletes live with—or raise awareness about—invisible illnesses, including autoimmune diseases that often go undiagnosed for years.

Women are disproportionately affected by autoimmune diseases, accounting for nearly 80% of all diagnosed cases.

Olympic swimmer Kathleen Baker has spoken openly about competing with Crohn's disease. Tennis champion Venus Williams has been outspoken about having Sjögren's syndrome, and so have many other players, bringing light to the unseen diagnosis.

Athletes as Health Advocates

Today's women athletes are doing more than competing—they are influencing public health conversations.

Across professional leagues, including the WNBA, players have increasingly spoken about mental health, reproductive health, injury prevention, menstrual health, and equitable access to medical care. Their advocacy has helped shift public discourse away from outdated assumptions and toward evidence-based discussions about women's health.

Getty Images 2023

You might think that the WNBA has just recently started speaking about women’s health and sport, yet health has been engraved on the WNBA's heart since always. Not only figuratively but literally, during the past year, the WNBA has been constantly focusing on promoting cardiac health; in fact, the trainer of the Atlanta Dream is certified in CPR.

Las Vegas Aces A’ja Wilson, with her coach Dawn Stanley, have been open regarding her self-care.

A Movement Bigger Than Sports

The growing popularity of women's sports represents more than athletic achievement. It offers an opportunity to rethink how science, medicine, and society approach women's health.

In the meantime, ways to stay healthy are following proper nutrition, staying hydrated, and supporting their own hormonal health; all of these needs are based on the case of each athlete. And most importantly, athletes should feel empowered to speak up when something doesn't feel right.

As researchers expand studies involving female participants and athletes continue to advocate for better care, the result is likely to benefit not only elite competitors but millions of women worldwide.

The future of women's sports is not just about championships or television ratings. It is also about ensuring that women's bodies, experiences, and health are no longer treated as an afterthought in medicine. It is time for the conversation to happen.

References

Andrews, S. 2026. The Olympic athletes who've conquered gold and chronic health problems. Allara Health. https://www.allarahealth.com/blog/the-olympic-athletes-whove-conquered-gold-and-chronic-health-problems

Hunter, S. K., et al. 2023. The Biological Basis of Sex Differences in Athletic Performance: Consensus Statement for the American College of Sports

Pharr, J., & Lough, N. 2017. The relationship between sport participation and chronic diseases among men in the USA: An examination of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Sports, 5(3), 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports5030056

PREP Performance Center. 2026. The silent struggles of female athletes: What moms and coaches need to know. https://prepperformancecenter.com/the-silent-struggles-of-female-athletes-what-moms-and-coaches-need-to-know/