Summer 2025 is being dominated by women’s sport. Whether it be tennis, football, rugby or boxing, women are taking centre stage. In this moment to be celebrated, major tournaments are being broadcast live across mainstream channels, making women’s sport more visible than ever.
Tonight, history will be made with the first all-women’s professional boxing card being streamed on Netflix to a global audience. The pinnacle fight between the fiercest rivals in women’s boxing will be remembered as a momentous milestone for the sport
Since 1884, women have been competing on the grass courts of Wimbledon. Year on year, they have rally’d it out to prove who’s best – this weekend is no different. In Saturday’s final, all’s to play for in the fight to be crowned the Women’s Singles winner in one of tennis’s most prestigious tournaments.
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, the Lionesses are hungry to defend their victorious legacy in the UEFA Women’s Euros. In the Women’s Rugby World Cup, the Red Roses are set to follow in their lead in the battle to reign supreme. On home turf and in stadiums across England, games will be won or lost and inspiring moments will be entrenched in sporting history for evermore.
In a heavily male-dominated space, women in sport have a huge amount to offer audiences for corporate and private events, speaking on topics such as overcoming adversity, DE&I, winning mindset, leadership, and female empowerment.
To give you a slice of the action and help you find your next keynote speaker, we have carefully selected a shortlist of motivational female sports speakers who can talk all things resilience, peak performance and teamwork.
Nicola Adams
Nicola Adams is Great Britain’s most decorated female boxer. She will be recognised in history for winning the first ever Olympic Women’s Boxing Gold Medal at the London 2012 Games.
She started boxing at the age of twelve and had her first bout a year later. In 2007, she was the first ever English female to earn a medal in a major tournament when she won silver in the European Championships. She continued to go from strength to strength throughout her career, leading her to two consecutive Olympic Gold medals in London and Rio.
When she retired in 2019, Nicola had an undefeated record and held the World Boxing Organisation female flyweight title.
Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova, tennis player extraordinaire, took women's tennis to a new level with her speed, determination and agility. She won the Wimbledon women's singles title a record nine times and has been described by many as "the greatest singles, doubles, and mixed doubles player who's ever lived".
In all, Martina has won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women's doubles titles (an all-time record), and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles; in total she has won 59 Grand Slam titles. She still plays at all the Grand Slams, where she takes part in the legends doubles.
Originally from the Czech Republic, Martina was stripped of her citizenship when, in 1975 at the age of 18, she asked for political asylum in the United States. She became a US citizen in 1981 and also had her Czech citizenship restored in 2008. She is a global icon for lesbian and gay rights and is, as she describes it herself, a citizen of the world.
Sue Barker
Former British tennis player turned popular commentator and presenter, Sue Barker, is one of Tennis’ most famous names. In 1976, she won the French Open and was ranked Number 3 in the World.
She went on to become the UK’s leading female sports presenter and hosted the ever-popular sports quiz, A Question of Sport. Prior to her retirement from broadcasting in 2022, she was the BBC’s anchor for all of their main sports events. Fronting television coverage of The Olympics, Wimbledon, the Grand National and Sports Personality of the Year.
Away from television, Sue has created another career as a dynamic host for corporate events. This can range from scripted award ceremonies to facilitating conferences.
Alex Scott
The former Arsenal Captain and England Centurion is a highly-regarded pundit for BBC and Sky Sports.
Alex Scott signed with Arsenal at age 8 and stayed with the team for most of her career. She helped the club achieve a domestic double of the FA Women's Cup and the FA Women's Premier League. She was also a key figure in the historic quadruple season for Arsenal in which they won all their trophy competitions.
This became the obvious prelude to Alex's captaincy for the club in the 2014/15 season. While playing for England, Alex had the opportunity to travel all over the world to play the game she loves. She retired from international football in 2017, though not before representing Great Britain in the Olympics. Alex ended her career as the second-most capped England player with 140 appearances.
Jill Scott
Jill Scott is a former Professional football player, broadcaster and Olympian. As England’s most capped footballer in World Cup Finals, she is best known as part of the winning team in the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euros. Her first call-up to the England senior squad came in May 2006, after having captained the Under-19s side for the previous 18 months. She made the squad for the 2007 World Cup, coming on as a substitute in England’s opening match against Japan.
In May 2009, Jill was one of the first 17 female players to be given central contracts by The Football Association. She was then named in Hope Powell’s squad for the 2009 UEFA Women’s European Championship, scoring a late winner as England beat the Netherlands in the Semi-final.
Jill joined the Team GB line-up for the London 2012 Olympic squad and again at Tokyo in 2020. Now, she is a pundit for both men’s and women’s football whilst also co-hosting the “Stick to Football” podcast and being captain on “A League of Their Own”.
Maggie Alphonsi
Maggie Alphonsi is the face of international women’s rugby and arguably one of the most well-known names in women’s team sports on the planet. Before announcing her international retirement in 2014, she represented her country an impressive 74 times, scored 28 tries, won a World Cup and helped England win a record-breaking seven consecutive Six Nations crowns.
In 2016, Maggie made history by becoming the first England Women’s player to be elected as a National Member of the Rugby Football Union’s Council. She is one of just six females on the 56-strong Council, and her role is to be a person of experience and influence in the Game, which includes a leading role in the Diversity & Inclusion steering Group.
When she shares her story, you don’t need to be a rugby fan to be interested or inspired by how she has become a prominent figure in the challenging world of a male-dominated sport.
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