These Are the Emerging Female Athletes to Get on Your Radar
Breaking records, fronting campaigns and getting silly on social media, they’re just like us.
Women’s sports is taking over our feeds right now, with athletes fronting some of the biggest fashion campaigns, attending the hottest events and serving social media stardom.
Reshaping both the commercial and cultural landscapes, athletes bring much more to the table than just their sporting talent. Many are inspirational figures, social activists or style inspirations, making them the perfect personalities to fill out our feeds. Whether you’ve never worked out a day in your life, are part of an amateur sports team or have even won an Olympic medal, there’s no denying the allure of seeing talented women smashing it in their fields.
Athletes like Coco Gauff, Chloe Kelly and Caitlin Clark are just a few who have bridged this gap and become public figures in their own right. Today’s next-gen of big-time athletes are breaking the mold while breaking records, and here are the girls we think you should know about.
Read on for our full list of emerging athletes you should follow.
Audi Crooks
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Audi Crooks is one of the biggest names in women’s basketball right now. The Iowa State center has been putting up ridiculous numbers this year, recently scoring double digits for her 80th game in a row — the longest run in national history. Her multi-threat skillset and ability to make herself unguardable has garnered the attention of basketball legends and casual fans alike. If you’re just getting into the sport, this is a name you won’t want to forget.
Tiah Ayton
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Tiah Ayton is a boxing powerhouse with more than just a strong jab. Born in Bristol, England, she’s the eldest of nine siblings and has built her fight game across Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and boxing. Now, at just 19 years old, she has already competed and won over 300 fights. Turning pro earlier this summer, Champion signed her with an announcement shoot that combined raw stills of her boxing with her love for anime.
Mari Fukader
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This 18-year-old Japanese snowboarder is the epitome of cool. A Red Bull athlete, Mari Fukader‘s career is going from strength to strength, taking home titles like the Big Air World Cup and racking up multiple podium spots in the process. One of four siblings, Fukader often looked up to her older brother and sister growing up, who were already snowboarding when she was just a kid. As a result, the athlete quickly became familiar with the sport, stepping onto her first board at the age of seven. Her Instagram shows clips of her slope style alongside candid lifestyle shots that just prove she deserves a follow.
Veronica Shanti Pereira
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Singaporean track and field athlete Veronica Shanti Pereira holds multiple national records and the 200m Asian Games Championship title. Beyond her career, Pereira loves social media. While many athletes swear off the platforms during big competitions, Pereira takes a different view. “I enjoy social media, I like using it… my TikTok algorithm is nothing about track! For me, it’s a way of relaxing,” the athlete said to Olympics.com. ” She goes on to detail that she enjoys watching organizing and packing videos alongside beauty and fashion-related content. Her personal Instagram is full of aesthetic mirror selfies, beach pics, outfit shots and of course, her in competition.
Olivia Asselin
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Olivia Asselin is a Canadian freestyle skier bringing plenty of edge to the slopes. First hopping on a pair of skis at the age of four, she started competing at just eight. She then chose to specialize in slopestyle at 12, enjoying the freedom it gave her to develop her own style and creativity. Now 21, she’s a force to be reckoned with. Outside of skiing, her Instagram shows her cool sense of style with Tumblr-inspired edits and baggy fits.
Kyrstin Johnson
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Kyrstin Johnson is the American gymnast to watch both on TV and TikTok. A National Vault champion, she’s also busy making her fans laugh with her down-to-earth humor on social media. Videos like “Never have I ever used my sport as an excuse not to go somewhere knowing I didn’t have anything,” and her dancing with teammates during practice show how the new generation of athletes is engaging with their fans. Her candid and unpolished social media is refreshing amongst the manager-run accounts that dominate most sports.
Ewe Wong
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Eweleiula (Ewe) Wong is a native Hawaiian surfer and is hailed as a rising star within the sport. Wong was recently profiled on the TV series Surf Girls, which follows up-and-coming surfers as they represent their countries to compete in the Challenger Series. A fluent Hawaiian speaker, she brings her culture onto every wave she rides and is fiercely proving her skill. Her Instagram features a perfectly curated aesthetic of the ocean, pink boards, and polaroids. We can’t wait to watch what Wong does next.
Sara Curtis
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Sara Curtis is an Italian swimmer making waves with her sprint freestyle and backstroke at just 19 years old. Her Instagram is the perfect mixture of sharp performance shots and lifestyle, showing off her boyfriend, beach holidays and bikini pics. The Nike athlete is sure to be all over your TV screens in the coming years.
Momiji Nishiya
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Momiji Nishiya is a Japanese skateboarder and a solid champion already at the age of 18. At the 2020 Olympics, she won the first-ever gold medal in the women’s street competition, bringing the sport into the serious competitive landscape. Her social media is exactly what you’d expect from a typical teen skater girl. Think clips of her in skateparks, mirror selfies with friends and wholesome photo dumps, alongside, of course, some shots of her on top of the podium and holding trophies.
Lydia Ko
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Born in Seoul and raised in New Zealand, Lydia Ko is a professional golfer breaking records and fronting fashion campaigns. Renowned for the poise she possesses both on and off the course, she has graced the cover of Vogue Korea and more recently been tapped as the face of Danish-born brand ECCO’s Spring/Summer 2025 campaign. She reached a world No.1 ranking at just 17, the youngest player ever to do so, and is now a multiple Olympic medallist.
In other sporting news, check out our favorite fashion moments from the US Open so far.
