Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever point guard, has revolutionised people’s perceptions of women’s basketball and athletics since her undergraduate days to the WNBA.
According to a new study performed by market research firm YouGov, Clark is the most popular female basketball player in the United States, and her broad appeal to both men and women equals that of great male athletes such as LeBron James.
Clark received positive ratings from 42% of US adults. She ranked particularly high among men, with 49% of those polled seeing her positively and 33% of women.
A graphic created by YouGov.
Clark is the third-most positively viewed active basketball player, according to YouGov. According to YouGov profiles from May 2023 to May 2024, Clark was nearly as popular as NBA players LeBron James and Stephen Curry, and ahead of Kevin Durant.
“There’s definitely a moment in women’s and female athletics right now where I think there’s an increasing level of respect and acknowledgement of the level that they’re playing at,” Nicole Pike, YouGov’s senior vice president and head of sports and gaming, told Business Insider. “That has in part played into the overall positive ratings for her, again, across genders, which is really fascinating.”
The results, published by YouGov Profiles, are based on an ongoing survey of over 400,000 panellists in the United States, who ranked over 450 active athletes. The responses ranged from May 2023 to May 2024.
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Clark’s impact has helped to sell out arenas and improve viewership and attendance at the collegiate and professional levels. Pike stated that the media coverage surrounding Clark has also served to raise awareness of women’s sports.
“There’s so much content out about her that I think that definitely helped to increase awareness,” according to her.
Clark is the most popular women’s basketball player, yet she trails some other female athletes.
Clark’s popularity far exceeds that of other players in her league, where the 22-year-old made her debut in May.
The next most popular women’s basketball players are former WNBA standout Candace Parker (26% positive rating) and Clark’s Fever colleague Aliyah Boston (25% positive rating).
Clark ranks third among active female athletes in sports, trailing only Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and tennis champion Venus Williams, who placed highest, according to YouGov data from April.
YouGov created a colourful chart.
Serena Williams has a higher positive rating than Caitlin Clark. According to YouGov, retired tennis player Serena Williams has the greatest overall positive rating among female athletes (63%).
According to Pike, Clark ranks lower than Biles and the Williams sisters since they are more well-known.
“Caitlin is relatively quite new on the scene versus if you think of part of the input that goes into people being able to rank someone positively,” according to her. “The Williams sisters, Simone Biles, they’ve been active in their respective sports for a while…they’re really, really, really highly recognised.”
