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As women’s sports continue to set new records for attendance and viewership, Global Sports Editor Ricardo Zuniga explains how AP is doubling down on its industry-leading coverage of the biggest stories, teams, stars and leagues:
Describe AP’s coverage of women’s sports. What should audiences know about what we cover and how?
The Associated Press has a longstanding commitment to women’s sports — highlighted by our coverage of the WNBA, women’s college basketball and our Top 25 poll — that has set the standard in the industry for decades. Over the past few years we have expanded on that strong foundation with significant investment to add regular coverage of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and other sports, going beyond game coverage with deep storytelling in all formats.
This has allowed for a wide range of storytelling opportunities that are deeply unique to AP. I’d call out a couple:
Why is it important for AP to invest in covering these stories?
Audiences have been asking for broader and deeper coverage of women’s sports for some time — and AP has been at the forefront of the drive to provide it. We’ve witnessed the meteoric rise in popularity of the women’s NCAA Tournament and WNBA, with record attendance and ratings for both, as well as the steady rise in women’s soccer, golf and tennis. Most of the biggest names at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris were women – Simone Biles, Coco Gauff, Sha’Carri Richardson, Katie Ledecky. Still, we know coverage of women’s sports across the media industry lags behind men’s coverage and AP is uniquely situated to help bridge that gap. Our coverage goes beyond the games and focuses not only on the news and the challenges that women face in sports, but we aim to elevate their stories and bring them to the widest possible audience.
What can customers and audiences expect AP to deliver in the months ahead?
Our coverage of the women’s NCAA Tournament this month will continue to grow with more dedicated resources. We’ll also provide wide coverage of the Women’s Soccer European Championship in Switzerland this summer, with multiple reporters and photographers across the country, as well as full coverage of the Women’s Champions League final in Lisbon. We continue to chronicle the growth of the PWHL and NWSL, while gearing up for some of the 2026 Winter Games profiling the women who will be the biggest names in Milano-Cortina.
Anything else to add?
I am pleased to share that we have created a Sports internship this year focused on women in sports, a position that will provide a unique opportunity for an early-career journalist to report on some of the biggest news and stories around women’s sports.
See a slideshow featuring some of the top AP images from women’s sports:
By Patrick Maks,
The Associated Press
MARCH 10, 2025
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