No more false starts for women’s sports. It’s time to rock the boat
Women’s sport is riding an unprecedented wave, but for this momentum to become a lasting legacy, everyone needs to pull up a chair to the table.
For decades, missed chances and false starts kept women’s competitions from truly getting off the ground, often hindered by comparisons to the men’s game.
You’d be told to give up, move on or try again.
To survive, athletes were often pressured to fit into an outdated persona that avoided rocking the boat to maintain the status quo.
That’s starting to change. Ilona Maher, who is a focus of the first episode of our new Game Face vodcast has nine million followers, with her devotees attracted to her bold personality and the way that she balances her femininity with her athleticism.
She wears make-up on the field but don’t let that fool you, she will rock you in a tackle if you meet her in the defensive line.
It all starts with putting on your game face.
Putting on your game face has long been seen as the finishing touch to the uniform an athlete wears when stepping out to compete. It’s a way to adopt a new persona to get into the zone - a mindset that is intentional and unapologetic.
It only takes one look to see if an athlete has their game face on. The nerves can’t be hidden, the excitement can never be missed, and their goal is clear as ever.
That power and hunger has drawn countless fans to women’s sport over recent years, with a report by Nielsen showing how quickly the industry has risen.
Over 46 billion hours of women’s sports was watched in 2025 alone, and only two sports had World Cup tournaments.
Even through this shift, in some ways we as female sports fans had to put on our own game face to deal with the noise of sitting in the stands for an event that many were sceptical of.
We were told you’ll never see sold-out arenas and that leagues would fall apart within a year. Well, that has simply been proven wrong.
Sports fans are now battling for one ticket in an 80,000 seat stadium, others are finding new heroes via social media, while TV networks are seeing record ratings.
Just look at 2023, when the Matildas packed out Accor Stadium for the FIFA Women’s World Cup multiple times.
Nielsen’s report stated “the most distinctive shift in sports in the last 50 years has been the rapid rise in the importance, influence, and value of female fans.”
New uniforms, new chants, new players, new meaning. It is a community that many have long been part of, they just didn’t know how to act or what to say.
Hayley Raso’s bows are a huge part of her game face routine. Matt Roberts
With some help from female athletes like US rugby icon Maher, the long-standing foundations of those communities are in the spotlight, not the dark.
Maher has shared her life with over nine million fans across social media, showcasing the reality of being an individual in the modern world but also what a powerful female athlete can look like in the ever-changing digital age.
A touch of red lipstick is the game face that Maher has built entirely on her own terms in the modern sports world, much like many other international stars.
Sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson always comes out with her nails freshly done, while Naomi Osaka finds a glamorous outfit to leave tennis fans stunned. For others, it is as simple as some fake tan, a piece of jewellery or a signature ribbon.
There is an exciting power in seeing girls and women step onto the field wearing whatever they want and bringing their full, authentic selves to the game.
It has helped paved the way for us as female reporters to do our thing.
You only have to look as far back as 2023 to see how this cultural shift exploded in Australia when the Matildas transcended sport to create a nationwide movement.
They arguably became Australia’s most recognisable football team, inspiring a generation of kids across the country to fill the stands, rep their national team jerseys and wear ribbons just to match the uniform of star winger Hayley Raso.
This forward momentum is also prevalent in the wider sports landscape, with women becoming a powerhouse in ticket sales and merchandise.
Off the back of the frenzy, the Matildas’ jersey outsold the Socceroos in 2023, you could still see fans wearing their old jerseys to the World Cup watch parties in 2026.
But as experts in the sports field, we need to stop looking for the perfect moment or opportunity to bring our incredible game to casual fans.
In this day and age, you can’t manufacture the best time to introduce your talent to the world, it just happens. So let it happen and see what women’s sport can do.
No comparisons, no secrets and no topic left untouched. Nine.com.au’s new vodcast Game Face will go beyond the highlights of women’s sports.
Sports journalists Alyssa Bone and Sophie Wisely will take you behind the scenes of the realities of being a woman in the sports world. From the harsh expectations on female athletes to the fight to earn their place, without losing their identity.
You can stream the vodcast on Youtube.
