At EmpireStakes.com — your home to all things New York sports betting — we wanted to honor phenomenal women athletes across all sports for their achievements as the nation continues to celebrate Women's History Month this month.
EmpireStakes.com established methodology utilizing a point system to determine the rankings of the “Most Influential Women Athletes in 2023.”
The popularity influence category was determined by the AhRefs.com search volume over the last 12 months. The social media influence category was their combined social media followers and the achievements influence category was a weighted system of individual and team contributions by sport.
You won’t find odds on any New York sports betting apps on these rankings but this story is indicative of the type of analysis we do at EmpireStakes.com.
Below are the top five findings:
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Most Influential Women Athletes in 2023
| Weighted Rank | Athlete | Popularity Influence | Social Media Influence | Achievements Influence | Points |
| 1 | Simone Biles, Gymnastics | 20 | 19 | 19 | 58 |
| 2 | Naomi Osaka, Tennis | 18 | 18 | 15 | 51 |
| T-3 | Alex Morgan, Soccer | 15 | 15 | 18 | 48 |
| T-3 | Mikaela Shiffrin, Skiing | 19 | 12 | 17 | 48 |
| 5 | Candace Parker, Basketball | 17 | 14 | 16 | 47 |
| 6 | Chloe Kim, Snowboarding | 16 | 11 | 14 | 41 |
| T-7 | Simona Halep, Tennis | 11 | 17 | 12 | 40 |
| T-7 | Sunisa Lee, Gymnastics | 14 | 13 | 13 | 40 |
| 9 | Katie Ledecky, Swimming | 9 | 7 | 20 | 36 |
| 10 | Lexi Thompson, Golf | 10 | 10 | 11 | 31 |
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A Closer Look at Results
Considered to be the greatest gymnast in the history of the sport, Simone Biles tops the list with 58 points across the board. Biles has earned seven Olympic medals (tied with fellow gymnast Shannon Miller) for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. She also has won 25 World Championship medals, making her the most decorated gymnast of all-time.
Tennis player Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, is second on the list with 51 points. Osaka has won two Australian Open and two U.S. Open titles. At the 2018 US Open and the 2019 Australian Open, Osaka won her first two major titles in back-to-back tournaments. She was the first woman to win successive major singles titles since Serena Williams in 2015, and the first to win her first two in successive majors since Jennifer Capriati in 2001.
Days before this year’s Australian Open, Osaka announced her withdrawal from the championships, as she is expecting her first child. She did say she will be back in 2024.
Close behind Osaka and tied for third are soccer player Alex Morgan and alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin with 48 points.
Morgan has appeared in 204 U.S. National Team games with 121 goals and currently captains and plays as a striker for the San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Shiffrin recorded her 87th World Cup victory Saturday in Are, Sweden. She won the slalom to break the overall record set by Ingemar Stenmark to become the sport’s all-time winningest athlete.
Stick with EmpireStakes.com for stories of interest on sports betting and the top New York sportsbook promos.
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