But it turns out that finding 25 influential women in the world of team sports was quite a challenge. While women have undeniably made huge strides in the business (thanks, Billy Jean King!), they still have quite a ways to go in terms of sheer numbers.

So we started with team dealers, searching for women running their own shops or in high-ranking positions within a team-related business. Then we moved onto key vendors with women in influential positions. Finally, we reached into the sports themselves — athletes, associations, leagues and influencers.

The result is quite a list of influential women that we feel paints a realistic picture of the vital role women are playing in the world of team sports. We are sure there are others who are just as worthy, but, like all subjective lists, there is always room for debate. We’d like to hear from anyone with any thoughts.

But I will admit right here there is one Woman To Watch who is not on that list — and for good reason. I wanted to write about her here in my editorial.

I first met Judy Leand back in 1995 when I was named editor of Sportstyle, then the pre-eminent trade magazine in sporting goods retail in a field that included four monthly publications and two newsletters. I still chuckle when I recall Judy coming into our first editorial meeting with a stack of story ideas she wanted to pitch to the new guy.  

Judy has been pitching me these stories and tackling major writing assignments for me ever since and I am pretty sure she still has that stack of ideas on her desk. Today she remains the key writer for Team Insight — and she is quite an expert on pickleball.

I am certain that the many team dealers who have been interviewed by her over the years will agree she is one of the most important trade magazine writers in sporting goods retail and team sports — but then again, I am a bit prejudiced because she has written for me so well for so long.

So even though we often argue about the use of the Oxford comma and certain editorial styles, let’s add Judy Leand to our list of Women To Watch in Team Sports in 2025. So team dealers better watch out — there’s a good chance Judy will be calling them for a story someday.