In recent years, the emergence of new women’s leagues has reshaped the professional sports landscape and provided new avenues for athletes to perform at the highest level. League One Volleyball (LOVB), Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF), Athletes Unlimited (AU), the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), and The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) are breaking barriers to prioritize athlete well-being and mental health alongside competitive excellence, including through their partnerships with Onrise. This shift is pioneering a new era for athletes that sees their mental, physical, and financial well-being at the heart of sporting institutions’ decision-making.
Redefining the Athlete Experience
League models are traditionally structured to maximize profits and ensure strong competition between teams. While this benefits organizations monetarily and increases the standard of play, this can lead to congested fixture schedules, with additional games and travel potentially leading to impacts on the mental and physical health of athletes. In today’s sports landscape, leagues are increasingly ensuring athletes have a voice, receive fair and sustainable compensation, and are holistically cared for—a commonality among each of the above-mentioned leagues. With unpredictable career spans, athletes need resources both during and beyond their playing days. These new athlete-first league models are fostering environments that champion sustainable practices, community involvement, and athlete-driven decision-making.
The Growing Emphasis on Mental Health
Emerging leagues have made mental health a core pillar, which reflects a broader cultural shift in sports. The unique mental pressures that athletes face are often overlooked, which can greatly impact an athlete’s performance and well-being. Female athletes, in particular, face unique challenges in combatting gender stereotypes while striving for equality in sports. LOVB, PVF, AU, WLL, and PWHL are addressing the challenges head-on by integrating mental health into their frameworks to support athletes’ success both on and off the field, court, or ice.
Onrise directly addresses athletes’ needs to prevent, manage, and treat mental health challenges that often accompany the physical demands of being a professional athlete. Through confidential peer support, which is delivered by retired collegiate and professional athletes, plus therapy, psychiatric care and 24/7 crisis services, Onrise puts athletes first. In addition to the services Onrise provides, each league utilizes innovative approaches to uplift its athletes.
Breakdown of Key Women’s Leagues
- Athletes Unlimited (AU): AU is a professional women’s sports organization that hosts competitions in basketball, softball, and volleyball. AU involves athletes in league-wide decision-making, giving them a voice that is typically reserved for those in administrative roles.⁵ The league’s profit-sharing model ensures players are compensated fairly as AU’s leagues grow.⁵ Its unique format that sees players become captains and draft their own teammates every week and earn individual points in-game in addition to team points, adds a distinctive layer to competition.⁵
- League One Volleyball (LOVB): LOVB is the largest community of youth volleyball clubs in the U.S. with 54 junior clubs in 61 locations across the country.¹² It launched its 10-team professional women’s indoor volleyball league, LOVB Pro, in January 2025. It provides a grassroots-up model that begins at the youth level with LOVB clubs.³ This unique structure emphasizes player development, presents opportunities to grow within the league, and increases engagement among players and fans.
- Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF): PVF began play in 2024 and boasts eight professional women’s volleyball teams. The league compensates players with liveable wages as they compete professionally across North America in major markets.⁴ It follows a more traditional structure with owners for each team and was the first league in the world to distribute portions of its revenue among players.³
- Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL): The WLL is the sole professional women’s lacrosse league in the U.S.⁶ Its inaugural season begins on February 11, 2025, as the league’s four teams face off for the WLL title. WLL’s Olympic Sixes format, which features six players on a smaller field and with a shorter game clock than in field lacrosse, will be utilized in lacrosse’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games and potentially future cycles.⁷
- Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL): The PWHL is currently in its second season of play following a successful inaugural season. Six teams, three each from the U.S. and Canada, make up the league, which is the only professional women’s hockey league in the North America. As part of the PWHL’s “Takeover Tour” this year, which has seen interest in the league spike, nine regular season games are taking place in neutral-site cities to showcase the league in front of new audiences. ⁸ A collective bargaining between the PWHL and the PWHL Players’ Association ensures a player salary range between $35,000-$80,000 excluding bonuses, with foresight to a 3% annual rise in salary through the eight-year agreement.⁹
Challenges and Opportunities for New Leagues
Until recently, female athletes, particularly volleyball players, have had to uproot their lives and seek professional playing opportunities overseas. For nearly two decades up until AU Volleyball’s inaugural season in 2021, there were zero professional women’s volleyball leagues in the U.S. ¹⁰ Moving to a new continent can bring upon numerous obstacles, such as adapting to a new language and culture, and living thousands of miles away from friends and family. There have also been instances of international players falling victim to abuse overseas. While prejudice is unfortunately still prevalent in sports across the globe, the limited playing opportunities in the U.S. left American athletes no choice but to play overseas. Fast forward to today—AU is joined by PVF and LOVB in providing opportunities for volleyball players looking to continue their post collegiate careers domestically.
In addition to new sustainable practices revolutionizing league structure and player wellness, leagues themselves are emerging more rapidly than ever before. Among several factors, this influx could stem from shifts in sports media rights that have enabled increased visibility and access to sports coverage, niche sports gaining rapid popularity in recent years, and the legalization of sports betting across 38 U.S. states and D.C. increasing engagement.¹ ² As interest in leagues grows, expansion teams are also emerging in previously untapped markets with newfound potential for professional sports.¹ ² While these elements have contributed to the development of new leagues and opportunities for players, they also present challenges. Sustaining and continuing to grow viewership, attracting high-profile athletes, and creating a unique identity as new leagues are formed will ensure leagues and athletes succeed in the long term and encourage others to follow suit.
The rise of these leagues and the growth of women’s sports as a whole represent a positive shift that promotes inclusion and mental well-being while showcasing women’s sports. The demand for more opportunities to access women’s sports is there, but historically there has been limited access to coverage. The average TV audience of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship final in the U.S. rose from 4.85 million viewers in 2022 to 9.9 million viewers in 2023 and 18.9 million viewers in 2024.¹ ³ The year-over-year increase in viewership highlights a clear growth in interest to watch this annual event. Conversely, nearly a quarter of the U.S. population (22%) claimed the media does not provide enough information to keep up with women’s sports and almost a fifth of U.S. fans (18%) said live airing of women’s sports are not easily accessible to them.¹ ⁴ As audiences grow and eagerly anticipate more access to coverage, the development of new leagues provides athletes with better professional opportunities and a chance to inspire the next generation.
The Future of Women’s Sports and the Role of Onrise
Today’s transformative shifts in sports are strengthened by normalizing mental health conversations and creating ecosystems that help athletes thrive in all aspects of life while resonating with fans. By prioritizing athlete well-being and innovative competition formats, women’s sports are becoming a beacon of progress and inspiration, breaking down barriers for female athletes in the process. The continued success and prevalence of these ecosystems rely upon retaining talented athletes and their strong fanbases while remaining financially stable.¹ ² Increasing investment presents both opportunities and hurdles, but Onrise’s mental health support could be a crucial differentiator, helping these leagues attract top-tier athletes seeking a healthier, holistic professional experience.
At Onrise, we understand the unique challenges elite athletes face, wherever they compete. Onrise provides athletes with accessible, relatable and affordable mental health services. Our peer support model pairs retired professional or collegiate athletes with current players, offering a sense of trust and shared experience, while our licensed therapists, psychiatric providers, and 24/7 support team ensure that players have comprehensive care when they need it. The athlete-specific approach Onrise provides is built to accommodate the demanding schedules of professional athletes, so they can receive the support they deserve without compromising their performance.
References:
3. https://usavolleyball.org/story/lovb-pvf-pro-womens-leagues-begin-2025-seasons/
4. https://provolleyball.com/about
5. https://auprosports.com/who-we-are/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Lacrosse_League
7. https://www.sportico.com/leagues/other-sports/2024/premier-lacrosse-league-womens-league-1234804755/
9. https://www.dw.com/en/pwhl-what-you-need-to-know-about-new-ice-hockey-league/a-67877835
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volleyball_in_the_United_States
13. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1461096/march-madness-womens-tv-final-viewership/
14. https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/womens-sports-viewership-on-the-rise/