Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, Sasha Banks: The most Tweeted about female athletes in 2021

Ever wondered which athlete is searched the most on social media?Well now, thanks to Front Office Sports’ “Year on Twitter” review, we know exactly which global superstars have been talked about frequently in 2021.Front Office Sports, a Business of Sports media organisation, have separated the results into different categories, including “Most Tweeted Male Athletes,” “Most Tweeted Female Athletes”, and “Most Tweeted About Teams.”Basketball star LeBron James leads the way in terms of male athletes, followed by seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.In terms of teams, it’s Los Angeles who take the top two spots with basketball side the Lakers at number one and baseball team the Dodgers in second.ENTER GIVEAWAYIt’s unclear whether FOS included data surrounding all sports, as there is no room on the list for the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, or any of the world’s major football teams for that matter.Nonetheless, their list of the top five most popular women’s sports stars seems fairly accurate on paper.Here’s a breakdown in descending order of who makes the cut:

5. Bianca Belair

Belair has become one of WWE’s household names in recent years and made history at WrestleMania 37 with Sasha Banks when the two became the first Black women to headline the company’s flagship pay-per-view event.

The 32-year-old also won this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble match –– making her the second African-American superstar to win the Rumble after The Rock.

In 2021 she was ranked number one of the top 150 female wrestlers, in a list compiled by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

4. Serena Williams

Tennis icon Williams turned 40 this year and remains in search of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.

The US star struggled with injuries throughout 2021 and her best chance of winning a Slam came at the Australian Open, where she reached the semi-finals.

Away from the court, Williams has recently celebrated the release of her new biopic, which centres around the upbringing of her and her sister Venus by their father Richard.

The movie is called “King Richard” and stars Will Smith as Williams’ father.

3. Sasha Banks

Banks stole the show at WrestleMania 37 alongside Belair and has been one of the faces of women’s wrestling in the WWE for some time.

The 29-year-old is a former Wrestler of the Year and is also the first woman to headline a PPV event, having fought Charlotte Flair at Hell in a Cell in 2016.

Nicknamed ‘The Boss’, Banks became the third ever Women’s Grand Slam champion in 2020 and the fourth Women’s Triple Crown winner.

2. Naomi Osaka

Osaka has continued to be the most talked-about tennis player on the planet, despite being absent from competition for the majority of the year.

The 24-year-old started the season by winning her fourth major title at the Australian Open and came close to regaining the number one spot in the rankings.

However, the Japanese star has suffered from mental health problems and withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon to focus on her wellbeing.

Osaka returned to compete in the Tokyo Olympics and was given the honour of being the main torchbearer for the Games.

Yet, a third-round exit from the competition shattered her dreams of a gold medal in her home country.

1. Simone Biles

Biles is tied as the most decorated gymnast of all time with a combined 32 Olympic and World Championship medals.

Similarly to Osaka, Biles also faced challenges with her mental health this year and withdrew from a number of events in Tokyo this summer, despite being the only athlete to qualify for all the individual finals.