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Ratings and Research

SBJ Social Climbers: Tracking female athletes

WWE stars dominate the latest women’s social media rankings with Nikki Bella remaining at the top for the second straight year, according to data from MVPindex measured from Dec. 6, 2019, through Dec. 7, 2020, compared with the same 12-month period the prior year. 

MVP is a measurement platform that specializes in social media valuation with real-time analytics on more than 100,000 athletes, entertainers, teams, leagues and brands across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Rankings combine three factors: reach (fans/followers across social), engagement (likes/comments/shares and engagement rates), and amount of social conversation.

Bella and other current and recently retired WWE headliners dominated the rankings, filling half of the top 10 spots.

Additionally, Nikki and her sister, Brie Bella, delivered a combined total of nearly $194 million in media value to their brand partners, matching the aggregate of the next three women — fellow wrestler Natalya, soccer player Alex Morgan and tennis player Sania Mirza.

In terms of relationships between an athlete and a single brand, German track star Alica Schmidt delivered $1.34 million in media value to her sponsor Food Spring, the most of any woman with a single brand relationship. Schmidt’s posts related to the Germany-based company generated a stunning 12% engagement rate among her fans. The study’s biggest mover was Naomi Osaka, the WTA’s top-ranked player. She added 2.2 million followers and soared 164 points to No. 11 in the MVPindex.

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