Unlocking Potential—The New Frontier in Women’s Sports Psychology and Performance Enhancement

The landscape of women’s sports is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Developing athletes who are not only physically skilled but also psychologically empowered has become a central focus for coaches, researchers, and sporting organizations worldwide. As women break records and barriers across various disciplines, the importance of understanding and nurturing the psychological aspects of performance has never been more critical or timely.
While training methods and technical abilities continue to be refined, emerging trends—such as athlete mental health advocacy, holistic development models, and inclusive empowerment initiatives—highlight an urgent need to better integrate psychological insights with traditional sports science. This multidisciplinary approach opens exciting possibilities for optimizing performance, sustaining well-being, and fostering long-term athletic and personal growth among female athletes.

This Research Topic seeks to broaden the conversation by exploring all intersections of psychological, social, and physical dynamics in women’s sports. We welcome insights and innovations that span diverse fields—psychology, physiology, coaching science, sociology, technology, education, and beyond—to provide a richer, more nuanced understanding of female athletes’ experiences and successes.

Suggested themes include, but are not limited to:
• Mental resilience and emotional intelligence: Exploring the drivers and outcomes of psychological strength in performance and recovery.
• Innovative training and support strategies: New methods for enhancing focus, motivation, and stress management.
• Holistic and intersectional approaches: Addressing the mental health, well-being, and unique barriers faced by athletes from underrepresented and marginalized groups.
• Technological advances: Utilizing digital tools, apps, or wearable technologies for real-time psychological and physiological monitoring.
• Leadership, advocacy, and culture: Investigating the influence of female athlete role models, leadership development, and community-building on performance and mental health.
• Youth, collegiate, and adaptive sports: Strategies tailored for young athletes and those in adaptive or para sports contexts.
• Social narratives and media: Examining how representation, media coverage, and storytelling contribute to the psychological landscape of women’s sports.

By bringing together scholars, practitioners, athletes, and leaders from diverse backgrounds, this Research Topic aims to inspire groundbreaking approaches that support female athletes not just as competitors, but as whole individuals.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: women’s sports, psychological resilience, athletic performance, mental health, empowerment

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.