Sports and physical activity were often thought to be things that women could never be excellent at. Women were thought to find it too difficult to participate in demanding physical activities and games, let alone to excel at them. However, as more and more women stepped out to show off their talent, people’s attitudes started to change and they stopped underestimating them.

The following list of 5 of the most well-known sportswomen in the world has altered how people view both sports and women:

Steffi Graf

Stefanie Maria Graf is a former tennis pro who was born in Germany. She was ranked No. 1 in the world for a record 377 weeks and won 22 major singles titles, which is the second-most since the Open Era began in 1968 and third-most all-time. She is one of the greatest professional tennis players of all time.

Nadia Comăneci

Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner, a retired gymnast from Romania, won five gold medals at the Olympics, all in the individual competition. At the Olympic Games in 1976, Comăneci became the first gymnast to receive a perfect score of 10.0 at the age of 14.

P V Sindhu

Sindhu debuted in 2009 and advanced to No. 2 in 2017. At age 21, she became the first Indian woman to take home a silver medal from the Summer Olympics. She also became the country’s first-ever world champion in badminton. She has won several prestigious accolades and prizes, including the Arjuna Award, the Padma Shri, and the Padma Bhushan.

Serena Williams, who is ranked No. 12 on the World Fame 100, continued to be the most well-known tennis player in the 14 months between her final match of 2017 (during which she won Grand Slam championship No. 23) and her return to the WTA after maternity leave in March 2018. For the 319th week of her career, she has held the top spot worldwide.

Mithali Raj

The leader in runs scored in women’s international cricket and the only woman to break the 6000 run mark in one-day international cricket is Mithali Raj, the captain of the Indian cricket team. She holds the record for the most half-centuries in WODIs and is the first player in ODI history to score seven consecutive 50s.