From breaking glass ceilings to breaking viewership records, here's a timeline of the top women's sports moments of 2020
From left: Sarah Fuller, Katie Sowers, Jewell Loyd, Sabrina Ionescu, and Kim Ng.Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images/Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports/Julio Aguilar/Getty Images/Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports/oseph Guzy/Miami Marlins Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports
- 2020 has been an unprecedented year on many fronts, and women's sports are no exception.
- From the Marlins' Kim Ng and the 49ers' Katie Sowers to Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller and Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu, women in sports shattered glass ceilings and achieved countless firsts this year.
- The NWSL made history as the first league back during the pandemic, the WNBA made waves through its social justice initiatives, and both leagues excelled in viewership metrics.
- Breanna Stewart, Sophia Popov, and Tiana Mangakahia enjoyed epic and heartwarming comebacks, and many athletes reached major milestones in their sports.
- Check out Insider's timeline of 2020's top moments in women's sports below:
January 14: The WNBA and WNBPA reach agreement on a new CBA that increases player salaries, ensures maternity leave, and improves marketing and travel for the league
Candace Parker (left) attacks Alyssa Thomas during their 2020 WNBA playoff matchup.
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
January 16: San Francisco Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken becomes the first female to join an MLB coaching staff in league history
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
January 29: Canada's Christine Sinclair becomes the worldwide all-time leading scorer among men and women with her 185th international goal
AP Photo/Delcia Lopez
February 2: Carli Lloyd kicks a field goal in Super Bowl commercial
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
February 2: San Francisco 49ers offensive assistant coach Katie Sowers becomes the first woman - and first out LGBTQ individual - to coach during the Super Bowl
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
February 24: Sabrina Ionescu makes history as the first college player - man or woman - to accrue 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds in her career mere hours after eulogizing Kobe and Gigi Bryant
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
March 21: Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird make the most of COVID-19 quarantine by starting Instagram Live series "A Touch More"
June 27: The NWSL became the first professional domestic contact sports league to return to action after the COVID-19 pandemic with the start of the 2020 Challenge Cup
Tziarra King (right) dribbles past a goalkeeper during an NWSL Challenge Cup game.
Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
July 1: WNBA superstar Maya Moore reunites with Jonathan Irons after pausing her basketball career to help overturn his wrongful conviction
Maya Moore.
Jessica Hill/AP Images
July 21: Alyssa Nakken becomes the first woman to coach on the field during an MLB game
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
July 21: The NWSL announces that Natalie Portman, Serena Williams, and more than a dozen women's soccer icons have joined a star-studded ownership group for a league expansion team in LA
Angel City/NWSL
July 26: The underdog Houston Dash win the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup
Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
August 4: WNBA players openly endorse Rev. Raphael Warnock in Georgia's Senate race to rebel against Kelly Loeffler, a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream
Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
August 21: WNBA legend Diana Taurasi told referees "I'll see you in the lobby later" in response to a foul call she didn't like
AP Photo/Ralph Freso
August 23: 304th-ranked Sophia Popov wins AIG Women's British Open after losing tour card, battling Lyme disease, and nearly quitting professional golf
Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
August 23: Diana Taurasi dropped 34 points on Kobe Bryant's birthday while wearing the late legend's name and number
Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images
September 9: NWSL and Japan national team star Yuki Nagasato becomes the first female soccer star to play professionally with a men's club
Yuki Nagasato poses for a photograph with her new Hayabusa Eleven jersey.
The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
September 10: Victoria Azarenka caps historic post-motherhood career resurgence by besting Serena Williams in the US Open semifinal
Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
September 12: Naomi Osaka wins the US Open after wearing masks honoring victims of police brutality while taking the court for each of her seven matches
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
September 16: Phoenix Mercury's Shey Peddy nails a buzzer-beating three to eliminate the Washington Mystics from the WNBA playoffs just weeks after the team cut her
Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
October 1: Legendary point guard Sue Bird sets WNBA single-game playoffs record with 16 assists in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
October 5: Manchester United jerseys for USWNT stars Tobin Heath and Christen Press outsold all of the players on the men's side
Michael Regan/Getty Images
October 6: Seattle Storm star Breanna Stewart completes epic comeback by earning WNBA Finals MVP honors just 18 months after tearing her Achilles
Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports
October 6: WNBA successfully completes 2020 season without a COVID-19 outbreak thanks to "Wubble" in Bradenton, Florida
A WNBA staffer cleans and sanitizes the ball before gameplay.
Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
October 8: Future USWNT star Catarina Macario earns her first national team call up and becomes a US citizen on the same day
Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images
October 16: NWSL ratings were reported to have increased 493% year-over-year
Bryan Byerly/ISI Photos/Getty Images
October 30: Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe announce their engagement
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
November 13: Kim Ng becomes the first female general manager in MLB history
Joseph Guzy/Miami Marlins Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports
November 18: Diana Taurasi made a surprise NBA Draft appearance, subtly promoting the WNBA on one of basketball's biggest stages
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File
November 27: Kristie Mewis scores and plays alongside sister, Sam, in first USWNT appearance in 6 years
Piroschka van de Wouw/Pool via AP
November 27: Former kindergarten teammates Sophia Smith and Jaelin Howell earn first USWNT caps on the same day
Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images
November 28: Sarah Fuller becomes the first woman to play in a Power 5 college football game
Vanderbilt place kicker Sarah Fuller
L.G. Patterson/AP
November 29: Syracuse basketball star Tiana Mangakahia returns to the court after breast cancer, chemotherapy, and a double mastectomy derailed her senior season
Rich Barnes/Getty Images
December 1: USWNT players secure similar resources and accommodations as the men's team through a settlement with US Soccer Federation
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
December 12: Sarah Fuller becomes the first woman to score in a Power 5 college football game
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
December 13: Stanford Cardinal star Fran Belibi becomes the first DI women's college basketball player to dunk in a game since 2013
AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn
December 14: Sports Business Journal names the WNBA's iconic orange hoodie the best fashion statement of 2020
AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker
Source: Sports Business Journal
December 30: Becky Hammon becomes the first woman head coach in NBA history after Gregg Popovich was ejected early in a Spurs game against the Lakers
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Now check out Insider's 50 best soccer players in the world in 2020:
Matthias Hangst/Bongarts/Getty Images; Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images; Xinhua/Aurelien Morissard via Getty Images; Alex Caparros - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images; Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images; Samantha Lee/Insider
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