New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai's Human Performance Alliance is making strides in bridging the data gap in sports science for female athletes. The project aims to predict injuries, personalize training, and enhance performance by studying women's physiology and addressing issues like travel fatigue and circadian disruption.
New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai is deeply committed to maximizing the potential of female athletes . Upon acquiring the team in 2019, she identified a significant disparity in data availability and training methodologies when compared to those available for male athletes. To address this, she spearheaded the Human Performance Alliance five years ago, and with the project now halfway through its ten-year duration, she is optimistic about its future.
“Most of the sport science research has been focused on male subjects, with the findings then applied to women,” Wu Tsai stated in a phone interview. “With more girls participating in sports, these female athletes deserve the same level of scientific understanding that has been readily accessible to men.” Her primary objectives for the remaining five years of the project include the ability to predict and prevent injuries before they occur, personalize training and recovery programs, and close the existing data gap in women's physiology. “This is the kind of work I have always aspired to do,” Wu Tsai remarked. “Research dedicated to women's health has been historically underfunded, which is why I saw this opportunity. You only undertake such endeavors if you truly believe they will benefit people.”\The surge in women's sports participation over the past fifty years has been remarkable. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, participation in girls' high school sports has skyrocketed from 294,000 in 1972 to 3.4 million today, representing an increase exceeding 1,000%. Women athletes comprised 48% of the participants at the 2024 Paris Olympics, marking the highest percentage in Olympic history. At the collegiate level, women now represent 44% of all NCAA athletes, a substantial rise from the 15% recorded before Title IX legislation took effect. Despite this dramatic increase in female involvement in sports, only 6% of sports science studies concentrate exclusively on female athletes, according to the Alliance's findings. A tangible outcome of the Alliance's efforts is the establishment of the Women's Health Sports and Performance Institute (WHSP) in Boston, which officially opened its doors in January. “In my view, this is of immense value,” said Dr. Kate Ackerman, co-founder and president of WHSP. “Women constitute half of the population. Therefore, if we aim to reduce injuries in half of our population, we must conduct thorough research on them, and I am particularly excited about the team of individuals we are assembling, as we are maintaining a very high standard.” Ackerman, along with the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, is acutely aware of the higher incidence of ACL injuries among girls and women. Scott Delp, director of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at Stanford, has contributed to the development of tools designed to assess female athletes' risk of injuries, such as ACL tears. “We can analyze videos of girls or women running and changing direction, and we can evaluate their ability to control their torso and their limb alignment,” Delp explained. “We can assess how they absorb energy and determine their risk factors, ultimately enabling the provision of personalized training programs. We can identify potential injury risks, such as observing how the torso lags, and then implement training strategies to mitigate those risks.” Delp is one of over 500 scientists affiliated with seven institutions collaborating on the Alliance's initiatives.\One of the ongoing studies conducted by the Alliance investigates the impact of travel schedules, late-night games, and circadian disruption on the performance and recovery of WNBA and Australia's WNBL players. Preliminary results indicate that teams perform worse with increased travel, primarily by allowing more points on defense. Travel eastward has a detrimental effect on home team performance, likely due to the difficulty in adjusting the body clock forward. “This is how we can truly amplify the impact,” Wu Tsai emphasized. “Ultimately, the goal is to integrate the academic sector with sports leagues, facilitating collaborative efforts to achieve the broadest possible impact. It is one of the dreams I aspire to realize in the coming years.” Wu Tsai also mentioned that the Liberty employs an exercise physiologist, who also serves as the chief innovation officer for the team. “He can effectively coordinate research outcomes from the Alliance with training protocols,” she stated. “We have developed some of the best practices related to travel, nutrition, sleep, and the female life cycle.
Women's Sports Sports Science Female Athletes Injury Prevention WNBA
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