In women's basketball you win, but visibility remains a male privilege
It's true: there are baskets and baskets. Not all shots are worth the same. There are three-pointers, two-pointers, one-pointers. And those that disappear into thin air. The "pink" ones, generally, are part of the latter. These days, however, women's basketball is finally the protagonist. The National team achieved a historic result: third place and a bronze medal against a fearsome France. Starting from the victories against Slovenia , Serbia and Lithuania in the group stage, passing through the success against Turkey in the quarterfinals, the Azzurre “surrendered” – by just two points – only to Belgium , who later became European champions. Without demerits. On the contrary. We saw a combative Italy, truly a team, capable of a choral game.
The enthusiasm of the Azzurre, and of coach Capobianco, also set Bologna alight. Not far from the PalaDozza , where the group stage was played, the Giardini Margherita hosted the 43rd edition of the tournament of the same name. On Friday 20, among the crowd, also the nationals Olbis Futo Andrè , Matilde Villa and Mariella Santucci – a Bolognese born in 1997, who played for a long time at the “Gardens” and today plays on the Euroleague courts with Reyer Venezia.
Santucci, protagonist of the recently concluded European Championship, tells us: “When I was in Toledo, in the United States, we had 4,000 season ticket holders. Numbers that in Italy are not even seen in the top division. But it is not just a question of numbers: there is a team that follows the athletes in the round, even on social media, and a very strong sports marketing . The players are sponsored individually. There is no obsessive distinction between male and female: you support the team, period”.
It’s not the first time that we’ve asked ourselves what visibility is really worth in women’s sports, not just in Italy. At the beginning of June, on the pages of Luce!, it was highlighted how the women’s final of Roland Garros had been relegated to an afternoon slot, unlike its male counterpart in prime time. Sports change, but the music – or, better, the coverage – remains the same: unequal.
And for this very reason, a question arises spontaneously: why did Sky Sport choose to broadcast only the men's final of the Torneo dei Giardini Margherita? Same field, same passion, similar audience (over a thousand people already at the first women's evening, three thousand for the final). But only one tournament ends up on the screens. "We are sorry - comments Santucci - also because the Giardini have done so much for us. In the women's, you always have to ask. Nothing is taken for granted or spontaneous. You have to prove yourself, you have to deserve everything. While for the men... it is automatic".
An automatism that is reflected everywhere. In the economic treatment , for example: “Yes, I live on basketball . But you still need a plan B, because it is not a salary that can think of providing you with a lifetime income. And this is true for almost all of us”.
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In Serie A1 , the top league, players do not yet have professional status. “Technically today we have gone from 'amateurs' to 'sports workers' . But we are not yet considered professionals. In 2025, it is absurd. In France they are, and there they are also protected in terms of maternity. Here, no. If you get pregnant you lose everything: salary and field . Then, of course, you can come back. But after giving birth, reinstatement is neither automatic nor simple. If it makes the news when a company continues to pay you while you are pregnant, it means that we are still very far from any real protection2.
The “gender pay gap” is sadly notorious. In the USA, a WNBA player earns less than 2% of her NBA colleague. Caitlin Clark , one of the strongest in circulation, signed a 2024 contract worth 338,000 dollars over four years. In the same year, and at the same age, Victor Wembanyama , first choice in the NBA Draft, signed a contract worth 55 million. Clark earns 0.6% of her colleague.
And in Italy? There are no official figures, but a conservative estimate speaks of a difference of 1 to 8. “It is well known. It is nothing secret. But until there are more teams, more investments, more visibility, it is difficult to think of a structural change. It takes years. But something is moving, especially thanks to the results”.
And the results could be the lever to change the paradigm. “Our European Championship was broadcast on Rai . The share of the match against France reached 5.3%, more than the men’s final . A result that speaks for itself: people responded, they watched us. It takes so little: if you show us, then they watch you, follow you, cheer you on . The problem is that in Italy visibility comes only if you win. Never before. While in other countries, or for other sports, such as women’s volleyball, the movement was built at the base, with investments in schools and youth sectors. That’s where everything starts and that’s where we should start again for women’s basketball too”.
The risk is that the spotlight will last the duration of a tournament. “The National Team is not the Italian Serie A1 . And the movement cannot grow if it remains composed of only 11 teams, as it is today. A beautiful European semi-final with many spectators is not enough: visibility is needed for everyone, for all levels”.
And yet, despite everything, Santucci still believes. “I hope that next year the women’s final of the Gardens will also be broadcast . This year we have done a lot with women’s basketball. We have brought the results. Now it’s their turn. I, as much as I can, continue to fight. On and off the court”. Maybe it’s really time that even the “pink” shots start to count as three points. Not just on the parquet or on the scoreboard. Overtime is also over: let’s start again with these Azzurre.
Luce
