Inevitably, there will be names on this list that you don’t recognize, and frankly, that’s a good thing. We’ve done our due diligence and scoured the ends of the internet to find you the very best that female athletes have to offer. And those athletes are active today. So you won’t see an Anna Kournikova, a Martina Hingis, a Sacha Cohen or any other retired or pseudo sports figure here. Nope, just hard working women who sweat day in and day out to be the best they can be.
25 Jelena Dokic
At one time, Jelena Dokic was ranked as high as #4 in the world. But she fell on tough times more than four years ago and has struggled to get her game back into form. She did however finish last year in the top 100 and earlier this year defeated French Open champion Francesca Schiavone. I think everyone would agree that they’d love to see more of Jelena Dokic on the women’s circuit.
24 Erika Prezerakou
This Greek bombshell initially broke into the athletic scene as a successful pole vaulter. Soon, someone realized that her assets should probably be flaunted outside of the track and field arena and put her on the
Greek version of Dancing with the Stars. And frankly, why not. With those long legs and uh, rather voluptuous figure, she’s a star in the making.
23 Julia Mancuso
Julia Mancuso was a successful skier well before the Vancouver Olympics, but the 2012 games certainly made her a household name. Having won gold at the Giant Slalom in Turin in 2008, Mancuso followed that up with two silvers in Vancouver. She also, hilariously has an underwear line called “Kiss my Tiara”. Adorable and a sense of humor–good combination.
22Miesha Tate
When you think of sexy sports, MMA probably doesn’t come to mind. Women beating on each other mercilessly in an octagon isn’t exactly what most men dream of. But girls like Miesha Tate make you think otherwise. Not only is she the current Freestyle Cage Fighting Women’s Bantamweight Champion but she’s also won a silver medal at the FILA Grappling Championships. That’s well beyond KY Jelly and mud wrestling isn’t it?
21 Serena Williams
Perhaps no woman’s body on this list is more controversial than
Serena Williams. Ask a dozen men what they think and you’ll get differing opinions from each one. When she shows up in a bikini on Miami beach, it’s quite stunning to say the least. There’s only so much fabric one can have on a two piece to hold back a behind as large and as in charge as hers. She’s been out of the game for awhile but a comeback is in the works this summer.
20 Gina Carano
Gina Carano is easily one of the famous names in MMA, be it male or female. At a weigh-in for a fight in 2008, people wondered if Carano could make weight. After a few attempts with her clothes on, Carano just decided the hell with it and stripped down to nothing. Unfortunately for the viewing audience, everything was hidden behind a towel but men everywhere became infatuated with her after the show. Like Serena, she’s been out of the game for awhile but is making her triumphant return to the ring in June.
19 Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Sacramone is one of the most recognized names in women’s gymnastics today. After she was blamed by many for the U.S. team losing the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Sacramone decided to call it quits. But the retirement was only temporary as she returned from shoulder surgery in 2009. With a gold at the World Championships on the vault in 2010, it’s safe to say Sacramone is intending on staying in the sport to make another Olympic run in two years.
18Doris Vrecko
The name Doris Vrecko probably doesn’t ring any bells does it? Doris is a Croatian fencing champion and a very good one at that. In fact, she’s been the best at her sport in the country ten times. Say what you will about fencing not exactly being a popular sport, when you’re the best of the best that many times, it’s impressive. She mostly does broadcasting these days but still remains an active fencer.
17 Yelena Isinbayeva
Isinbayeva is arguably one of the best pole vaulters of all-time. She’s the reigning Olympic champion having won gold at Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. On a side note, it really is incredible how
“fit” the women in pole vaulting are. We’ve already shown you Greek hottie Erika Prezerakou and who can forget Cal vaulter Allison Stokke, who lit the internet on fire just a few years ago. Truly a hidden gem of extremely curvaceous and attractive women.
16 Ana Ivanovic
The up and down career of
Ana Ivanovic is currently in the latter stage right now. She’s been as high as #1 in 2008 but currently sits at #17 in the world. Although she has 10 WTA titles, she has only won once at a Grand Slam event defeating Dinara Safina at the French Open in 2008. Ivanovic has had numerous other chances but surprisingly has played bad in Grand Slam finals. That aside, she’s one of the famous athletes in Serbia and easily, one of it’s sexiest.
15 Bruna Schmitz
Surfing is not exactly a very popular sport here in the mainland so the name Bruna Schmitz probably won’t elicit any kind of response from you. But remember the name as Schmitz quietly moves up the rankings on the ASP Women’s World Tour. More importantly, (for the viewing audience that is), Schmitz was one of the lovely ladies of this past
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Certainly one of the few times a surfer has been featured in the coveted issue.
14 Carolina Salgado
Evidently you can’t have a list like “best booties in sports today” and not include at least
one Brazilian beach volleyball player. Carolina Salgado has a rich volleyball background as both her sister and mother had successful careers on the beach. Salgado won gold at the 2004 FIVB Under-18 World Championships and expects to compete for a medal at the next Olympics.
13 Natalie Gulbis
Years ago,
Natalie Gulbis was labeled as the
Anna Kournikova of golf. A great talent but more or less a sex symbol. She certainly didn’t help her cause when she came out with a racy swimsuit calendar prior to the 2004 U.S. Open. But she’s changed all that in the last few years and seems much more focused on golf. Her first and only career win came in 2007 at the Evian Masters. She’s been in a bit of slump lately but regularly finishes in the top 25 on the LPGA money list.
12 Caroline Wozniacki
The current #1 female ranked tennis player in the world,
Caroline Wozniacki is a favorite here on Guyism. Whether it’s her stunning and rather short
Stella McCartney outfit at last year’s U.S. Open or her crazy stories about
kangaroos attacking her in Australia, Wozniacki finds a way to make headlines. She has yet to breakthrough at a Grand Slam event, but most people believe it’s just a matter of time.
11 Laisa Andrioli
Laisa Andrioli is a Brazilian soccer player who plays on the national team. Trust me, that may not seem like a big thing here in the States, but playing nationally for your team in Brazil is a pretty big deal. Especially given the fierce competition on the women’s side. Though Andrioli makes her living as a soccer player, she also does some modeling on the side. Some may recognize her from a nude
Sexy magazine spread in 2008. We’ll let you do the digging yourself, but suffice it to say, it’s best you do the digging when your significant other is not around.
10 Anastasia Ashley
Admittedly, we don’t know much about Anastasia Ashley outside of the fact that she’s considered one of the hottest female surfers around. We do know however that she’s a vegetarian and was nominated by PETA as one of the Sexiest Vegeterians alive. Although we’re not on the up and up with our MTV watching these days, last year, the
World of Jenks documented her life for a week. If you’re a new fan like we are, we suggest scouring the internet to find it.
9 Elena Dementieva
We know we said we wouldn’t put retired athletes on here, but in the world of women’s tennis, retirements are essentially just reasons to take extended vacations. Just ask Justine Henin or Kim Clijsters. That aside, Elena Dementieva is a two-time Grand Slam winner and famously won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. There are already rumors that she’s making a comeback and at 29,
probably still has a few good years of tennis left in her. But admittedly, the rigors of the tennis tour has taken a toll on many athletes bodies and a rest would probably do her some good.
8 Lindsey Vonn
Lindsey Vonn is everywhere these days. In what usually amounts to 15 minutes of fame for athletes after the Olympics (Apollo Ohno and Michael Phelps), Vonn has somehow turned it into a several year stint. And as fans, we welcome it. She’s had extreme success as as Alpine skier and is widely considered one of the best in the world. Aside from that, she recently did a hilarious spoof of Sharon Stone’s famous upskirt scene in
Basic Instinct for ESPN. Worth a
look or two.
7 Hannah Teter
You may remember
Hannah Teter from her 2010 sexy spread in Sports Illustrated. The snowboarder, however, wants to be known for much more than her work on the halfpipe. Teter is extremely focused on charity work, specifically in Africa. Her newest initiative is called “Sweet Cheeks” which donates more than 40% of underwear sales to partner organization Children International to help feed children living in extreme poverty around the world.
6 Michelle Waterson
Probably the coolest thing about Michelle Waterson is that her nickname is “The Karate Hottie”. She has an 8-3 record as an MMA fighter but most people remember her as as a contestant on the Muay Thai-themed Fight Girls reality show on Oxygen. She’s stepped away from the ring recently to have a baby, but like others on the list, is making a comeback in the near future.
5 Maria Sharapova
What’s there to say about
Maria Sharapova that hasn’t already been said. Last year, when word leaked out that she was engaged to NBA guard Sasha Vujacic, every man around the world collectively shed a tear. She’s widely considered the
sexiest woman in tennis and one of the hottest female athletes in the world. Sharapova has struggled with a shoulder injury the last few years that has limited her on the courts but a recent coaching swamp in 2011 may help regain that #1 ranking she so desperately seeks again.
4 Alana Blanchard
Of the surfers on our list, Blanchard’s name is probably the most recognizable. And as hot as she is and as much success as she has had worldwide, her most famous feat has literally nothing to do with surfing. Blanchard helped rescue surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost an arm during a shark attack in 2003. It was Blanchard, along with her father and brother who got Hamilton to shore and somehow saved her after the loss of almost 3 liters of blood. Truly, the sexiest humanitarian on our list.
3 Leryn Franco
When the camera panned to
Leryn Franco during the opening games of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it literally caused a movement in the jeans of every heterosexual male in the world. The Paraguayan javelin thrower and model is everywhere now, regularly appearing in photoshoots and magazines every few months. We’ve yet to hear if she’ll be around for London in 2012, but we can tell you that we pray to God every night that she does.
2 Brittany Johnson
Brittany Johnson goes to TWU (Texas Women’s University) and is the current USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate all-around champion. In laymen’s terms, Johnson is one of the best gymnasts in the world right now. Unfortunately we don’t know much else about Johnson, but frankly who cares. She’s hot, she has an incredible body and is awesome at the sport she competes in. That’s enough for us.
1 Misty May-Treanor
We’re absolutely infatuated with
Misty May-Treanor (although, we’re slightly upset we have to hyphenate her name now). May-Treanor is the most successful beach volleyball player of all-time with 107 career wins. Along with her playing partner Kerri Walsh, the two have combined to win gold at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. But more importantly,
May-Treanor has arguably the most famous posterior, regardless of sport. It helps that her employment requires a skimpy bikini.
