Clara Wu Tsai discusses her transformative journey with the New York Liberty and her expectations for the 2024 WNBA season.
Women’s basketball is booming, and the WNBA celebrated a record-breaking season last year, marking its highest viewership in two decades. Clara Wu Tsai, who acquired the New York Liberty in 2019 alongside her husband Joe, has played a pivotal role in this surge. Her objectives for the current season? To clinch a championship and demonstrate the profitability of women's professional sports.
Since Wu Tsai took the helm, viewership has soared. For instance, Game 4 of the 2023 WNBA Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty attracted nearly 900,000 viewers — a historic high for this game and a remarkable 124% increase from Game 4 in 2022, per Sports Business Journal.
“The previous ownership had chosen not to invest in the team,” Wu Tsai explains. “They relocated the team to Westchester County Center from Madison Square Garden. After we purchased the team, our first step was moving it back to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.” They then developed a state-of-the-art locker room, made substantial investments in player health, and assembled a championship-caliber team.
“We’ve built a dedicated team to realize our vision,” Wu Tsai adds. “Apart from aiming for a championship, boosting viewership is essential from a business perspective. I want to prove that women's sports can indeed be profitable.”
In addition to her role in basketball, Wu Tsai is a committed social justice advocate. She established several organizations, including the Social Justice Fund focusing on economic mobility and racial justice, the REFORM Alliance aimed at criminal justice reform, and the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, which collaborates with six universities to enhance human performance science.
The Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance was initiated due to a recognized market gap. “Most health research focuses on diseases, neglecting peak performance in elite athletes, particularly female athletes,” she notes.
Shocking statistics reveal that only 25% of health studies involve women, despite numerous injuries affecting female athletes uniquely. Wu Tsai recognized this disparity needed addressing.
The Alliance prioritizes three areas: female injuries, such as bone stress fractures and ACL tears, ensuring women receive adequate nutrition to support their intense training, and understanding female resilience.
For Clara Wu Tsai, redefining the game is a central focus. We’ll be cheering her and the New York Liberty team on as they strive for success in the seasons ahead.
