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It is 41 days unitl the WNBA tips off in the 2025 season, and Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham decided to soak up the rays.
In a post to her Instagram story, Cunningham stepped out in a two-piece bathing suit and a black cowboy hat. In the four-image spread, she is seen on a sandy beach striking a quartet of carefree, confident poses, clad in a Monday Swimwear two-piece bathing suit.
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Monday Swimwear was founded by Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman as, according to the brand’s website, “a continuation of their goal to instill confidence and power within their female audience.”
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The brand touts itself as eco-friendly and designs their pieces to complement the female form and not conform to size-specific trends. The company also has a women’s active wear line called Monday Body.
The University of Missouri’s all-time leading scorer has never been shy about using Instagram as a canvas for her fashion flair. She has been showing her sense of style in several posts on her account.
Sophie Cunningham says lockout unlikely, wants to see players paid more
Angel Reese made headlines when she lamented over her WNBA pay and even suggested that a player strike could be the path to achieving their end goal of more money for the players.
Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever agrees with Reese in that player salaries need to increase, but does not see a work stoppage happening.
The Women’s National Baketball Players Association (WNBPA) opted out of the current collective bargaining agreement, meaning the current deal will end at the end of the 2025 season.
Cunnigham believes that “a lot of great changes” will come from the upcoming negotiations. She also does not think a lockout is likely as the “players hold too much power” and she does not believe a lockout would be in the WNBA’s best interest.
Speaking to Mirror U.S. Sports during March Madness, the new Fever guard talked about what she anticipates coming out of the pending negotiations:
"We've been having these conversations for quite some time. Yes, the sooner, the better that we could opt out and get everyone on board and why it's important. I think everyone's in agreement. I think you're going to see a lot of great changes.
"There's always a chance of a lockout, but I also think that where we're at in the W right now, they can't afford that. Like we are some of the hottest teams in the whole world right now."
He added:
"You have so many eyes on us. Our league is just skyrocketing and now it's time for our league and other companies to up their ante a little bit too, and support and put their money where their mouth is."
The WNBA is coming off a 2024 season in which it was the most watched in the last 24 years, averaging 657,000 viewers across U.S. media platforms. It attracted 54 million unique viewers across ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ION and NBA TV.
In-game attendance shot up 48% from 6,615 fans in 2023 to 9,807 in 2024. Despite this major uptick in popularity, the league was still in the red, losing $40 million, which was 20% less than the $50 million loss that was forecasted.
