Our Statistics in Sport Section has crowned its 2025 Sports Stat of the Year, celebrating another season where numbers helped tell some of sport’s most compelling stories.
This year’s winning stat comes from football – specifically, the Lionesses’ rollercoaster route to their Euro 2025 triumph. Despite powering their way to the title, England led for less than five minutes across the entire knockout stage. It’s a number that captures both the squad’s knack for late drama and the knife-edge nature of tournament football, where resilience often matters more than dominance.
Highly Commended
Tennis – Sinner v Alcaraz: level in every sense
The modern rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz has already given tennis some unforgettable matches – but one stat stands out for its perfection. Across all their meetings so far, the pair have won exactly the same number of points. It’s a rare statistical dead heat that speaks to the symmetry of their playing styles: Sinner’s clean baseline power against Alcaraz’s unpredictable shot-making.
Visibility – Lionesses break records on screen too
Football also dominated in the Visibility category, with the Euro 2025 final delivering a record-breaking peak UK audience. The Lionesses’ victory over Spain became the most-watched moment of 2025, drawing millions together at the end of a tournament rich in plot twists (and tight scorelines). Beyond the drama on the pitch, the number represents a cultural shift: women’s football is no longer on the rise – it has arrived.
Cricket – Ashes agony in record time
Meanwhile, England’s men endured a stat of a very different flavour in the first Ashes Test in Perth. Their defeat, sealed after just 67.3 overs survived, marked their shortest first class resistance in a Test loss since 1904. It was a result that reignited debate about batting techniques in modern Test cricket – and underscored how quickly an Ashes contest can swing out of control under Australian conditions.
Jessica Hargreaves, Chair of the RSS Statistics in Sport Section, said:
“Statistics don’t just measure sport – they reveal the stories within it. A single number can capture tension, brilliance, heartbreak or historic change. This year’s shortlisted stats show how data helps fans appreciate sport in new ways, and reminds us that behind every headline result lies a world of insight into both the sport and the culture that surrounds it.”