Sadly, in the theater that is professional sports, oft-times female athletes are undervalued or at the very least unappreciated especially when compared to their male counterparts in any given sport.

At least, that's the way it used to be. As a sign of a new trend going forward, women's athletics are becoming increasingly popular and it's about damn time. Let's shine the spotlight on some awesome female athletes, possibly some of the best of all time.

Recently, Shane Co, the nation's largest privately owned jeweler, did a study regarding the most popular female athletes in every state. They came up with their results by analyzing local Google Trends search data for each state.

Massachusetts residents will probably be surprised. Any guesses who the most popular female sports figure in Massachusetts is? Is it the fierce competitor in the above picture, Serena Williams? Or perhaps race car driver Danica Patrick?

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Or maybe you're thinking of a basketball player who's certainly been all over the news lately like Brittney Griner?

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Or perhaps a track and field legend like three-time Olympic gold-medal winner Florence Griffith-Joyner?

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Or perhaps a gymnast who has 7 Olympic medals like Simone Biles?

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Unfortunately, while all of the above are excellent guesses, none of them are correct for the most popular in Massachusetts. But before we get to that, let's look at the most popular overall in the country. Three female athletes tied for #1 in the country, taking three states each. The already mentioned Florence Griffith-Joyner tied with:

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Australian tennis legend Margaret Court and:

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American soccer star Alex Morgan. Alright, enough putting it off. Here is(according to Shane Co), the most searched female athlete in Massachusetts:

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Former world #1 tennis player, Chris Evert. Evert won 18 major singles titles including a record 7 French Open titles. Her win-loss record in singles play is the best of any pro player in history, male or female.

Earlier this year, Evert was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, but since she finished chemotherapy she's been doing much better. Trust me, just like her career in tennis, she's not going down without a fight.

View the entire study and check out the most popular female athletes for every state at Shane Co's website here.

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