Women's fencing is the sport of fencing by women. Although most martial sports were predominantly male, women's fencing and swordplay can be traced back to medieval manuscripts such as Royal Armouries Ms. I.33, high society duelling, and early fencing schools.
The formalisation of competitive women's fencing began in the late 19th century, transitioning from being considered merely entertainment to true sport. Women's fencing made its Olympic debut at the 1924 Paris Games. Although women were restricted to foil — which was considered more socially appropriate and less violent — such restrictions were gradually abolished, due to legal changes such as Title IX in the US, and evolving policies within the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE). International acceptance of women's épée and sabre was eventually completed with each joining the Olympic program in 1996 and 2004 respectively. Full Olympic gender parity across all individual and team events was achieved at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Women's fencing is governmed - like men's fencing - by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE). FIE rules for women's fencing are identical to that for men's fencing, and the equipment is equally identical excepting requirements for a chest protector, and differences in jacket design for women.
Various studies have shown some distinct characteristincs between male and female fencers, such as differences in lower-limb mechanics and higher overall injury rates. Performance analyses of women's foil, épée, and sabre have found that women's fencing is predominantly defined by high-intensity actions, and reliance on the anaerobic alactic energy system.
History For much of history, fencing was predominantly practiced by men, and was considered a masculine sport. Documented examples of women duelling and fencing do exist however, even in the late Middle Ages and early modern period.
The earliest known illustration of women fencing can be found in the Royal Armouries Ms. I.33, the earliest known fencing manual, in which a female figure known as Walpurgis is depicted using various techniques. Although Walpurgis' true identity remains subject to theory, her presence remains the among the earliest known portrayals of women's fencing.
Among earlier duels between women was that between the former friends Isabella de Carazzi and Diambra de Pottinella at Naples in May 1552, who allegedly engaged in a public duel over the courtier Fabio di Zeresola. The duel was presided over by Marquis del Vasto, and a popular event in the Neapolitan court; gaining enough notoriety that Jusepe de Ribera later depicted it in his painting Women Gladiators.
In the late 17th century French opera singer Julie d'Aubigny (Mademoiselle Maupin) became famous for her skills as a duellist. Period accounts and later biographical works recount the many duels she engaged in during her life, the most famous of which being her fencing three noblemen in the same evening, having angered them by kissing a young lady they were courting while dressed as a man.
The 18th century saw a resurgence of female fencing, particularly among actresses who learned to fence in order to play breeches roles. Domenico Angelo's School of Arms in Soho Square was the first fencing school to accept female students, some of whom were actresses from London theatres. Among Angelo's pupils was the Duchess of Queensberry, a figure who also paid for her protégé Julius Soubise to be taught.
Other fencing schools and instructors accepting female students were quick to follow in the 19th century, such as Thomas Monstery's New York School of Arms, and his most famous pupil Ella Hattan (also known as "Jaguarina"), who fenced throughout her lifetime and defeated many male challengers of her time. A few years later Hans Hartl would open his own "Corps of Viennese fencing ladies", which he toured during the Amateur Athletic Union's (AAU) first championship in 1888. These demonstration marked the first time that women appeared in national-level competitive fencing event.
Of the female duels of the 1800s, the widely reported topless "emancipated duel" — between Pauline von Metternich and Countess Anastasia von Kielmannsegg in August 1892 in Liechtenstein — so called for reportedly being the first in which all participants, including seconds, were women. However the veracity of the event is uncertain, given that no first-hand accounts of the story are known, and Princess Metternich herself refuted the event as a "stupid and ridiculous hoax invented by Italian newspapers" (). Ignaz Matthey refutes the event entirely as a sensationalised news fabrication.
The late 19th and early 20th century began the shift from fencing being considered entertainment reserved for high society to being considered exercise and becoming an organised sport. Women were encouraged to fence in order to develop their posture and grace, but were warned to move "nicely rather than strongly and not to sacrifice everything in order to fulfil the desire of touching the opponent" (). Simultaneously, women's fencing clubs became more and more common, such as the Fencers Club established in 1883 New York and the Polytechnic Ladies' Fencing Club in London. Women's fencing clubs would soon be admitted to the Amateur Fencing League of America (AFLA) — later known as the United States Fencing Association — in 1912, leading to the first US Women's Foil Championship in the same year.
Increased acceptance of women's fencing was coupled with restrictions on the weapon women could use — namely foil — as unlike épée and sabre it was not associated with violence and danger, but rather with grace and form. Institutional and social restrictions on weapons women could use would persist throughout the 20th century, with women's épée and sabre only being accepted into the Olympics in 1996 and 2004 respectively.
The first structured fencing competitions between women began in the 20th century and soon became frequent. In 1907 Great Britain held the first recurring Women's Foil National Championship, which was won by Millicent Hall. Britain would host the first women's international fencing competition three years later on the 31 March 1910 against Belgium, which, due to its success, led to a second international match against Holland the following year. Between 1915 and 1918, Denmark held a women's foil event in the national championship, and Yutta Barding came first in the 1918 event. The Fédération Nationale d'Escrime (FNE) would organise another of the first international foil fencing competition for ladies in June 1921, in which Yutta Barding again came first.
Throughout this period, women had been required to wear long pleated skirts in fencing competitions. However in 1935 the FIE officially removed the compulsory mandate for skirts, following safety concerns about weapon points becoming caught in the fabric folds and the adoption of breeches by major female fencers.
Modern The first appearance of women's fencing in an Olympic event was in the foil Open event at the 1908 Summer Olympics, in which the aforementioned Millicent Hall took part. This event was however considered "artistic" rather than competitive.
Discussion of a women's event in the Olympics by the FIE was carried out at the 1921 congress at request of Ms. Julie Simonsen, transmitted by the delegate of Denmark, but ultimately rejected on the grounds that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) "formally opposed any increase in the number of events, and any request that the F.I.E. may make is therefore doomed to failure" (). This reasoning was faulty — as acknowledged by René Lacroix in the 1922 congress — as the IOC had made "no mention of such a refusal" () and had deferred the matter to the FIE at the request of the Marquis de Chasseloup‐Laubat. In the same 1922 congress, the FIE successfully passed — with 39 votes against 22 — a vote for an individual women's competition to be held in the 1924 Olympics.
These discussions ultimately led to the first acceptance of competitive women's fencing in the Olympics with the 1924 women's individual foil event in which Danish fencer Ellen Osiier came first. This event was also among the earlier introductions of women's events in the Olympics.
Despite this first breakthrough, women's fencing continued to be restricted to foil, regardless of attempts to widen the scope to include épée by Swiss delegate Dr Mende in the 1929 the cIE congress, where he argued that "there is no reason for women not to use an épée" () and Switzerland had already previously held women's épée events.
Progress in team events for women's foil began for the first time in the world championships held in Copenhagen, on 5 May 1932 following a proposal by the Danish Fencing Federation for the 25th anniversary of the Danish Fencing Federation. Women's foil team fencing continued in the world championships in the Olympic years of 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, and 1956, although it was a separate event from the Olympics.
Women's team foil finally appeared in the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, following a request by the FIE in 1957. Terret claims that this request was made primarily due to the financial instability within the fencing world — mirroring the earlier development of women's foil for monetary purposes, — rather than concerns over gender equality. It was confirmed by the IOC during its Congress in Tokyo in 1958.
In 1964, the target area for foil was made the same between men and women, where previously touches below the waist (delineated by a length of black piping) had been off-target.
On the 8 June, 1972, the US government passed Title IX, a law that prohibited sex-based discrimination in educational institutions that receive funding from the federal government. Following the passing of Title IX, fencing clubs and teams and scholarships available to women increased, and as of 2026 there are over 40 women's NCAA programs for fencing in the US.
The International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM) introduced women into the 1978 World Modern Pentathlon Championships held in Jönköping, Sweden, marking the first time women were included in an international épée competition, albeit in a pentathlon rather than a fencing-focused event. A few years later — and due in part to Title IX — women's épée was added to the fencing national championship in US in 1981.
In consequence of the increase in international and national women's épée, the FIE soon reconsidered its position, and in 1983 the FIE's Executive Committee requested that the Regulation Committee consider the matter, but immediately received backlash from foilist Ilona Elek — considered to be "one of the greatest female fencers of all time" — leading to the formation of a commission made up of five women to investigate the matter. Due to insufficient reports, and having found that women's épée fencing was present in 23 countries, the FIE decided to hold a "world criterion event" at the 1988 World Fencing Championships to try out regulations, and women's epée was completely introduced in the 1989 World Fencing Championships. Women were only allowed to use the traditional French grip at this time, as the pistol grip was considered too dangerous.
Women's épee — both individual and team — was introduced in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where Laura Flessel-Colovic won gold in the individual event, and France in the team event. This was also the first year in which women were able to use the pistol grip .