Caitlin Clark mania hits fever pitch as tickets for her WNBA debut with Indiana sell out as Connecticut Sun fill home opener for first time since 2003

The Caitlin Clark hype is translating into big dollars for the WNBA. 

For the first time since 2003, the Connecticut Sun's home opener has sold out, the team announced Monday.

All 8,910 seats at Mohegan Sun Arena are expected to be filled when the Suns take on the Indiana Fever Tuesday night. 

It will mark Clark's first regular season game since she was drafted number one overall in April.

The last time the Suns' inaugural game sold out was the 2003 home opener against the Los Angeles Sparks.

The WNBA saw an uptick in viewership, attendance, and engagement in 2023, all of which is expected to increase amid the arrival of major college basketball stars, including Clark, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso in 2024. 

It was even reported that some of the Fever's opponents have started moving their games to larger venues to accommodate ticket sales amid the curiosity surrounding the Iowa alum.  

The 22-year-old, who recently inked a $28m deal with Nike, made her hotly-anticipated home debut in preseason last week. 

'This is a preseason game on a Thursday night and there's 13,000 people here,' she told reporters in Indiana. 

'I think that just shows you what it's going to be like for us all season. It's going to help us,' she added.

'For me, this is the best part of it. You've got to go out and compete every single night and if one night is not good for us, you have an opportunity to come back a couple days later and respond … everybody's excited.'