For the U.S. women’s national team, the 2023 NWSL season provided a perfect runway to the World Cup.

Most members of the team played for their NWSL clubs right up to the national team training camp, which kicked off this week in California.

How have the USWNT stars been performing for their club teams? Just Women’s Sports tracked their playing time ahead of this summer’s tournament.

Matchday #13: June 23-25

• Megan Rapinoe (calf) missed OL Reign’s last two games heading into USWNT training camp, but she called her injury “minor” despite the bad timing. She is not worried about the injury affecting her at the World Cup.
• Sophia Smith scored a hat trick in the Portland Thorns’ 4-2 win over the Washington Spirit. Those three goals pushed her into the lead in the Golden Boot race with 10 on the season. Yet while USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski is glad to see her in form, scoring at the club level “is totally different from doing it at an international level at a World Cup,” he noted.
• Only Rapinoe, Rose Lavelle (leg) and Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyonnais) did not take the pitch in the final match weekend before World Cup training began. Of the 20 who did, most played a full 90 minutes or close to it; only Kelley O’Hara played less than 80 minutes. The 34-year-old defender started for Gotham FC but subbed out after 63 minutes in the 2-1 win against the Chicago Red Stars.

Matchday #12: June 17-18

• Racing Louisville midfielder Savannah DeMelo scored a goal, continuing her scorching start to the season just after a report emerged that she will have a spot on the World Cup roster. Portland Thorns forward Sophia Smith and Washington Spirit midfielder Ashley Sanchez also scored goals for their teams this weekend.
• Neither Rose Lavelle (leg) nor Megan Rapinoe (calf) appeared for OL Reign as they continue to deal with injuries. Lavelle has been out since April but has been training with the team, while Rapinoe’s recovery is only expected to take “a couple of weeks,” OL Reign coach Laura Harvey said.
• Alex Morgan returned for the San Diego Wave, while Kelley O’Hara played 45 minutes for Gotham FC as she works her way back from injury. Julie Ertz played a full 90 minutes for the second straight week for Angel City FC.
• Becky Sauerbrunn (foot) missed her second consecutive game for the Portland Thorns just after confirming that she will miss the World Cup due to the injury.

Matchday #11: June 9-11

• Alex Morgan missed the San Diego Wave’s 0-0 draw with Racing Louisville on Friday, but her absence was merely precautionary, head coach Casey Stoney said. “She came off the pitch with a tight calf… It was a long trip here. She’s got a World Cup ahead,” Stoney said. “So it wasn’t a matter of she wasn’t fit to play. It was precautionary. We just didn’t want to push her.” She also called out Louisville’s pitch quality, calling it “notoriously” poor. (Morgan did venture out Saturday to catch Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stop in Detroit.)
• Becky Sauerbrunn returned from a foot injury last week for the Portland Thorns, playing 24 minutes as a substitute in her first action since April 22, but she missed Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Orlando Pride.
• Megan Rapinoe played just six minutes in OL Reign’s 2-1 win against the Kansas City Current before exiting with her own apparent calf injury. While head coach Laura Harvey described Rapinoe as “OK,” she also said she did not know “the severity of it.”
• Rose Lavelle (leg) has missed OL Reign’s last 12 matches across all competitions, and Harvey has said the 28-year-old midfielder likely will not return to NWSL action before the World Cup.
• Kelley O’Hara (ankle) returned for the first time since May 14, coming on as a substitute in the 73rd minute of Gotham FC’s 1-1 draw with the Houston Dash. In true O’Hara fashion, she received a yellow card for a tackle 11 minutes later. Our soccer analyst Claire Watkins has O’Hara on the bubble for a World Cup spot in her latest mock roster.
• In a matchup of the USWNT’s top two goalkeepers, Casey Murphy came out on top, as her North Carolina Courage beat Alyssa Naeher and the Chicago Red Stars 5-0. Yet the score doesn’t tell the whole story. Murphy did not face a single shot on target, while Naeher faced eight shots on target (and made three saves), though she allowed five goals.

Matchday #10: June 3-5

• Christen Press is inching toward a return, as she teased in a photo posted to her Instagram, which showed her in cleats giving two thumbs up. The 34-year-old forward has not played since tearing her ACL last June, but she still wants to join the USWNT at the World Cup, as she told ESPN. “I think that her running form is looking superb and again, we are just making sure that we track the return to play and are able to tick the boxes in a very controlled and methodical manner,” Angel City FC coach Freya Coombe said.
• Becky Sauerbrunn returned from a foot injury for the Portland Thorns, playing 24 minutes as a substitute in Saturday’s 2-0 win against OL Reign. She had not played since April 22.
• Kelley O’Hara (ankle) has not played since May 14, while Midge Purce (hip) has not played since April 19. Both are close to returning, Gotham FC coach Juan Carlos Amorós said after Sunday’s game, though he did not provide a timeline.

Matchday #9: May 26-28

• Julie Ertz returned to the Angel City FC lineup for the first time since May 13, playing 12 minutes in Wednesday’s Challenge Cup match against the Portland Thorns. Becky Sauerbrunn (foot) missed the same match but participated fully in the Thorns’ training the next day.
• Cassie Miller got another start in net over AD Franch for the Kansas City Current. Franch has played in just five matches across the regular season and the Challenge Cup in 2023.
• Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Catarina Macario “won’t be physically ready for selection” to the USWNT as she continues to recover from an ACL tear.

Matchday #8: May 20-21

• Rose Lavelle (leg), Becky Sauerbrunn (foot) and Midge Purce (hip) remain on the injured list. Lavelle has missed OL Reign’s last eight matches across all competitions, while Sauerbrunn has missed the Portland Thorns’ last four matches and Purce has missed Gotham’s last six.
• Kelley O’Hara and Julie Ertz were available as substitutes for Gotham FC and Angel City FC, respectively, but did not play. Taylor Kornieck made her first appearance since April 19 for the San Diego Wave, playing four minutes off the bench.
• Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Catarina Macario has not played yet this season as she recovers from an ACL tear, and just one match remains in the Division 1 Féminine season.
• Alyssa Naeher again struggled in goal for the Chicago Red Stars in a 4-0 loss against the Thorns, while Cassie Miller got the start over AD Franch for the Kansas City Current.
• Alex Morgan, Ashley Hatch, Lynn Williams and Crystal Dunn are tied for the lead in the NWSL Golden Boot race with five each. Dunn plays as an attacking midfielder for the Thorns but as a defender for the USWNT.

Matchday #7: May 12-14

• Rose Lavelle has missed OL Reign’s last five regular-season matches and their last seven in a row across all competitions with a knee injury. While she is training with the team and she is “on the mend,” she is still working her way back to game form, head coach Laura Harvey said.
• Becky Sauerbrunn (foot), Taylor Kornieck (abdomen) and Midge Purce (hip) all remain sidelined with their own injuries, as they have for the last several weeks.
• The USWNT goalkeeping corps did not have a stellar week, with Alyssa Naeher and AD Franch each responsible for own goals. Naeher allowed three goals total in a loss to Racing Louisville, which leaves the Chicago Red Stars alone at the bottom of the league table, while Franch allowed two goals in her first appearance for the Kansas City Current in a month.

Matchday #6: May 6-7

• Rose Lavelle has missed OL Reign’s last four regular-season matches and their last six in a row across all competitions with a knee injury, one which head coach Laura Harvey admitted has turned out to be more serious than initially thought. The injury will keep Lavelle out for “a couple more weeks,” Harvey said last Wednesday.
• AD Franch sat out her fourth match in a row across all competitions for the Kansas City Current. But while fellow goalkeeper Cassie Miller had the hot hand entering Sunday, she allowed three goals in a loss to Angel City, which could open the door for Franch to reclaim the starting spot.
• Becky Sauerbrunn (foot) has missed two weeks in a row. Still, the USWNT captain and Portland Thorns defender should have her name inked on the World Cup roster.
• Taylor Kornieck (abdomen) and Midge Purce (hip) each have been sidelined for the last three weeks. While neither should remain out for long, they’re losing out on opportunities to prove themselves to Andonovski.
• Julie Ertz missed Angel’s City’s Challenge Cup match Wednesday and its regular-season match Sunday with excused absences related to a charity project in Philadelphia, but she will return to training this week, head coach Freya Coombe said.

Matchday #5: April 28-30

• AD Franch has not played in the Current’s last three matches across all competitions, sitting in favor of Cassie Miller, who has not allowed a goal in that span. While Franch has been supportive of Miller, the time on the bench could hurt her standing in the USWNT goalkeeper pool.
• Rose Lavelle (leg) missed her third game in a row with a lingering injury, but head coach Laura Harvey was unconcerned after her team’s 2-2 draw with Racing Louisville. “A couple more weeks and then she’ll be OK,” Harvey said.
• Taylor Kornieck (abdomen) and Midge Purce (hip) each have missed the last two weeks of competition, and Becky Sauerbrunn was sidelined with a foot injury for the Thorns’ 3-3 draw with Angel City FC.
• San Diego Wave striker Alex Morgan missed her team’s 3-1 loss against the Orlando Pride with a thigh injury. When asked if Morgan would be available for the upcoming week, head coach Casey Stoney said: “We’ll have to take our time this week and see how she recovers, but I hope so.”
• Lindsey Horan and Catarina Macario play for Lyon in France’s Division 1 Féminine, which has not taken the pitch since April 16. The only two players on this list not in the NWSL, Horan is a regular starter for Lyon, but Macario has missed the entire season with an ACL tear.

Matchday #4: April 22-23

• Alyssa Naeher has started all four matches for the Chicago Red Stars so far this season, but the 35-year-old goalkeeper gave up five goals in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to OL Reign.
• AD Franch did not appear for the Kansas City Current in Sunday’s 2-0 win against the Orlando Pride; instead, Cassie Miller got the start (and the shutout). Franch had started the first three matches of the season for the Current, all losses.
• Kelley O’Hara played a full 90 minutes for Gotham FC for the first time this season. O’Hara joined Gotham in free agency in the offseason but has been recovering from a nagging hip injury.
• Julie Ertz returned to the NWSL for the first time since 2021, playing 71 minutes for Angel City FC.
• Rose Lavelle (leg), Taylor Kornieck (illness) and Midge Purce (hip) missed their team’s matches with short-term ailments.

The Chicago Sky showed up in a big way on Tuesday night, taking down 2023 WNBA Finals runners-up New York Liberty by an impressively wide margin. 

The Sky walked away with a 101-53 win, boasting a 48 point swing that still looms large despite the fact that it's only preseason. Perhaps the team felt extra pressure to perform — not only did WNBA League Pass follow through on their promise to stream the game for free, but Chicago Bears rookies Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze also happened to be watching on from the stands.

“I’m gonna just say — it’s about time," said Sky guard Dana Evans in response to the star-studded turnout at Wintrust Arena. "Everybody wants to watch women’s basketball. I feel like we’ve been doing a really good job of doing stuff on the court and off the court. So just having them support us is great — but keep bringing them out."

Chicago's Marina Mabrey was lights out with four threes and 20 points on the night, while training camp addition Chennedy Carter racked up 11 points and two steals. 

Sky rookie Angel Reese proved that she can do it all, putting up 13 points, five rebounds, and two steals in 19 minutes — all less than 24 hours after she walked the Met Gala red carpet in New York. The 6-foot-3 top draft pick out of LSU even knocked down a layup over 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart in one of the night's many highlights.

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"So now yall can delete them drafts & tweets saying i shouldn’t have gone to the met gala & i can’t do both," she later wrote on social media. 

While some may chalk it up to preseason coaching choices and the fact that it was the Liberty’s first real game outside of training camp scrimmages, New York head coach Sandy Brondello still voiced disappointed in her team’s result.

"We just got our butts kicked, everywhere. I mean everything. It’s an embarrassing effort, I don’t care that it’s preseason," she said in a postgame press conference. "Our starters didn't get us off to a good start. We missed a lot of layups early, but they just took us out of everything."

On a lighter note, the third-year Liberty coach had some kind words for undrafted rookie Jaylyn Sherrod, who showed real effort on defense.

"She has speed," remarked Brondello. "She could guard Dana Evans. No one else could."

As the WNBA plans to implement league-wide charter flights, the NWSL is struggling with some travel issues of its own. 

Missed flights, inclement weather, and a stretch of midweek games have spurred workload and logistical concerns for a number of NWSL teams. Last week, three games were played Wednesday night, while another three games are set to be played tonight. 

"You can't play your best XI right now because of the amount of games you have," said Red Stars head coach Lorne Donaldson after last Wednesday's 4-2 loss to Washington. Donaldson emphasized the importance of rotating through the team’s depth so as to avoid injury.

"You have to get to about 16 deep where you can," he continued. "Or else your best XI is going to be injured or walk off the field and they can’t finish the season."

Kansas City has faced some of the league's most extreme turnaround times this season. On Sunday, the Current missed an evening flight to Seattle due to a multi-hour rain delay in Houston, throwing off their training schedule ahead of their midweek match against the Reign. The NWSL eventually gave them the green light to charter a plane, but not before frustration spread throughout the team.

"We lost the whole day of the opportunity to recover," said Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski after the Current's weekend draw against the Dash. "So the schedule, it's already challenging to begin with. We have by far the worst schedule in the league, and this just made it even worse.

"We don't have a hotel, we got to figure out a hotel. We don't have flights for tomorrow, we got to figure out flights. We had trainings for some players that we believe needed training time to be able to perform on Wednesday.”

While the team was given permission to charter a plane, navigating such approvals has proven difficult in the past. This past July, the NWSL fined Kansas City $55,000 over the unauthorized use of a charter flight.

Recently retired WNBA superstar Candace Parker has her next gig lined up: president of women’s basketball at Adidas.

Parker announced her retirement at the end of April, bringing a close to a 16-year professional career spanning three WNBA championship titles with three different teams. And now, she’s stepping into a slightly different role — this time off the court — with longtime sponsor Adidas.

"The brand and I have grown together, and we’ve done some amazing things," she told Fast Company in an exclusive interview published Wednesday morning. "I’m excited about what the future holds on this side of things, because I’m so passionate about growing the game of basketball."

Parker initially signed with Adidas at the end of her first professional season in 2008, going on to spend the vast majority of her illustrious WNBA career linked to the German athletic brand. In 2010, she became the first woman to receive a signature Adidas shoe: the ACE Commander.

Her most recent Adidas collaborations include basketball sneakers Exhibit B (2022) and Exhibit Select (2023) in a variety of different colorways, as well as limited edition off-court apparel.

In 2022, Parker led a mentorship program for the brand’s first class of NIL-sponsored college athletes, a stacked roster that involved the likes of rising star Hailey Van Lith, among others. In her new position, she’ll be "overseeing pretty much everything" when it comes to the brand’s women’s basketball operations.

That "everything" includes weighing in on shoe and clothing design, navigating new and existing athlete partnerships, and taking control of Adidas' grassroots growth strategies. She’ll also help with "how we actually speak to the women’s basketball consumer," Eric Wise, who leads the brand’s global basketball business, told Fast Company.

According to Parker, the decision to accept the offer hinged on her desire to be more than just "the face" of Adidas women’s basketball.

"I said to [Adidas], 'I don’t want to be a mascot,'" Parker said. "'I really want to be in the meetings, and I want to be a part of making decisions.'"

Charter flights are on the horizon for the WNBA, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert saying on Tuesday that the league will provide teams with full-time private travel services beginning as soon as this season. 

The move is set to address years of player safety concerns, among other issues. Engelbert told AP Sports Editors that the league aims to launch the program "as soon as we can logistically get planes in place."

The initiative is projected to cost around $25 million per year over the next two seasons.

The WNBA has previously provided charter flights on a limited basis, including during the postseason and when teams were scheduled to play back-to-back regular season games. Individual owners seeking to independently provide their teams with private travel — such as the New York Liberty’s Joe and Clara Wu Tsai back in 2022 — faced significant fines for using unauthorized charters.

While players and team staff have been calling for league-wide charters even before Caitlin Clark and other high profile rookies joined the league, Engelbert has routinely cited steep year-to-year costs as the reasoning behind sticking to commercial flights. 

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However, the WNBA's surging popularity means increased visibility, and a subsequent uptick in security concerns — especially when it comes to big name newcomers like Clark — has Englebert reconsidering her previous decision. 

WNBA Players Association president Nneka Ogwumike called the move "transformational," and credited the WNBPA as well as the league for its implementation. 

"Our league is growing, the demand for women's basketball is growing," Ogwumike told ESPN. "That means more eyes on us, which is what we want, but that means more protection from the organization that we play for, the whole W that we play for.

"Chartering flights not only is a safety measure, the biggest thing, and then obviously what it means to be able to play a game and go home and rest and recover and be the elite athletes that we try to be every single night when we step out onto this court."

Aces coach Becky Hammon called the immediate response to the charter announcement "great" but noted that there are still kinks to be worked out. 

"What it all looks like, we’re still gathering information, we don’t know," she said Tuesday.

Several players emphasized the importance of safety, highlighting how last season the Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner was harassed in an airport while traveling commercial.

"All these players and these faces are becoming so popular that it really is about that as much as it as about recovery," Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said.

"Above everything else, I think it's the safety of our players," Mercury player Natasha Cloud added. "We have a prime example with BG on our team that needs to be safe. At airports, it's like a madhouse. You see Caitlin Clark walking through airports, people following her, people trying to touch her, get pictures with her. It's just a safety measure, through and through. You would never have an NBA team walk through an airport."

Prior to Tuesday's announcement, the league had said it would charter flights for the playoffs and back-to-back games via a program introduced last year. The latest news, however, promises that teams will also be provided charters to and from all regular season games.

"Our safety is being taken seriously now, finally. In no world should our security not be a priority," Griner told ESPN. "If we want to be the league that we want to be and have the respect that we have, it comes with some risks. Sometimes people want to get close to you and it's not people you want, so I'm just glad that we don't have to deal with that anymore."