As the 2025 NWSL season winds down, top players are on the move as teams across the league look to stock their rosters in order to either boost their postseason odds or hit the ground running in 2026.

Incoming expansion side Boston Legacy FC is stocking up their 2026 debut roster, adding 18-year-old phenom Chloe Ricketts to their midfield and Brazilian international Amanda Gutierres — a 2025 Ballon d'Or nominee and two-time Golden Boot winner in Brazil's top-flight league — to their front line last week.

Along with that offensive firepower, Boston is on track to gain one of the NWSL's top veteran goalkeepers, with ESPN reporting last week that NC Courage net-minder Casey Murphy — a longtime USWNT backup to legend Alyssa Naeher — inked a deal to join the Legacy as soon as she becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2025 season.

The NWSL newcomer isn't the only club making moves, however.

Angel City and Portland have also been busy, with the Thorns sending midfielder Hina Sugita to the LA club in exchange for defender MA Vignola and $600,000 in intra-league transfer funds last week.

While there's no deadline for finalizing 2026 free agent transactions, the 2025 NWSL trade window officially closes this Thursday, leaving playoff-hopeful teams scrambling to pad their rosters while other clubs shift to focus on the future.

The 2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League begins anew this week, as the European club competition kicks off its first-ever league phase with a blockbuster lineup.

Italian powerhouse Juventus sets the stage against Portugal's Benfica early Tuesday afternoon, before reigning champs Arsenal start their title defense against eight-time winners OL Lyonnes while 2023/24 champs Barcelona face Bundesliga standout Bayern Munich.

"Winning last year hasn't changed that mindset one bit," Arsenal and USWNT defender Emily Fox said this week. "We know that any team on their day is dangerous and, especially with the new format this season, it's not going to be easy."

The debut format Fox refers to replaces the previous group-stage setup, with the new league phase seeing all 18 clubs playing six matches each — three at home and three away — against six different opponents.

While the league phase will eliminate the bottom six teams, the top four finishers will automatically qualify for next spring's quarterfinal round.

As for the 5th- through 12th-place clubs, they must battle in a two-legged knockout playoff round next February in order to punch their quarterfinal tickets.

How to watch the 2025/26 Champions League matches

The league phase of the 2025/26 Champions League campaign opens on Tuesday when Juventus takes on Benfica at 12:45 PM ET.

Arsenal vs. OL Lyonnes and Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich will then snag the spotlight at 3 PM ET.

All UWCL matches will air live on Paramount+.

With just three matchdays left in the regular season, Racing Louisville FC is on the brink of franchise history, launching themselves into contention for a 2025 NWSL Playoffs berth at No. 7 on the table behind a 3-1 win over the No. 9 North Carolina Courage on Saturday.

Louisville forward and USWNT rising star Emma Sears notched a brace while midfielder Kayla Fischer — Sears's collegiate teammate — also found the back of the net in the victory, with the Ohio State alums helping lift Racing to sit four points above the postseason cutoff line.

"I'm so proud of this group," Louisville head coach Bev Yanez said post-game. "I think that's a very big win in a very crucial time."

Joining the league as a 2021 expansion team, Racing Louisville is still searching for a first-ever ticket to the NWSL Playoffs, with an October 19th clash against a surging No. 3 Gotham FC marking the club's toughest test still to come in the 2025 campaign.

Notably, No. 8 San Diego's ongoing skid helped Louisville climb the standings, with the Wave suffering their seventh consecutive winless match in a 2-1 loss to the postseason-bound No. 2 Washington Spirit on Sunday.

All in all, the battle for both spots and seeding in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs is tighter than ever, as only four points separate Nos. 3 and 8 on the table — meaning competition will only heat up as the league races toward Decision Day on November 2nd.

The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces raced to a 2-0 series lead in the 2025 WNBA Finals over the weekend, opening with a close 89-86 Game 1 victory over the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Friday before pulling off a more dominant 91-78 Game 2 win on Sunday.

The Aces' offense ruled the court, with guards Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd putting up a momentum-shifting combined 39 points off the bench in Game 1 before Game 2 saw guard Jackie Young post 32 points — setting a WNBA Finals record with the most points by a player in a single quarter (21).

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Young and 2025 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson — who is averaging 24.5 points per game through the first two Finals matchups — also became the second-most prolific duo in a single Finals game in WNBA history by combining for 60 of Las Vegas's 91 points on Sunday.

"I am so proud of Jackie," Wilson said after Sunday's win. "I'm a pain in the ass sometimes when she's not doing her job, because I know that [potential] is there."

Hunting their third title in four years, Las Vegas veterans Wilson, Young, and guard Chelsea Gray are combining with new signings Evans and Loyd to make things difficult for the new-look Mercury.

"We have weapons," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said. "We want to use them all, because we're harder to guard that way."

"What gives me confidence is we've been down before," countered Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts. "We've been overlooked."

While no WNBA Finals team has ever bounced back from a 0-2 start, the league's new best-of-seven format gives the Mercury a little extra cushioning as the series travels to Phoenix for Game 3 on Wednesday.

How to watch Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals

The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will hunt their first victory in the 2025 WNBA Finals on home court when they host the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces for Game 3 at 8 PM ET on Wednesday.

Live coverage will air on ESPN.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert faced the media in a pre-Finals press conference on Friday, addressing last week's viral leadership take-down by Minnesota star Napheesa Collier — and calling out some of the Lynx forward's more controversial claims.

Engelbert said Collier's account of their past conversations "had a lot of inaccuracies," with the commissioner specifically denying that she said rookie stars like Caitlin Clark "should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars" for the exposure the WNBA provides.

"Obviously, I did not make those comments," Engelbert said. "There is a lot of inaccuracy out there through social media and all of this reporting."

With more players speaking out and CBA negotiations heating up, Engelbert took some responsibility for the state of the league — one Collier said has "the worst leadership in the world."

"I was disheartened to hear that some players feel the league — and me, personally — don't care about them or listen to them," she said. "If the players in the W don't feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to do better, and I have to do better."

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Engelbert also told reporters she set up a meeting with Collier for this week, though ESPN later reported that Collier canceled the meeting after hearing the commissioner's Friday remarks.

Despite growing unrest throughout the WNBA, Engelbert also denied the recent rumors she'd be resigning from her post as commissioner anytime soon.

"I've never been a quitter," she stated.