All Scores

Abby Dahlkemper injury timeline: USWNT star’s road to recovery

Abby Dahlkemper playing for the USWNT.
Abby Dahlkemper last played for the USWNT in April. (Robin Alam/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, World Cup and NWSL champion defender Abby Dahlkemper announced that she’d had successful back surgery, in what many hope is the final chapter of a difficult year plagued by injury and absence.

The Wave declined to clarify Dahlkemper’s surgery due to “privacy” reasons, but the second photo in her post appears to show two screws inserted in her spine.

Dahlkemper has made a few stops on her club journey in recent years, going from the North Carolina Courage to Manchester City and then the Houston Dash, before finding a home at NWSL expansion side San Diego Wave. But the team’s captain didn’t get as much time on the field in 2022 as she had hoped for due to various health reasons.

Questions about Dahlkemper’s form have increased in recent years, but lingering injuries have seemed to play a significant role in her ability to execute on the field and her potential to contribute to her NWSL club and the U.S. women’s national team.

We took a look at the entirety of Dahlkemper’s 2022 availability to try to put together a clearer picture of her status, especially ahead of next year’s World Cup.

February 2022

Perhaps signaling the year to come, Dahlkemper’s public issues with her back started at the beginning of 2022. After being called up to the USWNT camp for the SheBelieves Cup in February, she had to withdraw due to a back injury and was replaced by Trinity Rodman.

March-April 2022

Dahlkemper’s most consistent playing time in 2022 came during the early stages of the Challenge Cup through the middle of May. She started all five of San Diego’s Challenge Cup group stage matches and rejoined the USWNT for two April friendlies against Uzbekistan, starting in one match and coming off the bench for 9-1 and 9-0 wins.

A bout with COVID-19 in late April landed Dahlkemper on San Diego’s availability report as “under COVID protocols.” She wrote on her Instagram at the time: “I have unfortunately tested positive for covid. I am so sad to be missing the game tonight but will be cheering from home.”

May 2022

Dahlkemper cleared COVID-19 protocols by San Diego’s May 1 match against Houston but did not play or feature on the bench. She did rejoin the Wave in early May and played in two regular season matches.

In a 4-0 win over Gotham on May 7, Dahlkemper had to leave the match in the 35th minute with what appeared to be a non-contact injury, after the broadcast showed San Diego trainers tending to her back and neck. She walked off the pitch under her own power, and head coach Casey Stoney said that the team was dedicating the win to the defender. She did not play in the team’s next match, a 2-1 win over the Chicago Red Stars on May 15.

On May 18, Dahlkemper played a full 90 minutes in San Diego’s 1-0 loss to Racing Louisville, but her passing completion dipped to 63.9 percent, a season-low to date.

Dahlkemper then fractured her ribs prior to the team’s next match. On Instagram, Dahlkemper wrote about the frustration of taking another step-back: “2022 has already been a year full of adversity for me, but throughout the trials it has allowed me to realize the pure joy and happiness playing soccer with my teammates brings me.”

She continued, “Although I’m so sad to face another setback, I am more determined than ever to get back on the field as soon as possible. I love this club and I love this city and I can’t wait to be back.”

July-August 2022

Dahlkemper’s rib injury sidelined her throughout the month of June, but she returned to NWSL play in July despite missing out on the USWNT’s roster for both June friendlies and the Concacaf W Championship.

She started all four of San Diego’s matches in July and was frequently paired with Kaleigh Rhiel in the absence of Naomi Girma, who was away on international duty for much of the month. Dahlkemper played 90 minutes in all but the last match of July, a 1-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars in which she was paired with Girma. She left that match in the 58th minute after being ejected for a second yellow card on a tackle.

When asked about Dahlkemper’s possible return after serving her one-game suspension on August 7, Stoney told the media, “Abby is our captain, so she becomes available next week, but she needs to fight for her shirt now, just like any player. She knows that and she wants to work hard to get back with the team.”

The manager also noted her captain’s essential presence in the locker room and her satisfaction with Rhiel (who on Thursday signed a contract extension with the club through 2024).

Dahlkemper was available off the bench for the rest of the month of August but didn’t see the pitch.

img
Dahlkemper played in eight games for the Wave in the 2022 NWSL regular season. (Russell Lansford/USA TODAY Sports)

September 2022

Dahlkemper’s final two games of the year came in September. She played a full 90 minutes alongside Girma in San Diego’s 1-0 win over Angel City FC on Sept. 17. On Sept. 25, she started against the Orlando Pride.

In the 20th minute of that match, the defender appeared to hit her breaking point. Similar to her exit from the match in May, Dahlkemper sat down early in the game despite no contact, holding her back and unable to continue. Riehl subbed in at the 23rd minute and closed out the regular season alongside Girma.

October 2022

After Stoney told the media in October that Dahlkemper was “100 percent out,” the 29-year-old was finally given a Season-Ending Injury designation on Oct. 15, the day before the club’s first-ever playoff game against the Chicago Red Stars.

On Oct. 29, after San Diego’s season ended in a semifinal loss to the Portland Thorns, Dahlkemper made another announcement on her Instagram: “I wanted to firstly say how appreciative I am to be a part of such an incredible club in the San Diego Wave. With that being said, personally this year has been disappointing in terms of my health and availability … With the advice of doctors and for the longevity of my soccer career and livelihood post soccer I have decided to undergo a procedure on my back.”

In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune in July, Dahlkemper said the bouts of adversity would not stop her “from getting back on the field and playing soccer and kind of doing what I love.” She also commented on her potential return to the USWNT but wouldn’t go so far as to say she is hopeful of returning for the 2023 World Cup.

“Obviously the first thing is I need to get back on the field and be able to play and compete,” she said. “I have a lot of respect for Vlatko, and I know he really values performance in the league and your ability to play well on your club team. That’s just important for me. I’m just trying focus on what I can control, and that’s health to a certain extent and being able to give my best to the team here, the Wave.”

Andonovski reiterated that sentiment earlier this month.

“We’re just hoping everything goes well,” he said. “Once she has the surgery we’re going to know more precisely what the return for her is going to be.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

Katie Ledecky Nears Own 1,500-Meter Freestyle Record at TYR Pro Swim Series

US swimming star Katie Ledecky reacts to her 1500-meter freestyle time on Wednesday.
Katie Ledecky posted her best 1500-meter freestyle time in seven years this week. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Star US distance swimmer Katie Ledecky is back to her old tricks, registering her fastest 1,500-meter freestyle in seven years — and the event's second-best time in history — at the 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday.

The nine-time Olympic gold medalist finished the 30 pool lengths in 15:24.51, just missing the world-record 15:20.48 race time she posted in 2018.

Ledecky now holds the 1,500-meter freestyle's top 22 fastest times in women's swimming history — all of which would have won Wednesday's final race, where she defeated second-place finisher Jillian Cox — a University of Texas freshman — by a full 39 seconds.

Even more, Ledecky didn't slow down after her 1,500-meter performance posting her fastest 400-meter freestyle in nine years the very next day.

In the final lap of the race, the 28-year-old staged a comeback to pass Canadian teenage phenom and 2024 Olympic silver medalist Summer McIntosh and secure the win.

Her time of 3:56.81 just missed the US record of 3:56.46 that Ledecky previously claimed along with a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"I don't know if I ever thought I was going to be 3:56 again," Ledecky said in her post-race broadcast interview. "I'm just really happy with all the work that I've put in to get to this point."

How to watch Ledecky at the 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series

The 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series continues through Saturday, with Ledecky competing in Friday's 200-meter freestyle final prior to racing in the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday.

Both races will begin at 6 PM ET on their respective days.

Live coverage of the meet will stream on Peacock on Friday before shifting to the USA Swimming Network on Saturday.

English FA Issues Ban on Trans Athletes in Women’s Soccer

The FA "For All" corner flag flies on the pitch before a 2024 international friendly between England and Switzerland.
The Football Association's transgender athlete ban follows a ruling from Britain's highest court. (Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)

The English Football Association (FA) announced Thursday that it will ban trans women athletes from playing women's soccer starting with the 2025/26 season, with the governing body's new policy officially going into effect on June 1st.

Previously, the FA allowed trans women athletes to play on women's teams as long as they had "blood testosterone within natal female range."

The move comes after April 16th's landmark ruling from the UK's highest court, which states that gender equality protections only apply to what the court called "biological women" — and that trans women do not legally meet that definition.

The Scottish FA followed suit, also releasing its decision to ban trans women athletes from competitive play on Thursday.

Notably, there are currently no trans women playing anywhere on the UK's professional football pyramid. However, some 72 trans athletes played in FA grassroots matches over the last decade.

Today, an estimated 20 to 30 trans players participate in that growing grassroots system, an initiative created to advance the FA's four "game-changer" priorities — one of which is to "see a game free from discrimination."

“We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify, and we are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game,” the association said in Thursday's statement.

"It is clear these abrupt changes have been made on legal advice following the recent UK Supreme Court ruling, as there remains no football-specific peer-reviewed research or evidence that shows the existing policies constitute a safety risk," stated advocacy group Pride Sports in response. "One consequence of these bans will, inevitably, be a rise in incidents of transphobia in football."

NWSL Teams Shoot for Redemption in Action-Packed Weekend Lineup

San Diego's Hanna Lundkvist, Delphine Cascarino, and Trinity Armstrong celebrate a goal during a 2025 NWSL game.
San Diego is currently fifth in the NWSL standings. (Talia Sprague/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

This weekend's NWSL action features top-table battles, Cinderella hopefuls, and a whole slew of teams hunting redemption wins to open May's league play.

Perched at the top of the NWSL standings, the Kansas City Current sits tied for points with the second-place Orlando Pride, while just four points separate the remaining six teams currently above the postseason cutoff line.

With last week's rollercoaster results setting up redemption arcs for this weekend's slate, the 2025 NWSL season's seventh matchday is full of bounce-back opportunities, a tight race to the top, and a California clash:

  • No. 3 Washington Spirit vs. No. 9 Angel City FC, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): Both the Spirit and Angel City are coming off disappointing losses, with once-unbeaten LA slipping out of the Top-8 on a two-match skid. Can either contender regain their early season form?
  • No. 7 Seattle Reign FC vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, Friday at 10:30 PM ET (Paramount+): The Reign are hanging tough after two weeks of adding points, but they'll face a redemption-hunting Current squad determined to rebound from their first season loss last weekend.
  • No. 6 Portland Thorns vs. No. 2 Orlando Pride, Saturday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): The Thorns have gained points in five of their last six games, and Portland will need all that resilience against a challenging Pride side that's more than capable of mounting their own comebacks.
  • No. 5 San Diego Wave vs. No. 8 Bay FC, Sunday at 8 PM ET (Paramount+): The weekend's marquee matchup pits the Wave — quietly finding their identity under new coach Jonas Eidevall — against Bay FC in a California clash where neither team can afford to lose much ground.

WNBA Stars Head Back to College for Preseason Games

LSU's Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese high-five during their 2024 Elite Eight NCAA tournament game.
Chicago's Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese will return to LSU for Friday's WNBA preseason game. (Scott Taetsch/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

It's back-to-school weekend for the WNBA, as teams travel to stars' old collegiate stomping grounds to tip off a series of preseason exhibitions.

While preseason matchups don't carry the same weight as opening day, the league raised the stakes this year to give fans a taste of what's to come during the gap between March Madness and the May 16th 2025 WNBA season tip-off.

Kicking off the preseason party is this year's No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers, who will make her professional debut when the Dallas take on Las Vegas on Friday. The showdown will occur at Notre Dame's Purcell Pavilion, as both teams boast Fighting Irish alumni in the Wings' Arike Ogunbowale and the Aces' Jackie Young and Jewell Loyd.

Later on Friday, reunited LSU teammates Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith will return to the Baton Rouge court when the Chicago Sky tips off against the Brazil Women's National Team.

After facing the Washington Mystics on Saturday, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever will travel to the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year's alma mater Iowa for their own date with Brazil on Sunday.

Fever fans will be particularly grateful that Sunday clash will receive national airtime, as resale tickets for the sold-out game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena are averaging upwards of $440 apiece.

To cap off the weekend, Sunday will also see the new-look Connecticut Sun will battle a Seattle Storm squad hungry to jump back into title contention this season.

Though the exhibition results won't matter, testing players in front of a crowd while building excitement for the upcoming 2025 season can be just as crucial for teams as they look to polish their rosters over the next two weeks.

How to watch this weekend's WNBA preseason games

Friday will see the Dallas Wings take on the Las Vegas Aces at 7 PM ET followed by the Chicago Sky's matchup against Brazil at 9 PM ET, with both games airing live on ION.

Indiana's busy weekend begins with Saturday's 1 PM ET clash with Washington on NBA TV before the Fever face Brazil at 4 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ESPN.

The weekend's final exhibition pits Connecticut against Seattle at 6 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage available with the WNBA League Pass.

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.