Megan Rapinoe was subbed out of Saturday’s NWSL game between the OL Reign and Kansas City Current with an apparent calf injury, a concerning sight for the two-time World Cup champion just days ahead of the USWNT’s World Cup roster release.

Rapinoe started the game, but within the first minute of play, was seen massaging her lower leg. Play was stopped in the second minute after Rapinoe sat down on the field and OL Reign’s trainers stepped on to assess her condition. After attempting to jog it off on the sidelines, she exited the field to return to the locker room in the fifth minute and was replaced by Veronica Latsko. The Reign went on to win Saturday’s game, 2-1.

“She’s ok, I think. I truly don’t know the severity of it,” OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey said, noting that the team may have handled the situation differently if the World Cup wasn’t just weeks away. “I’m glad she could get out quickly and not have to push through it.”

USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski is expected to announce his World Cup roster in just over a week, with Steven Goff of the Washington Post reporting that players are expected to be told of their status by this Thursday, June 15.

After dealing with an ankle injury during the NWSL offseason, Rapinoe missed the first two games of the 2023 season and wasn’t available for selection for April’s USWNT friendlies against Ireland due to a calf injury. But since late April, she has started every OL Reign game and logged consistent minutes — until Saturday night.

OL Reign captain Lauren “Lu” Barnes is the first player to make 200 regular season appearances in NWSL history, playing all 90 minutes in the Reign’s 2-1 win over the visiting Kansas City Current on Saturday.

During her 11-season tenure with the Reign, Barnes has only missed 14 of the club’s 214 regular season games. The 34-year-old also holds the league record for most games started (196) and minutes played (17,328).

Reign head coach Laura Harvey, who also recently hit her 200th regular season NWSL game coached, struggled to find words to describe Barnes’ feat.

“It’s really hard to put in perspective how big of an achievement that is for her,” Harvey said. “To have done it for the same club, in a league that’s set up for that not to happen, is phenomenal.”

Despite her longevity in the league, Barnes isn’t exactly the biggest NWSL — or even OL Reign — name, something Harvey called out on Saturday.

“She’s willing to put her body on the line for the team and she does it without needing to be the star,” the head coach said. “She’s humble and wants everyone else to get the limelight instead of it being her.”

True to form, Barnes played down the accomplishment in her post-game remarks.

“For me, it’s another game,” she said. “We’ve been focused on what’s ahead of us, game by game. So, I’m proud of the team, we put up a good performance together, today, and yeah, 200 with one club, I couldn’t be more proud.”

Barnes, a UCLA alum who played in the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league before it folded, was selected by the Reign — then Seattle Reign FC — as the 10th overall pick in the NWSL’s Supplemental Draft in 2013. She is one of just five players to have played with the same club since the NWSL’s launch, joining Reign teammates Megan Rapinoe and Jess Fishlock, plus Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns) and Tori Huster (Washington Spirit).

“If I thought I was gonna still be here 11 years ago, I would probably say no,” Barnes told the Associated Press earlier this season. “The way the league started off, there’s been huge improvements. There’s definitely a life and an opportunity to make this a lifestyle and a job — the last probably three to five years or so. So that’s really promising for the next generations to come and it’s been really fun to be a part of that and build that.”

NJ/NY Gotham FC’s McCall Zerboni (198) is the next NWSL player in line to hit 200 regular season appearances.

While traveling through the Dallas Fort-Worth International airport on Saturday morning, Brittney Griner and her Phoenix Mercury teammates were confronted and harassed by right-wing YouTuber Alex Stein.

Initial news of the confrontation was posted to Twitter by Mercury forward Brianna Turner, who wrote: “Player safety while traveling should be at the forefront. People following with cameras saying wild remarks is never acceptable. Excessive harassment. Our team nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move about. We demand better.”

“As we gather additional information about today’s incident at the Dallas airport, it has come to our attention that this was orchestrated by a social media figure and provocateur. His actions were inappropriate and unfortunate,” the WNBA said in a statement. “The safety of Brittney Griner and all WNBA players is our top priority.”

Griner, who was detained in Russia for 10 months in 2022, made her return to the WNBA last month. Prior to the start of the 2023 season, concerns about her safety while traveling were raised as the league does not currently allow teams to charter flights for the majority of their games. In an April interview with the Associated Press, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league was working with the Mercury and Griner’s team to establish a plan.

“We’ve been working with Brittney and Phoenix since she signed and our security experts,” Engelbert said at the time. “Working on a plan, but we want it to be confidential. She wants to travel with the team sometimes. Work as much as we can making sure we are following advice of our team. We have a very good plan, but I’m not going to share more specifics.”

In the WNBA’s statement on Saturday, the league noted that Griner’s established safety plan “included charter flights for WNBA games and assigned security personnel with her at all times.” But while Griner has been approved to fly charter, that exception does not apply to her Phoenix Mercury teammates.

Following Saturday’s incident, the WNBPA — the players’ union — called on the league to immediately change its policy on charter flights for all players.

“What BG and all of her PHX teammates experienced today was a calculated confrontation that left them feeling very unsafe,” the WNBPA said in a statement. “Everyone who was paying attention knew this would happen. We could have and should have been more proactive. Allowing teams to fly charter is ONLY about player health and safety, and until the league and teams take this issue seriously, situations like this will continue to occur.”

Griner’s agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas echoed that message on Twitter: “We cannot celebrate these women and their leadership without also protecting them. It’s past time for charters and enhanced security measures for all players.”

The WNBA expanded the use of charter flights for the 2023 season to include all postseason games and a handful of games on back-to-back nights. While some WNBA owners have publicly called for charter flights — with some even receiving fines for breaking the rules — the league has previously pushed back on the idea, citing the high cost and noting that it wasn’t a priority for players during their collective bargaining negotiations in 2020.

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek won her third French Open title in four years on Saturday, defeating Karolina Muchova in three sets, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

Swiatek now owns four Grand Slam titles: three from the French Open (2020, 2022, 2023), plus last year’s U.S. Open. The 22-year-old tennis star from Poland is the youngest woman to own four Grand Slam trophies since a 20-year-old Serena Williams accomplished the feat at the 2002 U.S. Open.

After winning the first set handily, Swiatek went up 3-0 in the second — but the unseeded Muchova fought back and scored a few truly remarkable points, including this one:

Despite Swiatek’s previous experience hoisting the French Open trophy, this year’s celebration came with a surprise when the lid of the cup toppled off mid-celebration.

Ahead of the OL Reign’s Pride match against the Kansas City Current on Saturday, Reign midfielder Quinn spoke out about the NWSL’s current policy on transgender athletes.

“Although I’m happy to see more teams in the NWSL lean into Pride, the lack of conversation surrounding the problematic transgender inclusion policy shocks me,” Quinn wrote as part of a series of tweets Friday.

The NWSL’s policy on transgender athletes, which was published two years ago, was criticized from day one for relying on testosterone levels and for failing to include policies regarding nonbinary athletes. The NWSL also took heat for releasing the restrictive policy on Transgender Day of Visibility in 2021, something Quinn called out Friday as “disrespectful.”

Quinn, who in 2021 became the first openly trans and nonbinary athlete to win an Olympic medal, said they hope the league “can find space during their celebrations this month to understand and educate themselves on the limitations of their policy.”

Quinn’s comments come amid a continued onslaught of legislation targeting transgender individuals. Since the start of 2021, more than 20 U.S. states have passed legislation restricting or banning transgender athletes from playing sports at the K-12 or collegiate level. In recent months, gender-affirming health care has become the new target, with 20 states enacting bans or imposing significant restrictions on this type of medical care.

Of the 12 NWSL teams, four — the Houston Dash, Kansas City Current, Orlando Pride, and Racing Louisville — are located in states where lawmakers have banned trans girls and women from playing school sports.

At the same time, Washington state — where Quinn has played professionally for the OL Reign since 2019 — has enacted legal protections for trans youth. In May, OL Reign hosted a clinic for gender diverse youth and their families. In a tweet, the club said it was working “to make Washington the most inclusive place for youth to play soccer in the United States.”

Many individual NWSL players have used their platforms to advocate for trans rights. In April, 12 current NWSL players were among a group of athletes who wrote a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives urging lawmakers to oppose H.R. 734 — also known as the “Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act” — and asking them to instead champion “causes women athletes have been fighting for decades, including equal pay, an end to abuse and mistreatment, uneven implementation of Title IX, and a lack of access and equity for girls of color and girls with disabilities, to name only a few.”

Yet while individual players and teams have spoken out about trans rights, the league as a whole has not addressed the topic head on. The NWSL’s 2023 Pride Campaign, unveiled Thursday, features “refreshed Pride imagery” that includes the five-striped white, pink and blue trans flag, but doesn’t directly address trans rights or its own policy on transgender athletes.

The best college softball teams in the country competed at the 2023 NCAA Women’s College World Series at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, and for the third straight year, the Oklahoma Sooners came out on top.

No. 1 Oklahoma won its third consecutive NCAA title — and ended the season on a historic winning streak. Competition began on June 1 and continued through June 8.

Just Women’s Sports kept tabs on the action as it unfolds. See below for the full game schedule, and an explainer on how the Women’s College World Series bracket works.

Which teams are competing at the 2023 Women’s College World Series?

Sixty-four teams competed in the NCAA softball championship this spring, with eight ultimately qualifying for this week’s Women’s College World Series (WCWS).

In order to qualify for the WCWS, each team had to first make it through a four-team regional competition (featuring a double-elimination bracket), followed by a two-team super regional championship (featuring a best-of-three format).

These are the eight teams that qualified for the 2023 WCWS:

  • No. 1 Oklahoma
  • No. 3 Florida State
  • No. 4 Tennessee
  • No. 5 Alabama
  • No. 6 Oklahoma State
  • No. 7 Washington
  • No. 9 Stanford
  • No. 15 Utah

How does the bracket work at the Women’s College World Series?

The Women’s College World Series uses a double elimination bracket for the first stage, followed by a best-of-3 championship series.

Competition begins with the eight teams competing in a bracket. When a team loses its first game, it will be sent to the elimination bracket with a chance to play its way back into the main bracket. But when a team loses its second game, it is eliminated from contention.

The winner from each side of the bracket meets in the best-of-three championship series.

2023 Women’s College World Series — Schedule and Results

The Women’s College World Series began June 1 and continued through June 8. See below for a full schedule. All games were available on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC — in addition to streaming on ESPN+.

In the semifinals, Stanford faced off against Oklahoma and nearly pulled off a Game 1 upset. Stanford freshman sensation NiJaree Canady was lights out against the Sooner batters in their WCWS opener and pushed them to the brink again Monday, but Oklahoma won 4-2 in nine innings to advance to their fourth straight championship series.

Florida State also had entered the championship series undefeated, defeating Tennessee 5-1 in Monday’s other semifinal game. But FSU lost its only regular season meeting with Oklahoma, falling 5-4 on March 14.

In the opening game of the WCWS finals, Oklahoma claimed a dominant 5-0 win against FSU, led by pitcher Jordy Bahl’s complete game shutout. The Sooners closed out their third straight title with a 3-1 win, in which Bahl recorded a three-inning save.

June 1:

  • Game 1: Tennessee 10, Alabama 5
  • Game 2: Oklahoma 2, Stanford 0
  • Game 3: Florida State 8, Oklahoma State 0

June 2:

  • Game 4: Washington 4, Utah 1
    • Note: Originally scheduled for June 1, but postponed due to weather
  • Game 5: Stanford 2, Alabama 0
  • Game 6: Oklahoma State 8, Utah 0

June 3:

  • Game 7: Oklahoma 9, Tennessee 0
  • Game 8: Florida State 3, Washington 1

June 4:

  • Game 9: Stanford 1, Washington 0
  • Game 10: Tennessee 3, Oklahoma State 1

June 5:

  • Game 11: Oklahoma 4, Stanford 2 (9 innings)
    • Game 12 not needed after Stanford elimination
  • Game 13: Florida State 5, Tennessee 1
    • Game 14 not needed after Tennessee elimination

Championship Finals (Best of 3)
No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Florida State

The U.S. women won the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup on Sunday, defeating France 16-12 in the gold medal game. It is the U.S. women’s third 3×3 title, but first since 2014.

The U.S. squad was made up of two current NCAA players in LSU transfer Hailey Van Lith and Stanford’s Cameron Brink, plus two longtime 3×3 veterans in Cierra Burdick and Linnae Harper. Burdick, who graduated from Tennessee in 2015 and has played stints with a multiple WNBA teams, was also a member of the U.S. team that won 3×3 gold in 2014.

The Americans went 7-1 during the tournament, losing only to Canada during the first game of group play.

In the gold medal game, Burdick and Van Lith each recorded seven points and six rebounds. Brink, competing in her first ever 3×3 competition, was named tournament MVP after amassing 39 points and 45 rebounds in eight games.

Thanks to the top-four finish, the U.S. women also qualified for the 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which will be held in early 2024 ahead of the Paris Olympics. It is also possible the U.S. won’t need to attend that tournament if its 3×3 world ranking improves between now and November, when the top three nations will earn automatic Olympic berths (the U.S. is currently ranked fourth).

The U.S. women won gold in the Olympic debut of 3×3 basketball in 2021 with a roster of WNBA standouts: Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young.

The last time the Portland Thorns defeated OL Reign in Seattle, the Thorns had two fewer stars above their crest.

Portland’s 2-0 shutout win at Lumen Field on Saturday was the Thorns’ first NWSL regular season win against the Reign since 2018 and first road win at a Reign stadium since 2017. Since then, the Thorns have added two NWSL championship titles (2017, 2022) and another NWSL Shield (2021) — all while defeating their Pacific Northwest rivals remained a challenge.

“Every time we play them it’s a battle,” said Thorns defender Emily Menges. “The messaging before the game from (head coach) Mike (Norris) was, ‘Yep, come for the battle, but don’t make it a street fight, make it a boxing match.’ … I think we rose to that occasion and I think that’s what we did.”

Sophia Smith opened scoring for the Thorns in the 17th minute, curling the ball inside the right post. It was Smith’s fifth goal of the NWSL season (tying her for first in the Golden Boot race), but first since she recorded a hat trick against the Kansas City Current on April 1.

“I’ve been staying level-headed and not overthinking not scoring a goal,” Smith said of her scoring drought. “At the end of the day, I feel like I’ve still impacted the game in a lot of different ways. But obviously as a nine, as a goal-scorer, I take a lot of pride in helping my team score goals. So my not doing that for a little bit obviously was hard and it was something I had to deal with internally because I didn’t want to negatively affect the team when we were playing well. But to just get a goal in a big game like this, it lights a new fire in me and make me feel like I’m back to being Soph.”

Christine Sinclair closed it out for the Thorns with an 87th minute goal — a nice bookend to the Canadian legend’s decision at the end of last season to continue playing with the Thorns. In a speech announcing her free agency decision, Sinclair received an ovation from Thorns’ fans when she shouted, “F— Seattle.”

Saturday’s game was part of a doubleheader, following an MLS match between the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders. Still, there was some disappointment that many of the 42,054 fans who filled Lumen Field for the first game, which ended in a 0-0 draw, didn’t stick around to watch the second.

The dwindling crowd also resulted in some confusion over a longstanding attendance record. Ahead of Saturday’s game, the best-attended women’s club soccer game in the United States was the opening game of the WUSA in April 2001, when 34,148 fans packed into Robert F. Kennedy Stadium to watch the Mia Hamm’s Washington Freedom defeat Brandi Chastain’s Bay Area CyberRays. The NWSL record is 32,000, set during San Diego FC’s first ever game at Snapdragon Stadium in September 2022.

Despite the asterisk on the attendance figure, OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey, who became the first NWSL coach to coach 200 regular season games on Saturday, was impressed by the showing.

“You look out today, I don’t know how many fans stayed around, but to be able to play in this stadium in front of lots of people, we couldn’t probably have dreamed of that in year one,” she said.

If you have any doubt about Caitlin Clark’s popularity in her home state of Iowa, just take a look at how many fans stood in line to get her autograph ahead of an MiLB game between the Iowa Cubs and Columbus Clippers on Saturday.

Scott Reister of KCCC posted a video of the never-ending line on Twitter, reporting that the first fans showed up at 6 a.m. — 12 hours ahead of Clark’s ceremonial first pitch.

Clark also appears to have helped the Iowa Cubs — a Triple-A baseball team — get a major attendance bump: 10,692 fans showed up to Saturday’s game at Principal Park in Des Moines — about twice as many as the Iowa Cubs’ weekend home attendance average so far this season.

When Coco Gauff faced off against 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva of Russia during the third round of the 2023 French Open on Saturday, it marked the first time Gauff, 19, played a Grand Slam singles match against a player younger than herself.

Gauff, the runner-up at last year’s French Open, lost the first set to Andreeva, but rallied back in the next two sets, ultimately winning the match 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-1 to advance to the fourth round, where she’ll face Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

But while much of the media ahead of the match focused on age, that topic wasn’t on Gauff’s mind when she stepped onto the court.

“I was just thinking about playing the opponent,” she said. “To be honest, you don’t really think about (age) as an athlete.”

Asked after if she thinks the media focuses too much on that topic, Gauff smiled.

“I’m gonna be honest: Yes. … Age is important to mention sometimes but, as a player and going through it, yes, it gets a little bit annoying. Because I feel like I’m the type of person, I don’t need to be praised because of my age or anything. I prefer just to be praised because of my game, not because of things I’m doing at whatever age.”

Gauff added that she was baffled the other day when she saw a stat about how she had the most bagels (sets that end 6-0) of any teenager on tour.

“I feel like some of these stats, I don’t know, y’all be finding the smallest details,” she said. “I’m like who keeps track of this stuff?”

Even if Gauff doesn’t put much stock in age, she knows experience plays a role. She credits her years on the tour with helping her learn to control her body language, especially in moments of frustration.

“I didn’t realize how much my body language showed until I started watching the film of me,” Gauff explained. “I’m like, yeah, if I was the other side looking at me, I’d be like, ‘Yeah, this girl is down.'”

At moments during Saturday’s match, Andreeva appeared clearly frustrated, smashing a racket during the first set and later hitting a ball into the crowd. Asked by a reporter about her opponent’s “teenage behavior,” Gauff pushed back.

“It’s just being an athlete and being frustrated, to be honest. People do it at all ages, so I’m not gonna blame it on her age,” she said, noting that smashing a racquets is normal for athletes.

“I mean, you shouldn’t do it, but, you know, it’s part of growing up and part of life. So I’m not gonna sit here and berate her for it. I hope you guys don’t either.”