Sam Kerr is a once-in-a-generation talent, reaching the heights of soccer in Australia and abroad. At 28 years old, Kerr is already considered to be one of the best strikers to play the sport, shattering records for both club and country.

Here’s everything you need to know about one of the game’s greatest players.

Early life in Perth

It all started for Kerr in Fremantle, Australia, a port city in the Perth metropolitan area. She was born to a family of athletes on September 10, 1993: Kerr’s brother and father both were Australia rules footballers, and her uncle was a horse jokey. Introduced to AFL at an early age, Kerr immediately fell in love with the sport. There were no girls league when she was growing up in Australia, so Kerr played with the boys. Kerr considered footy her first love, with soccer taking a backseat.

Eventually, playing Australian football with boys got too rough, and Kerr was forced into soccer by her family at 12 years old. Despite her limited interest in the sport, the Kerr would debut for the Australian women’s national soccer team only three years later.

“I am very fortunate to have a lot of athleticism,” Kerr old Kelly O’Hara on the Just Women’s Sports podcast, explaining her prodigious rise in the sport.

Her first cap with the Matildas came when Kerr was just 15 years old, and was a bit of a surprise for the Australian star. Thinking she would be on the bench for the game, Kerr told her family not to come to the match, something she says she now regrets.

“I never realized how big the moment was and I always say if I could redo one part of my career, it would be my first cap,” Kerr told Sandra Sully in a 2021 10 News First interview.

Luckily for Kerr, she would have plenty more opportunities to take the pitch for her country, celebrating 100 caps and 48 goals with the Matildas in 2021.

Australian National Team Career

Kerr’s international career got off to a dream start, participating in her first major tournament at 16, a year after her debut. The 2010 Asian Cup served as the young star’s introduction to the world stage, and she scored in the team’s final match to help Australia clinch the Cup.

At 17-years old, Kerr went to her first World Cup, joining seven other players under 20-years-old on the 2011 Australian roster. The Matildas advanced out of the competition’s group stage but fell to Sweden in the knockout round, ending the team’s World Cup run.

Kerr’s career hit a snag leading up to the 2015 World Cup, suffering a knee injury that required surgery just before the tournament. On top of coming off an injury, Kerr was also transitioning from the wing to the No. 9 position, a role she has since mastered. The Matildas managed to survive what was deemed the “group of death,” which included the United States, Sweden, and Nigeria, and they even downed Brazil in their first knockout game. Kerr and the Matildas, however, were sent packing by Japan in the quarterfinals.

The Australian striker’s first World Cup goal wouldn’t come until the 2019 World Cup, in the team’s group-stage match against Italy. The trend continued when Kerr scored four goals against Jamaica, becoming the first Australian player, male or female, to record a hat trick at the World Cup. Norway ultimately knocked the Matildas out in the first round of elimination. Still, Kerr came in second among goals scored during the tournament with five, behind Ellen White, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, who all notched six.

Kerr’s 2020 Olympics marked another prolific international tournament, leading Australia to the bronze-medal match against the United States. With six goals, the Australian striker tied Great Britain’s Ellen White and Zambia’s Barbra Banda for second on the scorers’ list. Kerr’s most-exciting finish came in the Matildas’ quarterfinal against Great Britain when the 28-year-scored a late-game brace to send her team to the semifinals.

Notching her 48^th international goal in the bronze-medal loss against the USWNT, Kerr dethroned Lisa De Vanna as Australia’s all-time top scorer.

SAM KERR! ⚽️🇦🇺

Australia's superstar has her penalty saved but she puts in the rebound for her first career #FIFAWWC goal. pic.twitter.com/0JjrTqlR33

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 9, 2019

Club Career

Kerr’s club career is just as, if arguably not more, successful than her international career with the Australian national team. One of the most cited and impressive Kerr-stats is that she has won the Golden Boot award in three different leagues. The star striker first captured the top honor in the W-League (which has since re-branded as the A-League) in 2017. She repeated the feat in 2018. In the NWSL, she was the league’s stop scorer three years running: 2017, 2018 and 2019, and last season she led the FA WSL in goals scored while playing for Chelsea.

Kerr first entered the NWSL at just 18 years old in 2013, joining the Western New York Flash alongside American superstars Carli Lloyd and Abby Wambach. The Australian’s breakout season, however, came in 2017 with Sky Blue FC after two years with the club. During the 2017 campaign, Kerr scored a record-breaking 17 goals, earning her the Golden Boot and MVP awards. The year also included an instant-classic match, with Kerr notching four goals in one half to overcome a 3-0 deficit to defeat Seattle Reign 5-4. Kerr attributes her success that year to being moved to the No. 9 role on the pitch.

“I felt like I found my position,” Kerr told O’Hara. “I found where I was playing.”

Her success continued when she moved to the Chicago Red Stars in 2018, topping her previous mark when she scored a NWSL-record 18 goals on the season to clinch her second MVP award.

At 26 years old, Kerr left the NWSL, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with Chelsea in 2019, reportedly totaling over $1 million. Critics were quick to question whether Kerr’s talent would translate to the Women’s Super League, but she quickly shut those questions down. After a shortened season due to COVID, Kerr led the Blues with 21 goals in 22 games during the 2020-2021 campaign. Her productive year earned her another Golden Boot award and helped Chelsea to the league title. The team also appeared in the Champions League final, falling to Barcelona in the title match.

In the 2021-2022 season, Kerr signed a two-year contract extension, keeping her with the Blues until 2024. Adding to her growing trophy case, Kerr also captured an FA Cup title with Chelsea in December, scoring a brace against Arsenal for the 3-0 victory.

Sam Kerr with an outrageous chip to seal the FA Cup for Chelsea 🥶

(via @VitalityWFACup)pic.twitter.com/Nmrpbjsn0n

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 5, 2021

What’s Next

Kerr is on pace to capture yet another Golden Boot award with Chelsea in the hunt for the WSL title. Internationally, Kerr is expected to captain the Australian National Team as they gear up to host the 2023 World Cup being jointly hosted by Australia and England.

As the NWSL returns from the international break, powerhouse clubs below the playoff line are preparing for a midseason push that could make — or break — the 2025 regular season.

With just three matchdays left before the league's extended summer break, which begins June 23rd and ends on August 1st, clubs will look to shore up their spots on the NWSL table before pressing pause on regular-season play.

Hovering just outside the 2025 postseason line in a 12-point tie are a trio of NWSL clubs, all hunting midseason weekend wins to boost them back into contention:

• No. 9 Gotham FC vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, Saturday at 1 PM ET (CBS): Having slipped under the playoff line while off hoisting the first-ever Concacaf W Champions Cup, the Bats have their work cut out for them against the league-leading Current on Saturday — though Gotham could see their midfield bolstered by the return of star Rose Lavelle from her 2024 ankle injury.

• No. 11 Bay FC vs. No. 5 Portland Thorns, Saturday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): Bay FC's bid to jump into the league's Top 8 runs through the second-hottest club in the NWSL right now, with the Thorns looking to add to their five-match regular-season unbeaten streak this weekend.

• No. 4 Washington Spirit vs. No. 10 North Carolina Courage, Sunday at 4 PM ET (Paramount+): The Courage have dropped just one of their last five matches after a winless season start, but they'll face a Washington side hungry for a win in DC. Despite holding a league-record 5-0-0 road tally this season, the Spirit have stumbled on the home front, earning just one 2025 victory in Washington.

The NWSL outlined new rules for expansion roster building and intra-league loans on Thursday, as two new franchises prepare to enter the league in 2026 without the benefit of an expansion draft.

"With the introduction of free agency and the elimination of the NWSL Draft and Expansion Draft, it was important for us to establish alternative player acquisition assets that support incoming teams while maintaining competitive balance across the league," said NWSL VP of player affairs Stephanie Lee in a league announcement.

Incoming clubs Boston Legacy FC and NWSL Denver will each have access to over $1 million in allocation funds to spend on players beginning on July 1st through the end of 2027.

Both teams can also sign players without being held to a salary cap until the secondary transfer window in 2025, providing players can be loaned out, put on Season Ending Injury designation, or acquired with allocation money used toward the salary cap.

Once the secondary transfer window opens this year, both Boston and Denver will have a $250,000 cap under which they can ink college athletes or international players not under contract.

In addition, the NWSL declared open season on intra-league loans on Thursday, allowing all teams to add athletes to their rosters from other league entities — provided both the player and the league approve the loan.

Each team can have no more than 12 players either in or out on loan at a time, and clubs can only bring in or send out a maximum of three athletes to/from any other single squad.

Overall, the NWSL intends these moves to bolster competition for both its current and future clubs.

"The introduction of intra-league loans — available to all teams — adds greater flexibility and opportunity for player development and strategic roster management league-wide," noted Lee.

World No. 2 Coco Gauff earned a ticket to her third career Grand Slam final on Thursday, advancing to the 2025 French Open championship match by ending French wild-card No. 361 Loïs Boisson's Cinderella story with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 semifinal victory.

"This is my first time playing a French player here. I was mentally prepared that [the crowd] was to be 99% for her, so I was trying to block it out," said the 21-year-old US star. "When [the crowd was] saying her name, I was saying my name to myself just to psyche myself up."

"[Loïs has] shown she's one of the best players in the world," Gauff added about her opponent's remarkable tournament run following their clash. "I hope we have many more battles in the future, especially here. Today it was just my day."

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The player standing between the 2023 US Open champ and her second Grand Slam trophy is none other than world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who looked at ease taking down four-time French Open winner No. 5 Iga Świątek 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 in the tournament's other semifinal on Thursday.

Notably, the three-set defeat was Świątek's first Roland-Garros loss in an astounding 1,457 days — a 26-match winning streak that dated back to 2021.

The 2025 French Open will now be the third straight Slam in which Sabalenka has reached the final, with the top-ranked tennis star making six WTA title-match appearances in 2025 alone.

Head-to-head, Sabalenka and Gauff have an evenly split 5-5 record.

While Gauff earned her US Open title with a Sabalenka defeat, Sabalenka has the recent edge, snagging wins over Gauff in three of the pair's last four meetings — including May's clay battle in the 2025 Madrid Open final.

How to watch the 2025 French Open final

The world's top two tennis players will square off at the 2025 French Open championship match at 9 AM ET on Saturday, airing live on TNT.

The 2025 Women's College World Series (WCWS) are headed to a winner-take-all Game 3, as Texas Tech evened this week's best-of-three championship series with a 4-3 victory over Texas on Thursday.

Anchored by another gutsy performance from star pitcher NiJaree Canady, the Red Raiders capitalized on missteps by the Longhorns, plating their four runs thanks to a hit-by-pitch, a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly, and a fielding error.

Down but not out, Texas broke through with a sixth-inning home run from star senior Mia Scott before plating two more in the game's final frame.

With the tying run just 60 feet away, Canady locked in, ending the Longhorns' threat with a strike-out to claim Texas Tech's first season win over their state rivals at just the right time, keeping the Red Raiders' national title hopes alive.

"NiJa was huge," said Texas Tech head coach Gerry Glasco about his ace's Game 2 performance. "She went out there and pitched her tail off."

Canady likely to toss every Texas Tech pitch at WCWS

After Wednesday's botched intentional walk put Texas within one win of the NCAA trophy, Canady bounced back by again assuming control in the circle, tossing every Texas Tech pitch for the seventh postseason games in a row — a streak dating back to the Red Raiders' first Super Regional game.

"Obviously [Wednesday] night wasn't my best game. I feel like this game wasn't my best game, either," said Canady, despite stifling Texas's late surge. "I was just leaving it out on the field."

Glasco will undoubtedly tap Canady to throw Friday's decisive clash as well, with Texas Tech's championship hopes resting on their $1 million player.

Should she complete Game 3 and secure a program-first national championship in the process, Canady will become the first pitcher since 2012 Alabama ace Jackie Traina to toss every WCWS pitch for a title-winning team.

On the other hand, Texas's four-pitcher bullpen game means sophomore ace Teagan Kavan — who threw just two outs on Thursday night — should be fresh and ready to test the Red Raiders in the final game of the 2025 NCAA softball season.

How to watch the 2025 WCWS championship game

The decisive Game 3 of the 2025 WCWS championship series will take the field in Oklahoma City at 8 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on ESPN.