Of this year’s NWSL awards, Rookie of the Year might be the toughest to hand out. The 2022 first-year players — between our list and players like Amirah Ali, Elyse Bennett, Kelsey Turnbow and Alex Loera -— have been some of the best the league has ever seen.

Just Women’s Sports has chosen four players as frontrunners for Rookie of the Year, representing positions across the field and teams from coast to coast.

Diana Ordoñez, F, North Carolina Courage

Drafted sixth overall in last year’s draft, Diana Ordoñez has been a top-five scorer in the league this season, rising as high as second in the Golden Boot race. Her most impressive run was from June 19 to Aug. 24, when she scored nine goals in six straight games, contributing to her season total of 11 goals and earning August Rookie of the Month honors. With 17 starts across 18 games played, the former Virginia Cavalier has a long-ball success rate of 70 percent and has made 13 key passes.

We call her Scordóñez 😎

Congrats to @diana0rdonez, the August @NWSL Rookie of the Month, presented by @Ally!#CourageUnitesUs pic.twitter.com/cWNubiJXud

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) September 7, 2022

Savannah DeMelo, M, Racing Louisville FC

In the same draft class as Racing Louisville teammate and No. 2 overall pick Jaelin Howell, USC’s Savannah DeMelo might have initially flown under the radar but was quick to set the record straight. One of Louisville’s most consistent players, the No. 4 overall pick and July Rookie of the Month has led her team in chances created, successful dribbles per 90 and penalties won. She has also been one of the league’s best at scoring off set pieces, with two of her four goals coming from direct free kicks.

What a beauty from rookie @Savannah_DeMelo! 😍#RacingLou | @RacingLouFC pic.twitter.com/WGlLHP10us

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 17, 2022

Sam Coffey, M, Portland Thorns FC

Not only has Sam Coffey been impressing in the defensive midfield during her NWSL rookie season, but it’s her first season in that role entirely. Formerly an attacking midfielder at Penn State, she has transitioned seamlessly into her new position, recording an 83 percent passing success rate and hitting her target on long balls 56.6 percent of the time. Defensively, the June Rookie of the Year wins 69 percent of her tackles and 55 percent of her duels, and she’s made a total of 38 interceptions.

Y'ALL BETTER REMEMBER THE NAME. HER FIRST @NWSL GOAL!

SAM. COFFEY. pic.twitter.com/mRcDiMP1np

— X - Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) September 22, 2022

Our pick: Naomi Girma, D, San Diego Wave FC

No. 1 draft pick Naomi Girma has had a good enough season to be nominated for NWSL Defender of the Year and MVP, let alone Rookie of the Year. Named to three of four NWSL Teams of the Month, she has been the fearless backbone of the San Diego defense, even getting a chance to wear the captain’s armband in her first season with the 2022 playoff-bound expansion team.

The former Stanford defender reads the game like a book, can play deadly long balls to teammates in the opponent’s 18-yard box and is bold enough to carry the ball out of the back and through multiple players in the midfield. Playing every minute of every game she’s been available for, Girma has passed with 83 percent accuracy, won 68 percent of her duels and made 85 clearances, 12 blocks and 24 interceptions.

Center back appreciation post!
Keep your eye on @naomi_girma in the playoffs! @alywagner breaks down the rookie in Inside the Game presented by @mastercard. pic.twitter.com/Y3CaLYWeQj

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 26, 2022

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

US tennis star and world No. 12 Amanda Anisimova continued her breakthrough 2025 Wimbledon run on Thursday, taking down No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to punch a ticket to her first career Grand Slam final.

"This doesn't feel real right now," Anisimova said after winning the 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 semifinal thriller. "I don't know how I pulled it out."

"It was such a rollercoaster match," the 23-year-old told ESPN. "[Sabalenka] is such a tough competitor, and I really had to give it my all to fight there to get the win."

As the first US player to reach a Wimbledon final since Serena Williams in 2019 — and the youngest from the US since Williams' 2004 run — Anisimova's meteoric 2025 rise comes just 18 months after she took an extended mental health break from tennis.

"A lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game," she said. "So just me being able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritize yourself, that's been incredibly special to me."

Anisimova's semifinal win also continues a unique pattern for her home country, as Saturday's championship match is now the fourth straight Grand Slam final to feature a US player — a streak dating back to No. 3 Jessica Pegula's 2024 US Open championship appearance.

Even more, should Anisimova emerge victorious on Saturday, she'll join 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys and 2025 French Open winner No. 2 Coco Gauff in continuing a US sweep of this year's Grand Slams.

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Anisimova to face Świątek in 2025 Wimbledon final

To do so, however, Anisimova will have to defeat five-time Grand Slam winner and world No. 4 Iga Świątek in what will be the pair's first-ever senior-level match on Saturday.

Like Anisimova, the 24-year-old Polish phenom is on an unexpected Wimbledon run, as the London Slam's grass courts have historically hampered the clay-court specialist.

That said, Świątek dominated her Thursday semifinal against Switzerland's No. 35 Belinda Bencic, booking her spot in Saturday's title match in two quick 6-2, 6-0 sets.

"Tennis keeps surprising me," she said after the match. "I thought I had experienced everything on the court, but I hadn't experienced playing well on grass. That's the first time."

"Honestly, I never even dreamt that it was possible for me to play the [Wimbledon] finals, so I'm just super excited and proud of myself," Świątek added.

As for Anisimova, she's taking her championship match against the decorated Świątek in stride.

"I'm sure it'll be an amazing match. Getting to compete against an unbelievable player again is going to be super special," said the rising US star.

"Obviously I haven't been in a Grand Slam final before, but I've experienced a lot of moments similar and a lot of high-stakes matches," Anisimova noted. "I'm just gonna go out and enjoy every moment and try to not think about what’s on the line."

How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon championship match

With this year's tournament guaranteed to crown a first-time Wimbledon champion, Anisimova will battle Świątek for the London Slam's trophy at 11 AM ET on Saturday.

The final will air live on ESPN.

Legendary USWNT attacker Tobin Heath officially announced her retirement from soccer on Thursday, nearly three years after playing her final professional match.

"Over New Year's, I actually came to the full acceptance that I wasn't going to be playing," the 37-year-old explained on her podcast, The RE-CAP Show.

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In her 13 years with the senior national team, Heath — widely regarded as one of the most technical players in US history — earned two World Cup titles (2015, 2019) and three Olympic medals (gold in 2008 and 2012, and bronze in 2021).

Across her 181 USWNT caps, the 2016 US Soccer Athlete of the Year logged 36 goals and 42 assists, making her final appearance for the States on October 26th, 2021.

At the club level, Heath spent seven seasons with the Portland Thorns, helping the team to NWSL Championships in 2013 and 2017, as well as the 2016 NWSL Shield.

While her career also included European stints with the Première Ligue's PSG as well as WSL sides Manchester United and Arsenal, Heath ended her pro run with the 2022 NWSL Shield-winning Seattle Reign, playing what would be her final soccer match on August 14th of that year.

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Injury ends Heath's soccer career

The end of Heath's career is not what the creative, nutmegging winger anticipated.

"I thought I was literally going to be peeled off the field," Heath told The Athletic on Wednesday.

However, a 2022 serious left knee injury left Heath unable to play soccer — even at a casual level — ultimately forcing her retirement.

"I tried f---ing everything to get back, I spent tens of thousands of dollars and [had] two surgeries, one crazy surgery," Heath said on her podcast. "And the whole time I believed I was going to get back."

"Football is a 360-degree sport, and I can't do it," she told The Athletic. "So that part is the hardest part. The actual playing of soccer is gone."

Heath still working to lift up women's soccer in retirement

Despite coming to terms with the end of her on-pitch career, Heath isn't leaving the world of soccer anytime soon, helping lead the newly launched World Sevens Football and joining FIFA's technical study group for the men's Club World Cup.

Elevating football — particularly the women's game — is a pursuit that began for Heath with the Portland Thorns.

"[Portland] showed what women's sports could be," she explained. "I was dreaming of the world that I wanted to create."

The 2019 World Cup run then solidified that mission, with the USWNT adding a fourth star to their crest while also facing a pressure-cooker of expectations amid political tension and a contentious fight for equal pay.

"You can't feel what we felt...and not believe that you're doing something so f---ing important for the world," said Heath.

"You feel that responsibility — and that's what it is — and you want to keep carrying that responsibility as far forward as you can."

USWNT and Chelsea FC forward Mia Fishel is officially heading back to the States, with the Seattle Reign announcing that the 24-year-old signed with the NWSL club on Thursday.

The multi-year deal will see Fishel join Seattle through the 2029 season on a contract reportedly worth nearly $2.5 million — the largest cumulative deal in NWSL history.

"We're absolutely thrilled to bring Mia into our squad," said Seattle head coach Laura Harvey in a club statement. "Mia's ability to disrupt defenses, finish in different ways makes her a dangerous addition to our group."

"Mia is a player with tremendous upside — a goal-scorer with presence, creativity, and a drive to keep growing," added Reign GM Lesle Gallimore.

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Notably, though the Orlando Pride originally drafted the San Diego product and UCLA alum in 2022, this week's move will see Fishel make her domestic debut, with the young talent opting to start her pro career in Mexico.

In her single season with powerhouse Tigres UANL, Fishel notched 17 goals in 17 games to become the first foreign athlete to win the Liga MX Golden Boot, all while leading the team to a league championship.

Following her Liga MX success, Fishel signed with Chelsea, spending two seasons with the WSL champions — though a February 2024 ACL tear limited the young attacker's impact on both club and country over the last 16 months.

Nicknamed "Big Fish," the NWSL debutant has big plans for her upcoming lengthy tenure with Seattle.

"I knew coming to the States, I'm gonna be on a team for the long run," Fishel told reporters. "I wasn't expecting to just hop from team to team. Like, no, I want to put stakes in the ground. I want to eventually lead this team."

This weekend's WNBA slate will see the No. 8 Indiana Fever aiming to right the ship, as the once-projected postseason contenders try to make a push prior to next weekend's 2025 All-Star break.

Despite seeing Caitlin Clark return from injury on Wednesday, the Fever will enter the weekend on a two-game losing streak.

"You should look yourself in the mirror and find ways you can get better, and then come back to practice tomorrow, and play again on Friday," Clark said after Indiana's 80-61 Wednesday loss to Golden State.

There's no immediate assist in the Fever's upcoming schedule, however, as they kick off the weekend against an Atlanta side that feeds on mismatches in the paint:

• No. 4 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): The Dream can put any team in a blender with their size and stretch capabilities, and Indiana will need solid three-point shooting to upend Atlanta.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 9 Las Vegas Aces, Saturday at 4 PM ET (CBS): The short-handed Aces will hope to pounce on Golden State's mercurial road form, as Las Vegas tries to keep climbing the standings following a middling season start.

• No. 4 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 3 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): An injury-hampered New York will try to hold on against the formidable Dream, as the reigning champion Liberty keep battling while waiting for starters to return.