The NWSL kicked off the new year with a bang on Thursday, as Angel City FC, the Portland Thorns, Gotham FC and the Orlando Pride all participated in a blockbuster trade a week ahead of the NWSL Draft.

In the first trade of the package deal, Angel City sent Portland their natural first-round pick in next Thursday’s draft, their highest natural second-round pick in the 2024 NWSL draft and $200,000 in allocation money. In return, Los Angeles received the rights to 23-year-old midfielder Yazmeen Ryan.

Angel City then made a deal with Gotham FC, sending Ryan and $250,000 in allocation money to New Jersey in return for the No. 1 pick in this year’s NWSL draft. This deal is reportedly contingent on conditions being met, which Jeff Kassouf of ESPN and The Equalizer indicates is 18-year-old Stanford commit Alyssa Thompson turning pro and declaring for the 2022 draft. The deadline for players to register for the draft is 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 9.

In a separate trade, Gotham sent $350,000 in allocation money and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft to the Orlando Pride for the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft.

In summary, Angel City now holds the first overall pick in the 2023 NWSL draft, Gotham FC adds Ryan to their midfield and holds the rights to the No. 2 pick, Orlando adds $350,000 in allocation money, and Portland adds $200,000, the No. 5 pick in this year’s draft and a second-round pick in 2024.

Each team involved made big moves before draft day, but who are the winners here?

Angel City FC

Well, it all depends on the top prospect available in the draft, but a reported contingency plan whittles the options down to one player.

Angel City’s sights appear to be set on Thompson, as first reported by Kevin Baxter of the LA Times. The 18-year-old phenom and California native earned her first cap with the USWNT first team in October and is currently committed to play her freshman year at Stanford in the fall. But she will reportedly follow in the footsteps of Trinity Rodman and register for the NWSL draft prior to her first collegiate season.

With Thursday’s moves, Angel City set themselves up to add a young cornerstone to the franchise, but they gave up a lot of money to get there. Relinquishing $450,000 in allocation money could restrict their ability to sign other players in the transfer market. So, the question remains whether Angel City is set up to win now, or if they’re still one or two pieces away.

Gotham FC

Gotham benefits immensely from Angel City’s desire to grab a guarantee at the top of the draft order. Ryan is an excellent creative midfielder who is coming off a career-making performance in the 2022 NWSL Championship. She’s young, fills a clear club need and will no doubt help create chances for a team that struggled to score goals in 2022.

Gotham also essentially gets paid for picking up Ryan, allowing them to send just $100,000 in net allocation money to Orlando for what is likely their first-choice pick anyway. If Thompson is Angel City’s main target, Gotham is next in line for Duke sophomore Michelle Cooper who, in tandem with Ryan, would radically change the club’s goal-scoring outlook and midfield fluidity. Cooper, a proven goal-scorer at both the college and youth international levels, officially registered for the draft on Thursday. She scored 31 goals and registered 16 assists in two college seasons and recently won the Golden Ball while representing the United States at the Concacaf U-20 Championship.

When it comes to the biggest winners of this deal, Gotham made out like bandits.

Orlando Pride

The Pride also have the No. 3 pick in the 2023 draft, so they aren’t entirely giving up the opportunity to grab a talented rookie through the college system. They also get a huge payday for their troubles, which can be used in the free-agency market. The Pride are in the second stage of a rebuild, with a good group of young players and a strong veteran presence in Marta, who re-signed with the club in December through 2024. The Pride’s ability to attract a superstar in the prime of their career could be what makes them a contender or not.

Portland Thorns

Ryan is a big loss, and it’s unclear how much the Thorns needed extra allocation money to move around. They still have a very strong midfield core of Crystal Dunn, Rocky Rodriguez, Sam Coffey, Olivia Moultrie and Christine Sinclair, but the main factor in their willingness to give Ryan up might be Lindsey Horan’s impending return from Olympique Lyon, where she was on loan.

The Thorns also now have two picks in the first round of this year’s draft at No. 5 and No. 12, and they have a chance to acquire more depth next year. Portland’s roster still looks stacked for a repeat NWSL Championship bid, but letting go of Ryan could come back to haunt them later.

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

Tennis governing body finalized its elite 2025 WTA Finals field on Friday, with the sport's eight top-ranked players gearing up to kick off the tournament in Saudi Arabia this weekend, each aiming to claim the the final major trophy of the 2025 season.

World No. 6 Elena Rybakina became the last player to qualify for the Finals, with the 26-year-old Kazakhstani star clinching her spot by reaching the Japan Open semifinals last week — beating out No. 9 Mirra Andreeva in the race to reach Riyadh.

Rybakina joins the previously qualified finalists No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, No. 7 Madison Keys, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 2 Iga Świątek, and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Capping a banner year for the States, US stars populate a full half of the end-of-season tournament, with Keys, Pegula, Gauff, and WTA Finals debutant Anisimova comprising the largest US contingent at the competition in more than 20 years.

Gauff enters the round-robin tournament as its reigning champion, with 2023 winner Świątek as the only other title-holder in contention this year.

Where to watch the 2025 WTA Finals

The 2025 WTA Finals start this Saturday and run through November 8th.

Live coverage of the tournament will air on the Tennis Channel.

FIFPRO dropped its 2025 Women's World XI shortlist on Monday, with the worldwide organization representing pro footballers taking heat for snubbing more than a few standout athletes.

The 26-player lineup featured zero USWNT players, continuing a two-year streak of the award omitting US athletes, despite the USWNT winning Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games.d

Reigning Champions League winner and 2025 Euro runner-up Mariona Caldentey also failed to make the cut — a significant snub considering the Arsenal and Spain attacker came in second in at the 2025 Ballon d'Or last month.

Notably, soccer players exclusively vote for the FIFPRO World XI — the only global football award to do so — with this year's nominations ruled by the Euro-winning Lionesses, who snagged 11 overall nods.

Spain saw the second-most nominations — including reigning three-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí — while goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham/Germany), right back Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash/Nigeria), attacker Debinha (Kansas City Current/Brazil), striker Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride/Zambia), and forward Marta (Orlando Pride/Brazil) repped the NWSL.

The final Best XI roster will drop on Monday.

Full 2025 FIFPRO Women's World XI shortlist

Goalkeepers: Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham/Germany), Mary Earps (PSG/England), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)

Defenders: Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash/Nigeria), Ona Batlle (Barcelona/Spain), Millie Bright (Chelsea/England), Lucy Bronze (Chelsea/England), Olga Carmona (PSG/Spain), Ellie Carpenter (Chelsea/Australia), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City/England), Leah Williamson (Arsenal/England)

Midfielders: Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona/Spain), Ghizlane Chebbak (Al Hilal/Morocco), Debinha (Kansas City Current/Brazil), Patri Guijarro (Barcelona/Spain), Vicky López (Barcelona/Spain), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/Spain), Ella Toone (Manchester United/England), Keira Walsh (Chelsea/England)

Forwards: Michelle Agyemang (Arsenal/Brighton/England), Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride/Zambia), Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid/Colombia), Athenea del Castillo (Real Madrid/Spain), Chloe Kelly (Arsenal/England), Marta (Orlando Pride/Brazil), Alessia Russo (Arsenal/England)

Five WNBA stars became cover stars this week, as Glamour Magazine named Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull, Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally, and New York Liberty centers Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally as the 2025 Women of the Year on Monday.

In the feature story, the players discussed the ongoing CBA negotiations, how they manage the WNBA's booming popularity, and other key issues.

"This is the best women's league in the world for a reason," said Jones. "The best athletes and the best competition, and people are seeing that now… It's time that we're paid like that."

Though the interview occurred weeks before her now-viral exit interview calling out WNBA leadership, Collier was already pointing out the disparities between player success and compensation.

"The amount of money that Caitlin Clark has made the league is insane, and she's getting 0% of it because we have no rev share," Collier said in her Glamour interview. "She gets less than $80,000 a year, and she's bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars. It's insane."

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Hull also made waves, speaking to Clark's popularity with the Fever going on to battle injury adversity all the way to the 2025 WNBA semifinals.

"I think there is a level of jealousy when it comes to the Fever, just because of the media attention and the fans that have shown up for us ever since Caitlin got here," she told the magazine. "We've heard people and players and teams talking in their locker room about, 'We can’t let the Fever win.'"

With the October 31st WNBA CBA deadline just days away, more than 70 elected officials are weighing in, sending a letter voicing support for the WNBA Players Association (WNBPA) to league commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA commissioner Adam Silver last Friday.

"This new CBA deal is an opportunity to set the record straight that women are valuable workers who deserve to be paid accordingly and treated fairly," the letter states.

The lawmakers also urge the league to "bargain in good faith to reach a fair CBA" before the current agreement expires.

Mayors, council members, and assembly members from seven WNBA markets signed the document — including New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani — as WNBA leadership continues facing increased scrutiny.

"We all want to be able to take in a full season, but we know...what [the players] deserve to earn," said New York City council member Tiffany Cabán, a longtime NY Liberty fan who spearheaded the effort.

The action represents a growing number of politicians applying public pressure to commissioner Engelbert, with the letter's 70 lawmakers joining the 85 members of the Democratic Women's Caucus and House Democratic Caucus, who penned their own letter last month.

As external pressure builds, hope is dimming for an agreement by Friday, with WNBPA senior advisor and legal counsel Erin D. Drake telling The Athletic on Tuesday that "it takes two to tango, and it has been difficult to find a beat, to find a rhythm, and to find the same sense of urgency [from the WNBA]."

As all eyes turn to the WNBA this week, the question remains whether a new CBA or deadline extension will be on Friday's docket.

"We're still going to be negotiating until [it's] done," promised Drake. "We just don't know how long that is going to take, unfortunately."