Five weeks of NWSL preseason down, two to go.

Teams have been scrimmaging with colleges and other NWSL teams and are beginning to get a better feel for how their squads will look on the pitch when the Challenge Cup begins March 18.

Across training camps, players are returning from injury, teams are changing their formations, while fresh faces are getting a chance to explore their new cities.

Here’s what’s been happening for Louisville, Portland and Angel City this week in NWSL camp.

‘I’m going to do everything to be ready’

Nadia Nadim is — kind of, almost — back.

The Louisville star scored three goals and grabbed an assist in eight games last season before tearing her ACL in September. Ironically, in January, amidst her recovery process, she became a doctor. Naturally, she’s executed a recovery process that puts her exactly where she needs to be at this point.

This week, she returned to training without any contact. She hopes to play in matches by May.

“My knee has responded amazingly,” she said.

The next step is to work on gaining the muscle she lost over the last few months. A lot of time is being spent at the gym and doing individual cardio and strength exercises.

“I’m going to do everything to be ready as soon as possible,” the 34-year-old said.

While itching to get back into games, she’s also been content in the Florida sunshine, finally free of the studying and exams that she was consumed with while becoming a doctor. These days, she sleeps “very well.”

“The last three months, I’m going to be honest, were very, very tough,” she said with a laugh. “I’m not a person who gets stressed, but I think that was stress.” She later added, “It shows what humans are capable of. You can always push that wall a tiny bit more.”

Nadim has only been training with the young Louisville team for a couple weeks, but she reports that, “Everyone’s very willing to learn.”

Louisville is coming off a debut season which saw the club finish ninth in the league. Coach Christy Holly was fired “for cause” in August, with the details of his dismissal remaining under wraps.

Under new head coach Kim Björkegren, Racing plans to play a possession style that is direct in nature. Most recently leading Cyprus’ Apollon Ladies FC to an undefeated season, Björkegren prefers to base his systems of play off the players he has, rather than coming in with a predetermined philosophy.

“He’s going to be amazing for us, and I can’t wait for these players to grow,” said Nadim.

Perfect timing or just @nadia_nadim? 🤔

You decide. 🦖 pic.twitter.com/wuXaF82vVR

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) February 27, 2022

New formation, who this?

The Portland Thorns will have a different shape on the field this year. Head coach Rhian Wilkinson hasn’t spilled the specifics, but she says it won’t stray too far from former coach Mark Parsons’ 4-diamond-2.

Wilkinson likes to use width, so the changes have a lot to do with stretching the field side to side for “possession with real purpose,” as she puts it. How players look and play in certain positions will also look different.

Defender Kelli Hubly told reporters Friday she’s excited about the change.

“I think personnel-wise, it fits us better this year with who we have,” she said. “Definitely some growing pains at times with everyone figuring out their new role, but I think overall, once it’s going to click, it’s going to work really well for us, and I think we’re all really excited to play this and looking forward to getting some games in and playing with each other.”

Wilkinson, who was just inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame, is described as a laid-back coach by her players.

“It’s different but it’s good,” said Hubly. “I like it. I think we’re all really excited to get to know her more and her style.”

Today, our own @rhirhi8 was inducted into the @CS_HallofFame. And we got to celebrate that moment with her as she learned about the honor. Congrats, Rhian!

DETAILS | https://t.co/Amq5YzK9ZW #BAONPDX #CANWNT pic.twitter.com/QBV8s9tPZH

— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) March 2, 2022

Exploring the city

While a lot of teams from further north have had to train through February in southern states, Angel City has had the opportunity to settle right into their new home of Los Angeles.

With players getting to hang in their own backyard, head coach Freya Coombe said she was interested in knowing what they got up to in their off days. So we decided to ask a few ACFC players directly.

Midfielder Dani Weatherholt, who grew up near LA in Capistrano Beach, Calif., has spent most of her weekends hiking with her dog, Nora. Usually the pair can be found in the Malibu Canyon.

“It’s absolutely beautiful out there,” she said.

When she’s not under the sunshine and enjoying the mountains, she’s trying new restaurants in the city.

“The fans have been doing a great job of letting us know where to go,” she said.

Forward Jasmyne Spencer has tried to do a new thing every weekend. Recently, she visited the Broad Museum, where she picked up some inspiration for how to decorate her new apartment.

“[It] was really cool,” she said. “Got to see some really cool art.”

Angel City will begin their inaugural season on March 19th when they face off against the NWSL’s other expansion team, the San Diego Wave.

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

US swimming icon Katie Ledecky is back on top, earning her 22nd world title with a gold medal-winning 1,500-meter freestyle performance at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships on Tuesday.

Finishing with a time of 15:26.44, Ledecky now owns 25 of the top 26 times in the event's history and holds six World Aquatics Championships titles at that distance.

"Each one has meaning, and I love every race that I've had at Worlds over the years," the 28-year-old swimming star told broadcasters following her Tuesday victory.

That 22nd title brought Ledecky's combined Worlds total to an overall 28 medals, lifting the star to second on the all-time most decorated list where she trails only retired US men's star Michael Phelps's 33 podium finishes.

Earlier in the week, the Team USA standout took bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, coming in third behind China's silver-medalist Li Bingjie and Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh, who won the race with a time of 3:56.26.

Gold medals have been hard to come by for Team USA at this year's World Championships.

Other than Ledecky's win and the 100-meter butterfly title snagged by Gretchen Walsh on Monday, the US women have struggled to claim gold medals as they push to recover from the acute gastroenteritis that hit several team members at their pre-meet training camp in Thailand.

That stomach bug inhibited multiple US swimmers from traveling with the team to the Singapore meet, and saw contenders like 100-meter butterfly Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske pull out of initial heats.

"We're taking it a day at a time," said Team USA head coach Greg Meehan about the impact of the illness. "Obviously, this is not how we thought the first few days of this competition would go. But I'm really proud of our team."

How to watch Ledecky at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships runs through Sunday, and US star Ledecky has two events left to swim at the meet.

On Thursday, she'll compete in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, before facing another showdown with rival McIntosh in the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday.

Preliminary heats kick off the night before at 10 PM ET, with finals seeing staggered starts beginning at 7 AM ET.

Live coverage of the meet airs on Peacock.

UEFA Women's Euro 2025 made a splash across the pond, drawing an average of 458,000 US viewers per match across FOX platforms to mark a 97% viewership increase over the 2022 edition — making this year's tournament the most-watched English-language Women's Euro on record.

Building off the 2025 competition's previously reported record-breaking numbers, Sunday's grand finale between defending champs England and 2023 World Cup winners Spain averaged 1.35 million US viewers — a 53% increase in viewership over the last Women's Euro championship match.

Even more, the broadcast ultimately peaked at 1.92 million fans tuning in, making it the most-watched English-language Women's Euro Final on record.

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The historic viewership is a major win for broadcaster FOX, who secured the women's tournament's first-ever US media deal back in May.

Initially committing to live coverage of 20 of the tournament's matches, record returns motivated the broadcast giant to quickly pivot and air all 31 matches live as part of its FOX Sports Summer of Soccer campaign.

"More and more people are tuning in to watch soccer in the US," FOX Sports commentator and UWSNT vet Carli Lloyd told The Athletic. "There's just been an incredible amount of soccer on display, which has been fantastic for the sport."

As the NWSL preps for this weekend's return from an extended summer break, No. 4 Washington Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman is also hoping to re-take the pitch for the first time since April.

Rodman is currently back training with the team, rejoining her club after undergoing extended treatment overseas for chronic back issues.

"I'd never really dealt with something like that," Rodman admitted after an open practice earlier this week. "So, for me, mentally, it was very difficult."

"[I was] trying to function through pain, and kind of gaslight myself to thinking it was fine every day, when it wasn't," she said. "I can now kind of openly say, I was in pain all the time."

Rodman also admits that stepping away was, though difficult, the right call to make for her healing.

"Obviously, it sucks being away from the team and being away from soccer in general," she added. "But I got to work on things that I wouldn't have gotten to work on if I was in the team environment all the time, so I think that was a positive."

Rodman's availability fluctuated after she earned an Olympic gold medal with the USWNT in Paris last summer, with the soccer superstar featuring in just four Spirit games this season — and none since stepping away in April.

Now functioning pain-free, Rodman's next on-pitch challenge is balancing her competitive intensity with her newly found health.

"It's really understanding my body and acknowledging [when] it's in pain," she explained. "And not pushing through things that I shouldn't."

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Rodman eyes new contract amid NWSL return

On top of navigating her return to play, Rodman is also actively negotiating with the Washington Spirit for a contract renewal.

Her current deal expires at the end of 2025, and with interest in the US standout reportedly mounting from overseas clubs, the 23-year-old could eventually field multiple offers.

Considering her lack of minutes so far this season, the star called the assumed interest "a weird situation."

"I'm trying not to stress about it or put too much pressure on it," she said of the ongoing talks. "At the end of the day, I'm worried about health first.... Everything else can come next."

Wednesday's WNBA bill puts a heavyweight battle in the spotlight, as 2024 finalists and 2025 league leaders Minnesota will host reigning champion No. 2 New York in their first face-off of the season — with the Liberty hoping to rattle both the Lynx and the standings.

"I think common sense would say that those two teams probably should have played earlier in the season," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve told media this week, referencing the apparent scheduling idiosyncrasies that delayed the championship rematch.

"It doesn't feel like a Finals rematch anymore, honestly," Lynx forward Napheesa Collier echoed. "It's a new year for us. And it's been so long, it's almost August, so it's just the two top teams going against each other."

Both squads enter the clash on uncharacteristic skids, as Minnesota and New York look to avenge recent losses while other WNBA teams jockey for positioning during the league's Wednesday night slate:

• No. 3 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever, 7 PM ET (ESPN3): The Fever must continue to contend without injured star guard Caitlin Clark, as Indiana faces a newly healthy Mercury side striving to steal back the No. 2 spot with a win.

• No. 5 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 11 Dallas Wings, 8 PM ET (ESPN3): After a disappointing Tuesday upset loss, the will Dream close out a back-to-back against a bolstered Dallas squad fresh off a big victory over New York.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, 8 PM ET (ESPN): With a four-game lead in the standings, the Lynx aren't in danger of giving up their perch at the top, but a strong performance from the Liberty could provide a much-needed boost to the ailing title-holders.