Olivia Moultrie’s name has been in the headlines a lot lately, as the 15-year old soccer prodigy recently filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWSL. Too young to play in the league per its age limit, Moultrie has argued that the rule restricts competition. 

On Monday, the judge in the case granted a temporary restraining order, lifting the age limit for 14 days unless otherwise extended. The ruling opens the door for an NWSL team to sign Moultrie, who’s been actively training and scrimmaging with the Portland Thorns.

Moultrie committed to soccer at a very young age. Her parents started homeschooling her in the fifth grade to free her up to play more soccer. At 11 years old, she committed to play at the University of North Carolina, becoming one of the youngest soccer players ever to receive a scholarship offer. At 13, she turned pro and signed a nine-year, six-figure endorsement deal with Nike that made her the youngest team player ever to sign with the company.

13-year-old Olivia Moultrie turns pro, will sign a contract with Nike

(via @COPA90US) pic.twitter.com/zvlmoQ9cF8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 26, 2019

From there, Moultrie moved to Oregon, where she began to practice with the Thorns at age 13. She continues to train with the team, has her own locker space and has appeared in preseason games.

Here's one where she finishes with a goal. #NWSL #BAONPDX #USWNT pic.twitter.com/jlgLcOCPXD

— Caitlin Murray (@caitlinmurr) March 8, 2019

Moultrie’s Thorns teammates and other women’s soccer veterans have publicly come to her defense, despite the NWSL’s arguments that allowing a minor to play would yield additional league costs.

“Just to be clear, Olivia is a pro in all but matchdays,” Thorns defender and USWNT player Becky Sauerbrunn wrote on Twitter. “She should be able to play in the NWSL and we should be nurturing young talent — allowing them to develop by playing against the best. Let her play.”

Hope Solo said the NWSL should want to be “on the right side of history.” The former USWNT goalkeeper poked holes in the NWSL’s single-entity defense, calling it “a bunch of BS” and likening the league’s handling of the case to U.S. Soccer’s with the equal pay lawsuit.

🇺🇸🗣 @hopesolo calls the NWSL's 'single-entity' defense a "bunch of BS" as 15-year-old Olivia Moultrie takes legal action to change the league's age restriction.

Full video 🔗 https://t.co/PZfPDOLLC7 pic.twitter.com/rdc7Mm7zsc

— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) May 18, 2021

“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough,” Thorns and USWNT midfielder Lindsey Horan wrote on Twitter. “Situations like this would not only benefit Olivia but women’s soccer in this country.

“This is a no brainer for me,” Sofia Huerta echoed. “Not quite sure why this is possible in the MLS and not the NWSL. If she’s good enough…she’s old enough.”

The support from current and former soccer stars isn’t all Moultrie has going for her. She’s also used to playing with players who are much older than she is. At age 12, Moultrie was playing against U17 teams and picking apart their defenses.

She also has experience in international competition, having competed on the U.S. U15, U16 and U17 national teams.

🔥 13-year-old @olivia_moultrie is the world's youngest ever female pro football player and it's clear to see why... 🇺🇸 USWNT's answer to Lionel Messi? pic.twitter.com/0VbJy1v9Ye

— COPA90 (@Copa90) March 8, 2019

Moultrie has shown she has the talent to compete in the NWSL. Now, as the league negotiates its first collective bargaining agreement that will ultimately decide this issue, a team can give Moultrie a chance to prove herself even more.

The year's final major tennis tournament begins on Saturday when the sport's highest-ranked athletes descend on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to compete in the 2024 WTA Finals.

Featuring the eight best singles players and eight best doubles teams, Slam winners and Olympic medalists alike will compete for the Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova trophies before the winter break.

Also up for grabs is a piece of the record $15.25 million prize pool, larger than any Grand Slam purse and a nearly 70% increase over the 2023 pot. Should the champions go undefeated through the tournament, the singles winner will bank $5.155 million, while the top doubles duo will take home $1.125 million.

Eight days of elite tennis action

In both the WTA Finals singles and doubles categories, competitors are split into two groups of four.

Each singles player or doubles pair will play all others in their group for a total of three matches across the first six days. The top two in each group will then compete in the November 8th semifinals, with both finals set for November 9th.

In the singles contest, the Purple Group includes No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 4 Jasmine Paolini, No. 5 Elena Rybakina, and No. 7 Qinwen Zheng, while the Orange Group lists No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, and No. 8 Barbora Krejčíková.

In both competitions, 25% of the top eight athletes represent the USA. Along with Gauff and Pegula on the singles court, the doubles tournament includes No. 5 US duo Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk as well as Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Taylor Townsend in the Nos. 6 and 8 pairs, respectively.

Will Sabalenka play Świątek at the WTA Finals?

A showdown between Sabalenka and 2023 WTA Finals champion Świątek could be the event's blockbuster match. The top-ranked players have yet to square off in a major tournament in 2024 — a year rife with highs and lows for both athletes.

Sabalenka started the WTA season by winning her second Australian Open, then later struggled through a shoulder injury that forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon. She capped the Grand Slam season in style, though, winning her first US Open in September.

As for five-time Grand Slam victor Świątek, 2024 brought the Polish phenom her fourth French Open title. A rockier second half to the season — including a third round and quarterfinal ousting from Wimbledon and the US Open, and a fall from the No. 1 ranking for the first time since November 2023 — motivated Świątek to seek a new coach.

How to watch the 2024 WTA Finals tennis tournament

The 2024 WTA Finals kicks off on Saturday, when US Open winner Sabalenka plays 2024 Olympic gold medalist Zheng at 11 AM ET.

Later, 2023 US Open champ Gauff will take on 2024 US Open runner-up Pegula at 8:45 AM ET on Sunday.

All 2024 WTA Finals matches will be broadcast live on the Tennis Channel.

In today’s episode of the Late Sub, host Claire Watkins wraps up the USWNT's October window with a look at the team’s 3-0 win over Argentina, from how rotation became the US’s strength to center back Naomi Girma's unparalleled ability to do it all.

Then, Watkins refocuses on the NWSL, where six of the league's 14 clubs will complete their 2024 seasons this weekend. First, however, the league will determine the eight playoff teams, pulling from a postseason race that could come down to Sunday's final regular-season match.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.

The NWSL's final weekend is all drama, complete with heated clashes that will determine the last two postseason berths and nearly all seeding for the 2024 NWSL playoffs.

While Shield-winners Orlando are secure at the top, the Pride will be desperate for a Saturday win over Seattle as they try and replace their two straight losses with some postseason momentum.

At the same time, Washington, Gotham, and Kansas City will all be jockeying for the No. 2 seed this weekend. While the Spirit and Current must contend with playoff-bound North Carolina and Chicago, respectively, Gotham's Friday matchup against a surging Utah looks surprisingly competitive.

Three NWSL teams battle over two playoff tickets

Seeding race aside, the final matchday's main event is an NWSL version of musical chairs in which three clubs — Portland, Bay FC, and Racing Louisville — will duke it out for the league's final two playoff spots.

The seventh-place Thorns and eighth-place Bay FC currently sit three points ahead of ninth-place Louisville, allowing both to clinch berths with either a win or a draw. If Portland and Bay walk with at least one point each, the postseason lineup will be settled before Sunday.

Should one or both teams lose, it'll all come down to Sunday's regular-season finale, where a win over San Diego plus a tie-breaking goal differential could send Louisville through to the quarterfinals.

The high-stakes elimination games

With the most on the line, Portland will shoot to extend their season — and goalscoring legend Christine Sinclair's career — against an already-eliminated Angel City side with nothing to lose on Friday. Perhaps most concerning is the fact that the up-and-down Thorns have lost three of their last four matches, while ACFC has only dropped one in the same stretch.

Bay FC arguably received a season finale gift in a Saturday visit to the Houston Dash, who finish the year at the bottom of the NWSL table. That said, one of the Dash's five wins this season came in a 3-2 Bay defeat at the end of March. Plus, with the worst goal differential of the three teams still in postseason contention, Bay will want to clinch with a Saturday result rather than gamble on potential tiebreakers.

As mentioned, a Portland or Bay loss sets up Sunday's final tilt as the weekend's biggest match, where Louisville will need to do better than their scoreless April draw with San Diego to usurp one of the West Coast squads's playoff spots.

How to watch this weekend's NWSL playoff elimination matches

Portland and ACFC will kick off the NWSL's make-or-break action on Friday at 10 PM ET on Prime before Houston hosts Bay on Saturday at 9:30 PM ET, airing on ION.

Should chaos rule the weekend, Louisville's match against San Diego will cap both the 2024 NWSL regular season and the playoff picture on Sunday at 5:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN.

Welcome back to Fast Friends with Kelley O'Hara and Lisa Leslie!

On today's special Halloween episode, our hosts show up to set dressed as the fastest of friends: race care drivers.

O'Hara and Leslie then dive into the USWNT's October friendlies, discussing the young talent on display as well as the way the team holds consistent focus even when falling behind on the score sheet.

"I think [that's] a testament to Emma's influence already on this team," O'Hara says, praising head coach Emma Hayes's ability to keep her players from getting rattled. "I get the sense that she has already [said], 'Shit's gonna happen. We stick to the game plan, we stick to what we're good at, and the goals will come.'"

"Soccer's about riding the wave, its ebbs and flows," O'Hara adds. "Sometimes you gotta weather the storm, but if you are confident and all on the same game plan, you're gonna be able to execute."

Then, the duo pivot to discuss all things WNBA. Leslie looks into the reasons why the WNBPA is opting out of their CBA from both the players' and league's perspective, before digging into a recent flood of head coach exits that have left seven of the league's 12 current teams without a leader.

Coming off the success of JWS's Olympic commentary show The Gold Standard, Fast Friends features two legendary athletes serving up insider insights and unique takes on the biggest stories in women's sports every week.

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