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Alexis Jones Talks Adidas, Boxing, and Fighting Through Injury Amidst COVID-19

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Alexis Jones plays guard for the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. Below, she spoke with Just Women’s Sports about her relationship with Adidas, her favorite cross-training workouts, and how she’s managing to rehab her knee while also training under quarantine. You can find an earlier interview with Alexis Jones about her draft day experience and her time with the Minnesota Lynx here.

Adidas has made a big push to invest in women’s sports. Can you talk about your experience with the brand and how they’ve supported you through your injuries?

Adidas has been super great to me, with anything I need. They’re always there for me and right now we have the #hometeam going on, where we got together all our Adidas athletes, and we’re just trying to show our fans and our community our activity while staying inside. We want to show them we’re still working out. And we’re just trying to get that positive energy to everybody who has to stay in the house right now. We’re trying to give the love back to our fans and show them that we’re here, and we’re going to support them in any cause, in any way.

What have you been doing while you’ve been quarantined?

I’ve been working out, keeping with the same routine I’ve had for the last three months. I made a hashtag video for Adidas where I showed them my boxing workouts I do. I’ve been really harping on these boxing workouts I’ve been doing lately.

I saw that. They’re gnarly. They’re really good workouts, too. I feel like people don’t realize that.

Yeah, I be going hard with the boxing workouts. Man, you can go in there for 30 minutes and be dead tired and feel like you’ve been working out for two hours. It’s crazy. And I feel like it’s the combo of cardio, and because you’re hitting, it feels almost like an upper body workout, too. And it’s mental, too. If you’re going for 30 minutes, you can’t just pause. You have to mentally train your body and train your mind to keep doing something that you don’t want to do for a long period of time, and it helps you with your breathing, your stamina and just finishing through anything. You can’t just quit during that moment when it’s hard. You just keep finishing and keep attacking.

I love that. That’s awesome. Do you do a lot of cross training?

Only boxing right now, but I wouldn’t put it past me. The further I get in my career, I’m going to start doing other stuff. I do a little swimming, too. That’s so hard. I don’t know how swimmers do it. I had to learn, and at first I was like, we can just regularly swim, but somebody taught me how to swim swim, and I was like, yeah, I can’t breathe like that. I’m hyperventilating, feeling like I’m about to drown. But if I can get that part down, I think that’s something I might try to really get into.

How have you mentally been handling some of the collective stress of this moment combined with your own training and rehab? 

It sucks that this is all happening, what we’re all going through… I’m trying to have a professional mindset. I found a lot of people that support me, and I’m super proud of how I’ve been handling rehab these last three months. I want to be a professional. And I think me being back home, and starting to build my foundation and find people who I want to be around me, will all help my game grow.

I want to get out there and let people know that I am out here and trying to work. I’m not trying to show-off or nothing like that. But I really do love the game, and this injury has been super impactful to me. But I’m feeling good. I like my process.

You’ve had to recover from multiple serious injuries in your career. How have you been able to overcome those and still compete at a high level?

Man, it’s crazy because I’m still overcoming them. When I went down in college, I was already physically hurt from my other right knee. Nobody knew, but I was trying to play through it as much as possible, and it just didn’t work out for me. My ACL has thankfully been fine ever since it’s been fixed. It’s just my right knee has been a little bit rocky ever since I tried to come back.

I think I rehab hard. And in every rehab, I try to take the baby steps, even if that means taking the year off to get everything right. And since coming into the league, I’ve learned a lot more about my body. I know how to train my body now. I know how it works. I know all the flexibilities I need to keep my joints and stuff moving and things like that. Those are things that I didn’t really grasp when I was in college. But I’m glad I’m 25 and I found out now before it was too late, because I know if I can just maintain my body and do the things that I do, I can last so much longer in this league.

Before signing Dream, you were waived by LA at the end of last season. How was that? That’s got to be emotional. 

No.

No? 

No. I got waived, and it is hard to get waived, because that was my one thing, to never get waived, and I got waived. But I had an opportunity to go to Atlanta. They believed in me, even coming back from this injury. And for them to trust me to be ready and be prepared to come and play — at this point, I’m just happy for the opportunity and praying for the best.

Regardless of when it’s played, what are your goals for next season?

I think my goal for the season is just to go in there, play hard, and to just try to have a good season and to try to just build the team and try to be a real team player in the midst of all that. And just try to get the feel of the game and keep learning in that area until I reach the level where I need to be.

PWHL Announces Vancouver Expansion Franchise Ahead of 2025/26 Season

New York's Jade Downie-Landry and Ottawa's Shiann Darkangelo face-off during a 2025 PWHL game.
The seventh PWHL team will be in Vancouver. (Troy Parla/Getty Images)

The PWHL is officially expanding, with the second-year pro women's hockey league awarding Vancouver its seventh franchise on Wednesday.

The league's first-ever expansion squad faces a short run-up, joining the current six-team roster when the puck drops on the 2025/26 PWHL season.

"To be able to grow this fast is just a testament to the great sport, our great athletes, and how people feel about the work that we’re doing and what our players are putting out on the ice," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer.

Vancouver fanbase bolstered city's PWHL bid

Commenting on the eight-month expansion evaluation process, Scheer called Vancouver's bid "unbelievably robust," and noted that the city's "engaged, vibrant, fun" fanbase and its "remarkable commitment to growing the game of hockey" helped earn the Canadian community a team.

That commitment was on display at the PWHL's recent 2025 Takeover Tour, which drew major crowds as the league tested expansion prospects in non-market cities across North America.

Vancouver stood out, notching the the fourth-largest crowd in PWHL history when 19,038 fans showed up on January 8th — and claiming the highest social media engagement across all nine Tour stops.

That fan enthusiasm helped push Vancouver across the PWHL's expansion line, with the new team already making league history.

Besides marking the league's first-ever footprint on the the West Coast, Vancouver will become the first PWHL team to serve as the primary tenant in its home venue at the Pacific Coliseum.

The 17,713-seat arena and its adjacent PNE Agrodome — PWHL Vancouver's main training facility — will undergo extensive upgrades for the incoming franchise.

"The expansion brings greater visibility to the West Coast, expands out geographic footprint, and, most importantly, grows the game," said PWHL EVP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford.

A young fan holds up a sign reading "Just finished my 1st hockey season, PWHL here I come!" at a PWHL 2025 Takeover Tour game in Detroit.
PWHL execs said expansion adds roster spots for current and future league stars. (Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

League eyes next steps for expansion team

While the PWHL still has over 20 proposals from markets requesting a team — and rumors swirling that Seattle could join Vancouver as a 2025/26 season expansion contingent — the league is currently making more concrete plans for its official seventh squad.

"With this team comes more opportunities for the best women's hockey players in the world to continue competing in one league," remarked Hefford. "The talent pool has never been deeper, and with a strong 2025 draft class ahead, we're pleased that even more women are going to be able to play at the professional level."

Details for an upcoming expansion draft to begin stocking Vancouver's roster will be announced shortly, and the team will also take part in the 2025 PWHL Draft on June 24th.

"The PWHL is setting a new standard for women's hockey. The game has never been faster, more physical, or more skilled," Hefford added. "We're so excited for this city to experience the parity and the competitiveness that our league has every single game."

Bay FC to Host Washington at SF Giants Ballpark, Eye NWSL Attendance Record

A wide view of San Francisco's Oracle Park set up for a 2022 soccer match.
Oracle Park’s 40,000-seat capacity could set a new NWSL attendance record. (Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The NWSL is heading back to the ballparkwith 2024 expansion side Bay FC announcing Tuesday that the club will take on the Washington Spirit inside Oracle Park, the home of MLB's San Francisco Giants.

Shifting the August 23rd match to the baseball diamond isn't just a spectacle — the move builds on Bay FC's continuous ambitions to claim the top NWSL attendance record by filling the Bay Area ballpark's 40,260 seats.

Though the 25-year-old Oracle Park has previously hosted men's contests, August's NWSL match will be the first professional women's soccer game in the venue's history.

Similarly, while this will be the first NWSL competition in San Francisco's baseball venue, it's not the first league match in an MLB stadium.

Last summer, the Chicago Stars hosted Bay FC at Wrigley Field, packing an NWSL-record 35,038 soccer fans into the MLB home of the Chicago Cubs.

That June 8th, 2024, attendance surpassed the previous league-record crowd of 34,130 that attended USWNT icon Megan Rapinoe's final Seattle home game in 2023.

How to attend Bay FC vs. Washington at Oracle Park

To be a part of the potentially record-breaking August 23rd crowd, tickets will be available for general purchase beginning at 12 PM ET on May 6th.

Fans interested in securing pre-sale tickets can add their names to the online list.

Portland Rookies Top Gotham in Midweek NWSL Action

Portland forward Deyna Castellanos celebrates scoring a goal with her teammates in a 2025 NWSL win over Gotham.
Three Portland Thorns rookies scored their first NWSL goals on Tuesday. (Soobum Im/NWSL via Getty Images)

In Tuesday night's NWSL action, Portland upset a rising Gotham side 4-1 behind three debut goals from the Thorns' promising rookie class.

The rare midweek match came courtesy of next month's Concacaf W Champions Cup. Both Gotham and Portland advanced to the international club event's semifinals last October, forcing them to pull double-duty and add this week's extra regular-season NWSL game to accommodate the tournament's schedule.

The tight turnaround certainly didn't rattle the Thorns.

Portland newcomers Marie-Yasmine "Mimi" Alidou, Caiya Hanks, and Jayden Perry all earned their first NWSL goals in the match, before offseason signee Deyna Castellanos reinforced the victory with an 80th-minute chip.

As for Gotham, 32-year-old star forward Esther provided a bright spot for the NJ/NY squad, notching her fifth goal of the young season to boost herself to the top of the league's early Golden Boot race.

Despite the loss, Friday's strong outing against Angel City has Gotham still holding steady at No. 4 in the standings. However, both No. 5 Portland and No. 6 ACFC are close on the Bats' heels, with all three teams currently tied at eight points apiece.

"What I told the team is that we lost the battle tonight, but this is a long war," said Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros following the match. "We're there together on this."

How to watch Gotham, Portland this weekend

Gotham will take the pitch once again on Saturday, when they'll face East Coast rivals Washington at 1 PM ET. Live coverage will air on CBS.

Meanwhile, Portland will close out the NWSL's sixth matchday by hosting Racing Louisville at 4 PM ET on Sunday, streaming live on Paramount+.

TST Drops Expanded Women’s 7v7 Tournament Bracket

USWNT jerseys for Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger hand in lockers before their 2019 World Cup quarterfinal.
Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger will feature for the US Women’s 2025 TST 7v7 team. (Catherine Ivill - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

The Soccer Tournament (TST) presented by RBC Wealth Management revealed its 2025 women's bracket on Tuesday, with 16 7v7 teams gearing up to compete for the $1 million winner-take-all grand prize this June.

The US Women's Team is back to defend their 2024 title, fueled by World Cup-winning USWNT vets Heather O'Reilly, Carli Lloyd, and Ali Krieger, plus retired Scotland national and Bay FC defender Jen Beattie.

Additional teams participating in the competition include 7v7 offshoots of NWSL clubs Angel City, KC Current, and 2024 runners-up NC Courage, as well as former USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo's Solo FC.

Returning to Cary, North Carolina, for its third year, TST doubled the size of its women's bracket after a successful eight-team debut in 2024.

"Our inaugural women's championship game viewership performed exceptionally well, as we grew our audience 452% from the beginning of the game until the moment the game-winning goal was scored," TST founder and CEO Jon Mugar told The Athletic.

"TST soccer is electrifying," Mugar added. "Our goal is to become the preeminent soccer festival in the world. Judging by the number of returning fans and teams, we are well on our way."

How to attend, watch the 2025 TST 7v7 contest

TST's 7v7 women's competition kicks off on June 5th and runs through the $1 million championship game on June 9th.

Tickets to attend are currently available online.

All matches will air live on either YouTube or ESPN platforms.

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