Chelsea forward Fran Kirby has been named the Football Writers’ Association Women’s Footballer of the Year for the second time in her career, making her the first person to win the award twice.

Kirby won the inaugural award back in 2018.

Since then, the forward has had quite the journey. In November 2019, Kirby was diagnosed with pericarditis, a condition that causes swelling around the heart and threatened her soccer career. After six months of recovery, she returned to action at the start of the 2020-21 season.

“For me at the beginning of the year, I had no expectations of how my year was going to go,” Kirby said in an interview with Sky Sports News. “I was so motivated to come back and to be able to come back in a good way for my teammates. I didn’t want to come back in and be someone that the team has to carry.

“It was difficult to have to start from scratch. I had no fitness level, I hadn’t kicked a football in six months, so I think for me that was the hardest part.”

As the season got underway, Kirby was the one carrying her team offensively. She scored 16 goals and contributed 11 assists en route to Chelsea’s second consecutive Women’s Super League title. She also scored six goals to lead Chelsea to their first-ever UEFA Women’s Champions League Final, including this goal against Bayern Munich in the semifinals.

Lightning pace from Kerr-by! ⚡️@SamKerr1 and @FranKirby v Bayern Munich in the #UWCL semi-final! 👏 pic.twitter.com/vRVmFYtXnf

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) May 13, 2021

Kirby and teammate Sam Kerr have been unstoppable all season, linking up for 52 goals scored, including the following against Reading.

Just Kerr-by being Kerr-by. 😎@FranKirby 🔗 @SamKerr1 pic.twitter.com/Z9X4JCZwsB

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) May 10, 2021

Kirby was chosen unanimously for the award by a panel of 30 women’s football experts.

“To have overcome a serious health condition and return in such sparkling form is admirable and inspiring,” Jen O’Neill, chair of the FWA’s women’s sub-committee, said in a statement. “Several players, including many of her Chelsea teammates, have been outstanding in a superb WSL season but there are fewer more joyful sights in football than a smiling, fit and firing Kirby.”

The 2025 LPGA Tour is teeing off across the pond, as the 144-strong player field hits the Dundonald Links for the Scottish Open on Thursday.

Co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour (LET) since 2017, this year's Scottish Open will see top LPGA and LET golfers gear up for next week's AIG Women's Open — the final Grand Slam tournament of the season.

Currently sitting in an 11-way tie for seventh place, world No. 1 Nelly Korda is leading the US contingent alongside No. 139 Jenny Bae, as Korda continues to hunt a first tournament win in 2025.

Sitting one stroke ahead in a five-way tie for second place is former top-ranked amateur Lottie Woad, with the No. 62 rookie making her highly anticipated professional debut in Thursday's opening round after excelling at the 2025 Evian Championship.

"I will definitely take it, there was some good and some bad, but overall it was pretty fair," said Woad after her Thursday performance.

The 21-year-old England star will likely see her first-ever winnings when the Scottish Open wraps, as the new LPGA Tour member is now eligible to collect on the tournament's $2 million purse.

While Woad came out swinging with a five-under-par first round, it was fellow Englishwoman and world No. 1184 Charlotte Laffar who began with the biggest bang.

The 32-year-old LET pro — returning to the circuit this season after four and a half years away from the sport to start her family — skyrocketed to an outright first-place Thursday finish behind a six-under performance.

With three rounds still to play, the early leaders will face fierce competition from contenders like defending 2024 Scottish Open champion No. 14 Lauren Coughlin and 2025 Ford Championship winner No. 10 Hyo Joo Kim, both of whom sit tied for 17th place after Thursday's first round.

How to watch the 2025 Scottish Open

The 2025 Scottish Open runs through Sunday, with live coverage on the Golf Channel.

US tennis icon Venus Williams has turned back the clock, scoring her first singles win in almost two years at the 2025 DC Open hardcourt tournament this week.

With her straight-set Tuesday victory over fellow US pro and world No. 35 Peyton Stearns, the 45-year-old Williams became the oldest player to win a WTA singles match since then-47-year-old Martina Navratilova did so at Wimbledon in 2004.

"I'm here with my friends, family, people I love, and the fans, too, who I love and they love me, so this has been just a beautiful night," the seven-time Grand Slam winner said after the match.

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Williams's DC Open run also saw her snag an opening two-set doubles victory alongside fellow US partner Hailey Baptiste on Monday, though the pair fell in a three-set battle to the No. 2-seed duo of US star Taylor Townsend and China's Zhang Shuai on Wednesday.

Next on the tennis legend's DC Open docket is a Round of 16 clash with No. 5 seed and world No. 24 Polish contender Magdalena Fręch, as Williams takes her comeback push one match at a time.

"It doesn't matter how many times you fall down. Doesn't matter how many times you get sick or get hurt or whatever it is," she said. "If you continue to believe and put in the work, there is an opportunity, there is space for you."

How to watch Venus Williams at the 2025 DC Open

Williams will hit the court against Fręch at 7:30 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on the Tennis Channel.

The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced an official policy change this week, issuing a ban on transgender athletes from competing for Team USA in the women's categories at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The new policy cites President Trump's recent anti-trans athlete Executive Order 14201 alongside 1998's Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act.

"As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations," USOPC president Gene Sykes and CEO Sarah Hirshland said in an internal memo on Wednesday.

The USOPC oversees some 50 national governing bodies across sports, including at the youth and masters levels, as well as Team USA's participation in all official Olympic and Paralympic competitions.

The new ban effectively overrides any and all guidelines previously set by various sport governing bodies in the US, and joins the growing number of prohibitive policies affecting primarily transgender women athletes worldwide.

The revised segment — part of the larger USOPC Athlete Safety Policy — does not explicitly use the word "transgender," nor does it explain the ban's function, scope, or application to men's sports.

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Notably, only one openly trans athlete has ever competed for the US at the Olympic Games: Nonbinary runner Nikki Hiltz, who was assigned female at birth, participated in 1500-meter track event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"By giving into the political demands, the USOPC is sacrificing the needs and safety of its own athletes," National Women's Law Center president and CEO Fatima Goss Graves said in a statement condemning the policy change.

"This rule change is not in response to new research or new guidelines from medical experts in sports," posted advocacy nonprofit Athlete Ally. "Instead, it is the result of mounting political pressure and government hostility toward one of the smallest minorities in society, let alone sports."

World No. 2 Spain clinched their first-ever UEFA Women's Euro final berth on Wednesday, when the 2023 World Cup champions handed eight-time title-winners No. 3 Germany a narrow 1-0 extra-time defeat in their 2025 semifinal.

"I'm proud because we deserve it," winning goal-scorer Aitana Bonmatí told reporters afterwards. "We had a tremendous championship. It was the first time we beat Germany, and on top of that, we reached the final."

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Entering the match with a 5-0-3 (W/L/D) all-time record against La Roja, Germany arrived shorthanded, as both injuries and suspensions forced them to start every available defender.

The squad's famed football mentality prevailed for more than 110 minutes in a 0-0 deadlock, with Spain struggling to break down a committed German defense led by reigning NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Ann-Katrin Berger.

As the clock ticked down in extra time, however, an audacious 113th-minute strike from Bonmatí caught the Gotham FC keeper off-guard, earning La Roja both a first historic win over the Germans as well as a shot at their second major tournament trophy in three years.

The once-improbable 2023 World Cup final rematch is now a reality, as familiar foes Spain and No. 5 England gear up for another championship battle.

"I know what they can do," said Spain and Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey of the defending Euro champs. "It will be a hard game."

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How to watch the 2025 Euro final

No. 2 Spain will next look to unseat 2022 champion No. 5 England when the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 final kicks off at 12 PM ET on Sunday.

The 2025 Euro grand finale will air live on Fox.