Christen Press is coming home.

Angel City FC acquired Press’ rights in a trade with Racing Louisville FC on Monday, making her the first player to sign with the NWSL expansion club. In exchange for Press, Racing Louisville received Angel City’s first-round pick in 2022, $75,000 in allocation money and full roster protection from the club in the expansion draft in December.

Racing Louisville had originally acquired Press’ rights from the now-defunct Utah Royals FC during the 2020 expansion draft. Press signed with Manchester United for the 2020-21 season and never played a game with Racing Louisville. More recently, she won a bronze medal with the United States women’s national team in at the Tokyo Olympics and has set herself apart on the front line.

“The dream of being a pro player in L.A. was always elusive for me,” Press told the Los Angeles Times. “Every team that I’ve played for has always been like, ‘You know, when L.A. gets a team, we promise we’ll send you there.’ And it always felt everyone’s been able to say that because no one knew when it was happening.

“For it to really be happening, to be able to bring professional soccer back to Los Angeles and to be a part of that team, is nothing but a dream come true. A dream that didn’t even feel possible for the majority of my career.”

It’s really, really, really happening 🥺

We’re beyond excited to have you back home, @ChristenPress! pic.twitter.com/2wrAfdlSQl

— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) August 23, 2021

Press, who hasn’t lived in Southern California for 14 years, added that she would love to finish her career in front of her family and friends in Los Angeles.

“My family and friends, they have followed me all over the world,” she said. “So to be able to come and play in front of them week in and week out … just to see them in the stands and know that I’ve come home, for me full circle.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, Press’ contract is for two seasons with a third-year option. If exercised, her payout could rise to $550,000, making her one of the highest-paid players in league history.

The move doesn’t come as a total surprise after reports surfaced earlier this summer that Press and Tobin Heath had no intention of playing with Racing Louisville and negotiations with Angel City FC for Press’ rights had begun. Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly also expressed frustration with Press and Heath in July, saying he preferred to focus on the players who “actually picked up the phone and talked to us.”

Press has 46 goals and 10 assists across seven seasons in the NWSL. Her L.A. roots and high profile with the USWNT should help Angel City FC establish itself in an already crowded sports market.

“I wouldn’t be doing my job very well if I didn’t consider all of those factors,” Angel City sporting director Eniola Aluko said. “Signing somebody like Christen, who is from L.A., understands the community, understands all of the things that we’re trying to achieve with Angel City in terms of equality and pay equity … that’s what makes it such an incredible signing.

“It’s a multi-dimensional signing.”

Earlier on Monday, the club announced that it has hired Gotham FC coach Freya Coombe as its first head coach. Coombe will assume her role at the conclusion of the 2021 NWSL season.

Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson had herself a weekend, adding 2025 All-WNBA First Team honors to her stacked resume mere hours before winning her third league title on Friday.

Joining the Las Vegas Aces star was fellow unanimous First Team selectee Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), as the pair logged their fourth and third straight years, respectively, on the list.

Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell also earned spots on the elite roster.

Headlining the 2025 Second Team is Seattle Storm forward and eight-time All-WNBA selectee Nneka Ogwumike alongside Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and a trio of standout guards: the Aces' Jackie Young, the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu, and the Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers.

The 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year isn't the only All-WNBA debutant, with Gray, Mitchell, and Boston joining Bueckers in earning their first-ever league-wide nods.

All WNBA athletes, regardless of their position, are eligible for All-WNBA selection, and voting media members determine the honorary squads.

Players earn five points for each First Team vote and three for every Second Team tally, with the league's top five players via points snagging the First roster and the next five featuring as the Second squad.

Along with the All-WNBA titles, this year's honorees are also cashing in, with each member of the 2025 First Team snagging a $10,300 bonus while the Second Team players take home checks for $5,150 each.

Seattle Reign captain Lauren Barnes is calling it a career, as one of the last remaining original members of the NWSL announced plans to retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2025 season.

"From day one, Seattle has been home," the 13-year Reign alum said in Monday's club statement. "I've grown up here — as a player, a leader, and a person. I'm incredibly proud of what we've built and the culture we've created.... This chapter of my life has been a dream."

"Lu has been the heartbeat of this club since the very beginning," added Reign head coach Laura Harvey. "She has been the glue that has held us together through the ups and the downs. Everything about who we are, whether it's our standards, our values or our resilience, Lu has her fingerprints on it all."

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Barnes exits the pitch with more caps and minutes played than any other athlete in league history, with the standout defender also helping to anchor the Reign's backline to the tune of three NWSL Shields (2014, 2015, and 2022).

Those accolades, however, are the least of what makes Barnes exceptional, according to Seattle GM Lesle Gallimore.

"What makes Lu so rare isn't just her longevity or her records, it's her humanity," said Gallimore. "She's been a leader, a role model, and a constant source of strength for this club and the community. You simply don't see players spend their entire career in one city anymore, and that loyalty speaks volumes about who she is and what Seattle means to her."

The 36-year-old isn't the only league veteran hanging up her NWSL boots this year, with Kansas City Current forward Kristen Hamilton, Angel City defender Ali Riley, Orlando Pride midfielder Morgan Gautrat, and Barnes' Seattle teammate Veronica Latsko also set to retire.

World No. 3 Coco Gauff won her 11th career WTA title over the weekend, taking down fellow US star No. 5 Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to become the 2025 Wuhan Open champion on Sunday.

With the victory, Gauff also is the first US player to lift the Wuhan Open trophy since Venus Williams in 2015.

Gauff now holds a perfect 9-0 record in hardcourt tournament finals, lifting her first WTA 1000 trophy of 2025 and claiming her second title of the year alongside her French Open victory in June — all without needing a single third set throughout her five-match run in Wuhan.

"Winning every match in straight sets, I don't know if I've done that before on a title run," the 21-year-old said afterwards. "I just felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of the result today."

Despite the Sunday stumble, Pegula also saw significant success at the tournament, handing world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — who won the last three editions of the competition — her first-ever loss in Wuhan on Saturday.

Even more, Pegula clinched the three-set semifinal by snapping Sabalenka's dominant streak of winning 19 straight tiebreaks.

Overall, the weekend furthered a dominant 2025 WTA campaign for US tennis stars, with a US-based athlete featuring in every Grand Slam final this year.

US women also top the current WTA rankings, with Gauff and Pegula joined by No. 4 Amanda Anisimova and No. 7 Madison Keys in the sport's Top 10.

Additionally, those four contenders have all booked spots in the 2025 WTA Finals, guaranteeing that half of the eight-player field will hail from the States when the tennis season's finale kicks off next month.

The South Carolina Gamecocks are officially without their star Chloe Kitts, with the university announcing Monday that the forward will miss the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season after sustaining an ACL tear to her right knee.

"We hate this for Chloe, who has worked incredibly hard to become the best version of herself on the court this season," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a team statement.

"While this isn't how I hoped my senior season would go, I'm trusting God's timing and purpose," Kitts wrote in a social media post on Monday. "I'll continue to lead, support, and push my team from the sidelines. We have big things ahead!"

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A starter for the the Gamecocks since the 2023/24 NCAA season, Kitts helped South Carolina bring home a national championship in 2024.

Last season, the then-junior earned an All-America honorable mention for a season in which she averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game — both career highs.

Kitts was particularly potent in the 2025 postseason, snagging the MVP title at both the SEC tournament and in South Carolina's NCAA regional en route to a national runner-up finish for the Gamecocks.

Though South Carolina is now gearing up for the 2025/26 NCAA season without their leader in the paint, the Gamecocks are perhaps uniquely capable of overcoming a big-name loss like Kitts, with the team boasting a full 10-player rotation and one of the deepest collegiate benches in recent years.

"[Kitts's] teammates are capable of stepping up, and I know that her competitive fire and tenacity will be felt from the sidelines as she pours what she can into them to ensure our team's success," said Staley.