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Golfer Morgan Pressel discusses life atop her sport

Golf player thinking about their next move/ JWS
Golf player thinking about their next move/ JWS

Morgan Pressel is a professional golf player. At age 18, she became the youngest-ever winner of a LPGA major championship when she won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship (now known as the ANA Inspiration). Earlier in her career, she became the youngest player to ever qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open as a 12-year-old. She has five professional wins and a career-high ranking of fourth in the world. 

Pressel spoke to Just Women’s Sports about her partnership with Wasserman and Orreco, which seeks to provide information on the impact of menstrual cycles on athletic performance. 

(To read an overview of the partnership, click here.) 

I’m sure you first heard about the Orreco partnership from your agent, but I wanted to hear from your perspective how that came about and what was your initial reaction when you heard about it?

For a lot of women, and a lot of female athletes in general, the question of “how can I improve performance by better managing my menstrual cycle” is not something that they think about often. Those words never came out of my mouth before. I was like, Wow! That makes a lot of sense. Why have I never thought of that? I think that women just kind of go about it. They deal with it. It’s a very personal thing in that respect, and not something that’s talked about.

For me personally, I didn’t have any massive debilitating symptoms, but I would know that every month my back would get quite tight and get hard to turn. That’s hard. My timing would go off. I never thought that there would be things that I could actually physically do to help minimize those symptoms and improve my performance. I was very uneducated on it. I think so many women, especially female athletes, are uneducated on what they can do about it.

What is the biggest insight that you’ve learned so far while partnering with Orreco?

The whole idea was so surprising, but it shouldn’t be surprising. It should make 100% sense, but people don’t think about it. It’s understanding exactly what happens in your body through the hormonal changes of your menstrual cycle. And then from there, to be able to understand: Why do we have PMS? What causes that? How do we do our best to mitigate that? For me, a lot of it is eating anti-inflammatory foods. That’s been a really big help for me. I think what’s really great about what Orreco has put together with this FitrWoman app is that it’s all free. Yes, I have worked personally with them to develop a program specifically for me, and it’s still a work in progress every month. But they want to give all women access to this information, which has not been talked about very much before.

Do you think that having more of these conversations would help make discussion about the menstrual cycle’s effect on athletic performance more mainstream? 

Obviously everybody’s different on what they want to talk about, what they want to share, and what they consider to be very personal information. There are parts of the child-bearing process that we like to talk about and some that we don’t. I think the more education that’s out there and the more people are aware of that, especially from the female athletes’ side, the more that can be done to improve your performance around your cycle.

I think it’s going to take time to really get the education out there, because it needs to not be taboo to talk about.

You mentioned eating anti-inflammatory foods around your cycle to help with recovery. Is there anything else in addition to that that you’ve been doing or something that you’ve changed that has directly impacted not only your training, but your recovery as well?

Before I listened to my body, I kind of pushed it away and just kind of pushed through it. But I would say to people—listen to your body more, and take the time when you need it. Make adjustments, because nothing is set in stone. In my career, I’m always traveling to different places, and there’s nothing that is black and white or exactly the same every time. It’s constantly changing and adapting. I have to continually tweak little bits of my preparation.

What does the rest of the year look like for you? In terms of upcoming tournaments and training?

We have about three or four tournaments left for the rest of the year. There will be an off season that’s shorter than usual. Hopefully, next year at some point there will be a little bit more of a return to normalcy. We’re in full training practice mode now. When it comes to the off season, I’ll probably take a little bit of time off especially around the holidays, and then get back to work.

Is there anything else that you wanted to discuss about the Orreco partnership that I didn’t mention?

I think education about it is so important and helpful. It’s really helpful to those who want to be the best, and that’s the majority of female athletes out there. When you’re at the top level, every little bit makes a difference.

Top Tennis Stars Crash Out of Wimbledon in the First Round

US tennis star Coco Gauff reacts to her 2025 Wimbledon first-round loss to Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska.
World No. 2 Coco Gauff fell to Ukraine's unseeded Dayana Yastremska in the first round of 2025 Wimbledon on Tuesday. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)

The grass court chaos of Wimbledon didn't disappoint this week, as the unpredictable surface claimed more than one surprise victim in the 2025 Grand Slam's first round.

A full 10 of the London tournament's 32 seeded players fell in the competition's first round, including four of the WTA's Top 10: World No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Qinwen Zheng, and No. 9 Paula Badosa.

"I should just play no tournaments, get no wins, then roll into Wimbledon, and maybe I'll have better results," US star Pegula joked after her two-set Tuesday loss to Italy's No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto, referencing her recent wins.

Gauff's short Wimbledon outing also represented a new challenge for the 21-year-old standout, as the top-ranked US tennis player struggled to bounce back after winning the 2025 French Open last month.

"I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards," Gauff told ESPN. "So I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it."

The upsets continued as Wimbledon entered its second round on Wednesday morning, claiming several more seeded players like world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini and No. 15 Diana Shnaider, though both No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded fan favorite Naomi Osaka cruised into the Slam's third round on two-set wins.

No. 8 Madison Keys now leads the US contingent, with fellow US contender No. 12 Amanda Anisimova joining the 2025 Australian Open champion in snagging their own two-set, second-round victories on Wednesday.

How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon Championships

Second-round play at the 2025 Wimbledon women's singles tournament continues on Thursday, as seven US players — including No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 28 Sofia Kenin — look to advance to the competition's third round.

Live continuous coverage of the London Grand Slam airs on ESPN.

USWNT Faces Rivals Canada in Final Summer Friendly

USWNT players Alyssa Thompson and Sam Meza eye the ball during a June 2025 training camp.
The USWNT will face Canada in their final summer friendly on Wednesday. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT will close out their summer international break against a familiar foe on Wednesday night, facing North American rival No. 8 Canada for the first time this year.

"It's never friendly, you know? It's always like a final," US midfielder Sam Coffey told media earlier this week. "We all know each other super well."

"I'm really excited to be a part of it again for our younger, newer players," she continued. "I think it's going to be a huge learning opportunity on what representing this crest means."

The Northern neighbors are the USWNT's most frequent opponent, with the US entering the pair's 67th meeting with a 53-4-9 all-time record against Canada.

Wednesday's matchup will also mark Canada's first US clash under new head coach Casey Stoney, who joined the team in January following her abrupt June 2024 dismissal by the NWSL's San Diego Wave FC.

As for US boss Emma Hayes, she'll be looking for yet another refreshed set of starters on Wednesday after swapping out all 11 players between the team's two friendlies against Ireland last week.

"It's a testament to players and staff alike that we can rotate to different groups like we did last game, and everybody's understanding [the tactics] to varying degrees," Hayes said on Tuesday.

With months to go before the next USWNT camp in October, Wednesday's showdown serves as the last chance for bubble players to prove their worth, all while the team aims to cap the summer window with a big win over their longtime rivals.

How to watch the USWNT vs. Canada on Wednesday

The USWNT will cap their three-friendly summer break against Canada at 7:30 PM ET in Washington, DC.

Live coverage of the clash will air on TNT.

Indiana Upsets Minnesota, Wins WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Without Clark

The Indiana Fever celebrate and lift the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup trophy.
The Indiana Fever upset the Minnesota Lynx to win the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup. (David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Indiana Fever lifted their first trophy since 2012 on Tuesday night, winning the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup with a 74-59 upset victory over reigning Cup champs Minnesota — all while injured star guard Caitlin Clark watched from the sidelines.

To snag the win, Indiana leaned on balanced scoring, with forward Natasha Howard's 16-point, 12-rebound double-double leading the Fever's five double-digit shooters.

At the same time, the Fever employed a shutdown defense, limiting the Lynx to their lowest point total of the season.

Beyond the $500,000 payout, Tuesday's win gives the 8-8 Fever a momentum boost as the team continues contending with both high-profile departures and the limited availability of their floor general.

"We have a resilient group, you know?" Indiana head coach Stephanie White said after the game. "They're tough, mentally and physically, they pull for one another. I'm just really proud."

"It felt good to get a win under gut-check circumstances," echoed guard Kelsey Mitchell. "To have so much going on and still stay consistently for each other, it was beautiful. It felt really amazing."

As for the league-leading Lynx, the Commissioner's Cup loss won't impact Minnesota's regular-season WNBA standings — and they’ll hope to build on the learnings from last night's ego blow.

Minnesota also has a bit of history one their side, as the last two Commissioner's Cup runners-up went on to win the WNBA Championship in the same year.

"We have to take this game to heart and learn from the mistakes we made, the way we showed up, the way we prepared, and make sure we don't do it again," said Lynx center Alanna Smith.

How to watch the Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx this week

Neither 2025 Commissioner's Cup contender will have much time to reflect on Tuesday's game, as both Indiana and Minnesota will dive back into regular-season WNBA play on Thursday.

The Fever will host the Las Vegas Aces at 7 PM ET, airing on Prime, before the Washington Mystics visit the Lynx at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

Indiana Fever Guard Sophie Cunningham Sounds Off on WNBA Expansion

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham speaks to reporters before the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup final.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham expressed concern about the new WNBA expansion cities. (David Dow /NBAE via Getty Images)

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham turned heads on Tuesday, criticizing the latest WNBA expansion plans in light of ongoing WNBPA CBA negotiations.

Cunningham drew ire from some fans after expressing skepticism about the WNBA awarding expansion teams to Detroit and Cleveland over other possible cities, while also suggesting that the league might be growing too quickly.

"You want to listen to your players, too. Where do they want to play?" she told reporters ahead of Indiana's Commissioner's Cup win. "I'm not so sure what the thought process is there, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you're not expanding our league too fast."

"It's kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don't know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]."

Elsewhere, Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally also voiced her expansion concerns on Tuesday, calling on the WNBA to keep player support at the forefront when adding expansion teams.

"We really have to put an emphasis on the players that are in our league right now," she told reporters. "Maybe focus on the teams that find excuses continuously to lack investment in their players before we focus on adding more to the grain of people that can't really be sustained."

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