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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.

WSL and WSL2 Clubs Vote in Favor of English League Expansion

Chelsea FC attacker Aggie Beever-Jones celebrates a goal during a 2025 WSL match.
Despite previous proposals, the expanding WSL will not forgo relegation. (Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

The Women's Super League (WSL) is growing, with the UK league's top two flights deciding in a Monday expansion vote to enlarge its top tier from 12 to 14 teams ahead of the 2026/27 season.

The number of matches played each season will also balloon from 22 to 26 games to accommodate the incoming clubs, as will established cup competitions.

Monday also saw the WSL vote down a prior proposal to temporarily suspend the relegation and promotion process to accommodate this expansion, deciding instead to adopt a "two up, one down" model for the second-tier WSL2 next season.

As such, the top two finishers of the 2025/26 WSL2 season will automatically join the higher-tier WSL, while the WSL's last-place team will battle the WSL2's third-place club in "a high-profile, high stakes match" for the final spot in the top flight.

After reaching 14 teams, both leagues will return to relegating the last-place WSL finisher while promoting the WSL2's top team for the following season.

Along with the increased investment in club infrastructure, a 14-team WSL keeps pace with the global women's game — most notably, the NWSL, which will become a 16-team league in 2026.

"Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women's game pyramid, and we believe this next evolution of women's professional football will raise minimum standards, create distinction, and incentivize investment across the board," said WSL Football CEO Nikki Doucet.

WNBA Teams Offset Injuries, EuroBasket Departures with Short-Term Contracts

Golden State Valkyries rookie Kaitlyn Chen dribbles the ball up the court during a 2025 WNBA preseason game.
2025 WNBA draftee Kaitlyn Chen returned to the Golden State Valkyries to offset EuroBasket roster departures. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

With EuroBasket set to tip off on Wednesday and injuries mounting league-wide, WNBA teams are filling out dwindling rosters with more short-term contracts — and calling back some familiar faces along the way.

While some European standouts withdrew from EuroBasket consideration — including Phoenix's Satou Sabally and Seattle's Gabby Williams — others, like New York's Leonie Fiebich and Golden State's Temi Fagbenle, will join their national teams for the regional FIBA tournament through the end of June.

Due to these planned absences, WNBA teams temporarily suspend their EuroBasket players' contracts, allowing squads to add others to their rosters.

Players signed due to temporary absences are technically on rest-of-season deals, though the agreements can end whenever the missing athletes return.

In contrast, the league requires that teams release any hardship signings due to injury once squads tally enough healthy original players to satisfy the WNBA's 10-athlete roster minimum.

Featuring a lineup stacked with international talent, Golden State made the most transactions this week, temporarily suspending four regular contracts as 2025 EuroBasket stars departed for the annual competition.

To bolster their depleted bench, the Valkyries brought back 2025 WNBA Draft Cinderella pick Kaitlyn Chen and recent training camp participant Laeticia Amihere on short-term contracts, in addition to guard Aerial Powers and forward Chloe Bibby.

Elsewhere, after losing forward Maddy Siegrist to injury and temporarily suspending the contracts of centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsöder, Dallas acquired center Li Yueru from Seattle — with the Wings possibly needing additional hardship signings in the coming days.

The Storm snagged two future draft picks in the Saturday deal — a second-round selection in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.

Ultimately, teams are striving to find a balance between stocking up and maintaining consistency, all while operating under the WNBA's roster constraints — with further league expansion fast approaching.

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Conference Play Comes Down to the Wire

Seattle Storm forward Ezi Magbegor tries to defend a jump-shot from Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier during a 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup game.
Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx will advance to a second straight WNBA Commissioner's Cup final with a Tuesday win. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup will wrap up its conference play on Tuesday, as both Eastern and Western teams battle for a ticket to the in-season competition's championship game — and a cut of the $500,000 prize pool.

With 12 of the league's 13 teams facing off across Tuesday's WNBA courts, the results will set the stage by minting the two squads who will battle in the July 1st final showdown.

Reigning Commissioner's Cup champs Minnesota have the West's easiest path, as a win over the Las Vegas Aces will send the Lynx to a second straight final.

Should the Lynx fall to the Aces, however, Seattle can grab the Western Conference berth by beating the Los Angeles Sparks.

Meanwhile in the East, a surging Atlanta could land a trip to the final by topping New York, while the Liberty need both a win over the Dream plus a loss by the Indiana Fever to clinch their own return ticket to the Cup's grand finale.

If New York does take down Atlanta, the Fever could advance to the team's first-ever Commissioner's Cup final by beating the struggling Connecticut Sun.

How to watch Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup games

All of Tuesday's six WNBA games count toward the 2025 Commissioner's Cup tally.

The action begins with the Atlanta Dream tipping off against the New York Liberty while the Indiana Fever battles the Connecticut Sun at 7 PM ET, live on WNBA League Pass.

Chicago Sky Star Angel Reese Files Trademark for ‘Mebounds’ to Silence Internet Trolls

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese grabs a rebound during a 2024 WNBA game.
Chicago Sky star Angel Reese is trademarking a term often used to criticize her play. (Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese made headlines this week, with the second-year WNBA forward announcing that she has trademarked word "mebounds" — a slang term opposing fans use to describe Reese rebounding her own missed shots.

"Whoever came up with the 'mebounds' thing, y’all ate that up, because mebounds, rebounds, keybounds...anything that comes off that board, it's mine," Reese said in a TikTok video on Saturday.

"And a brand? That's six figures right there," she continued, referencing her trademark application. "The trolling — I love when y'all do it because the ideas be good!"

Currently averaging 11.9 boards per matchup, Reese is leading the WNBA in rebounds for the second straight season.

Her rookie campaign saw Reese average 13.1 boards per game, a rate that set a single-season league record. She also blasted through the WNBA's consecutive double-double record last season, claiming it with 10 straight before extending it to an impressive 15 games.

Along with the average rebounds record, Reese also broke the single-season total rebounds record previously held by retired Minnesota Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles — a mark that was later surpassed by 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson following Reese's season-ending wrist injury.

"Statistically, all the rebounds that I get aren't always just mine," Reese added in her Saturday social media post. "They're the defense's, too, or somebody else on my team."

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