All Scores

USWNT’s Mallory Swanson focuses on rehab away from the World Cup

Mallory Swanson is missing from the USWNT’s World Cup roster after tearing her patella tendon in April. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

U.S. women’s national team and Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson hasn’t had much time to think about anything other than her rehab these days. The 25-year-old phenom has been hard at work on her journey back to the field after suffering a torn patella tendon in an April friendly that kept her off the USWNT 2023 World Cup roster.

Swanson’s injury was one of the cruelest twists of fate, as one of the USWNT’s most in-form strikers saw her whole year change in an instant. Just last week, Swanson posted her first rehab update to Instagram. The video showed her getting touches on the ball with a member of the Red Stars training staff.

“First touches in three months,” read the caption, suggesting the forward’s recovery has remained on a linear timeline, something not all of her injured USWNT teammates have been granted.

Speaking with Just Women’s Sports on Wednesday, Swanson said she has been focused on not getting too ahead of herself in her recovery, instead taking everything one day at a time.

“It’s been good, recovery has been good,” she said. “I think that being able to kind of take a break and recover and rehab, and also still be a part of something that’s bigger than that rehab process, like being here, that has been really, really good for me.”

“Here” is a gallery in New York City’s Meatpacking District, at a four-day exhibit set up by Women’s World Cup sponsor Frito-Lay and Women’s Sports Foundation to celebrate the game and its culture.

Despite having the opportunity to play abruptly taken away from her, Swanson has stayed connected to the tournament by continuing her work with committed brands. In addition to juggling her rehab, she’s stayed involved with Cracker Jill (an offshoot of Cracker Jack) to interact with young athletes in women’s sports.

“Being able to connect with them because I was once in their shoes, and now I’m here (is) cool, in like a full-circle moment,” Swanson said.

Those brand relationships can sometimes be awkward for an athlete who is managing the emotions of not being able to be on the field themselves. But for Swanson, the opportunities are a welcome connection to the larger movement of the World Cup.

“I think sometimes when we’re so involved on the field, obviously we’re busy and everything, so it’s been nice to kind of take the time away to do that off the field,” she said.

Outside of helping grow the game in a new way, Swanson is living a life parallel to her teammates in New Zealand. She hasn’t watched much of the action so far, catching just the second half of the USWNT’s 3-0 win over Vietnam on Saturday (she has a good excuse, having spent the weekend at her best friend’s wedding).

She also hasn’t connected much with her teammates across the globe, instead giving them the space they need to be at their best.

“I know firsthand how (important it is) to focus on the games and that’s what you have to do,” Swanson said. The person she kept in closest contact with prior to the tournament was newly-named co-captain Lindsey Horan, but Swanson said she has since let her teammate focus on the task at hand.

“I’m excited just to see some of my best friends go out on the world stage, and just continue to show how great they are and continue to inspire so many people,” she added.

img
Swanson said she kept in close contact with Lindsey Horan before the World Cup. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Swanson is rooting for the U.S. to bring back their third straight World Cup trophy. And in typical fashion for an elite athlete, Swanson is focused on returning to her sport’s biggest stage with the same intensity that she approaches games.

“I don’t have downtime. It is all rehab, just focusing on that,” she said of her day-to-day schedule.

“I’ve learned that it’s just a process, and yeah, I think that you can just enjoy it. As much as it might not be fun, I think that there’s still so much positive that you can get out of it.”

Swanson is excited both to get back on the field and to see how the biggest Women’s World Cup in the history of the sport takes hold in the U.S. For her personally, the journey isn’t over yet, and she’s learned to let go of what she can’t control.

“I think if there’s one thing that I have learned, it’s that any plan that you have can get flipped upside down real quick,” Swanson said. “I have no idea what the rest of the year holds. I’m just taking everything as it comes.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

Team USA Holds Off Brazil to Win 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Championship

The USA Basketball team and coaching staff pose with a 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Champions sign after winning gold.
A young USA squad held off Brazil to claim the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup title on Sunday. (USA Basketball)

USA Basketball lifted the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup trophy on Sunday, taking down defending champions Brazil 92-84 to top the tournament's podium for the fifth time.

Pitting a roster of NCAA talent against Brazil pros like Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Team USA battled back from a seven-point third-quarter deficit, then dominated the fourth quarter to send Brazil home with silver medals.

"What a performance by our team," said USA head coach Kara Lawson following the title win. "We knew it was going to be just a tough, physical game."

With 27 points in Sunday's championship game, guard Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt) set a USA AmeriCup scoring record en route to earning tournament MVP honors.

"This is my first time playing with USA Basketball, and to be able to cap it off with a win, a gold medal, and to play alongside such great players and great coaches, I couldn't ask for anything better," said Blakes.

After adding 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in her 21 minutes off the bench on Sunday, guard Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) joined Blakes in representing the USA on the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup All-Star roster.

Booking a spot on the tournament's All-Star second team was US guard Olivia Miles (TCU), whose 50 assists throughout the competition shattered the modern era's previous single-event record of 46.

Along with their gold medals, Sunday's win also gives the US automatic entry into the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Germany, where they'll look to snag a 12th overall and fifth consecutive world championship.

WNBA Standings Frontrunners Phoenix, Atlanta Right the Ship with Monday Wins

Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner celebrates a turnover during a 2025 WNBA game.
Brittney Griner's Atlanta Dream bounced back with a win over the Golden State Valkyries on Monday. (Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

Two WNBA championship contenders found their way back into the win column on Monday, when the No. 2 Phoenix Mercury and No. 4 Atlanta Dream each notched emphatic victories following disappointing weekend results.

Phoenix tasted revenge by blasting No. 11 Dallas 102-72, with guard Sami Whitcomb's game-leading 36 points and 2025 All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas's triple-double (15 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds) sending the Wings' rookie core packing.

After last Thursday's surprise upset, Dallas's injury-shortened lineup couldn't keep pace in a rematch with the deeper, more experienced Mercury.

The No. 6 Golden State Valkyries also showed their limits on Monday, dropping their sixth road game of the season in a 90-81 loss to the Dream.

Energized by a 24-point performance from 2025 All-Star starter Allisha Gray, Atlanta capitalized on the Valks' fourth-quarter collapse, outscoring the 2025 expansion side 15-2 to book the win.

"I'm telling the refs, 'This is a hard game for us,'" Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said afterwards. "I get it — home cooking. But to me, I thought for sure that [Valkyries players] were going up just as aggressive as their players, and we just did not get the whistle."

With All-Star Weekend fast approaching, regular-season Cinderella stories are beginning to break away from the true powerhouses, as teams keep chasing Minnesota at the top of the WNBA standings.

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week

While Atlanta will be resting until Friday, Phoenix is back in action on Wednesday, when the Mercury will host the league-leading Lynx at 3:30 PM ET.

Live coverage of the game will air on WNBA League Pass.

OL Lyonnes Boosts Midfield with USWNT Stars Lily Yohannes, Korbin Albert

USWNT midfielders Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert pose in the new 2025 US jerseys.
USWNT stars Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert will suit up for OL Lyonnes in the fall. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

Eight-time UEFA Champions League winners OL Lyonnes will have even more US flair next season, with the French football titan announcing the signings of USWNT stars Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert over the last week.

Joining the newly rebranded Lyon side from Dutch club Ajax on a reported €450,000 ($527,000) transfer fee, Yohannes's new contract runs through 2028.

Albert also signed a three-year deal on Friday, solidifying her transfer from Première Ligue rivals PSG — the club that the 21-year-old has played for since her early exit from Notre Dame in 2023.

Yohannes and Albert will join USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps in the OL Lyonnes midfield, with US billionaire and multi-team owner Michele Kang (Washington Spirit, London City Lionesses) overseeing the operation.

Backed by her global women's sports organization Kynisca, Kang reportedly beat WSL giants Chelsea FC to the punch in signing 18-year-old Yohannes on Monday.

OL Lyonnes has been stocking up after failing to make it past the 2024/25 Champions League semifinals, adding PSG striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Chelsea FC fullback Ashley Lawrence, Barcelona defender Ingrid Engen, and Vfl Wolfsburg attacker Jule Brand to a roster now led by former Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez.

While international tournaments play out across the world this summer, the club carousel continues to spin as heavyweight teams vie for the sport's top talent.

NWSL Stars Score Big in WAFCON Openers

Zambia players, including NWSL stars Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, pose during a training session before 2025 WAFCON.

The NWSL is already making a splash at this year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), with three of the league's top scorers stealing the spotlight following the 2025 tournament's July 5th kick-off.

Zambia forwards Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride) and Racheal Kundananji (Bay FC) both found the back of the net in their national team's group-stage debut against host country Morocco, helping the Copper Queens earn an opening point in the 2-2 Saturday draw.

Banda struck first, notching the tournament's first goal with one of her signature long-range strikes in the first minute of the match, before Kundananji answered Morocco's 12th-minute penalty equalizer with a Banda-assisted 27th minute goal of her own.

Notably, the NWSL is powering Zambia's entire front line, as Banda's Pride teammates, Grace Chanda and Prisca Chilufya, joined the scorers in leading the Copper Queens' Saturday attack.

Then on Sunday, Kundananji's Bay FC teammate Asisat Oshoala wrote her name on the 2025 WAFCON scoresheet, registering Nigeria's first tournament goal by heading the ball past Tunisia goalkeeper Salima Jobrani in the fourth minute of the match.

With Houston Dash defender Michelle Alozie helping hold down their back line, the Super Falcons opened their WAFCON account with a 3-0 win.

How to watch NWSL stars at 2025 WAFCON

WAFCON action revs back up when the second matches of group play kick off on Wednesday, as the 12 2025 tournament teams all chase defending champions South Africa.

Zambia will hunt their first tournament victory against Senegal at 12 PM ET on Wednesday, before Nigeria looks to maintain their winning ways against Botswana at 3 PM ET on Thursday.

All 2025 WAFCON matches will air live on beIN Sports.

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.