For the first time since the NWSL regular season began on April 29, we are back with our Just Women’s Sports power rankings.

The first two weeks of the season have been chaotic, and that’s exactly what these rankings reflect. Wonky scheduling has left some teams playing one game while others play three in one week, contributing to tired legs and unexpected results. The expansion clubs’ stadiums have been electric, refereeing has come under fire, and the underdogs are so eager to prove doubters wrong that they’re beating some of the best teams from the Challenge Cup.

Taking into consideration both the Challenge Cup playoffs and regular-season performances, here are the first power rankings of the NWSL season.

12. Kansas City Current (0-2-0)

From the Challenge Cup semifinals to the bottom of the regular-season standings, the Kansas City Current have had a rough couple of weeks with two losses and no goals scored. In their most recent game against the Dash, they managed to keep 60 percent possession and outshoot Houston 15-9 despite losing 2-0. This team has ample potential, but they’ll have to start finishing their chances to live up to it.

11. Orlando Pride (1-1-0)

Finding some rhythm with players in new positions, the Pride claimed their first victory of the year against Angel City on Sunday. Megan Montefusco played in the six and Carrie Lawrence shifted to center back, helping hold down a backline that head coach Amanda Cromwell raved about. Their first regular season game produced a very different outcome, with Orlando falling to Gotham FC despite finishing with 50.5 percent of the possession and a 15-7 shots advantage.

10. NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-1-0)

Going from a 3-0 win over the Pride to a 4-0 loss to San Diego Wave FC is quite the swing for a team that is full of veteran experience. The midfield has been shaky lately, but head coach Scott Parkinson said after the Wave match that its’ the defense and attack that need work. Gotham, first in the league in assists and second in goals, will be put to the test against the Courage on Saturday.

9. Houston Dash (1-1-0)

The Dash had some unexpected adjustments to make after head coach James Clarkson was suspended ahead of the regular season based on initial findings in a joint investigation by the NWSL and NWSL Players’ Association. After a 1-0 loss to San Diego to open their season, the Dash struggled to maintain possession in their second match against the Kansas City Current. In the end, they added more numbers in the midfield and built enough momentum to come away with a 2-0 shutout.

8. Angel City FC (1-1-0)

The 2022 expansion club had an electrifying start to its regular season, defeating the eventual Challenge Cup champion Courage 2-1 in front of a sold-out crowd at Banc of California Stadium. In quite a turn of events, Angel City lost to Orlando, the bottom team in the Challenge Cup standings, in their second regular season match. The club boasts individual talent across its lineup with players like Jun Endo, Jasmyne Spencer and Christen Press, but they need more time to build chemistry and dominate consistently in this league.

7. Chicago Red Stars (1-0-0)

Playing just one regular-season match so far due to Challenge Cup scheduling, the Red Stars earned three points at home against Racing Louisville FC. Despite the 2-1 result, the club struggled to respond to Racing’s high pressure and stay in control of the game. The Red Stars were without some key players, including Challenge Cup leading scorer Mallory Pugh and forward Yuki Nagasato, who was ruled out with an illness just before the match.

6. Racing Louisville FC (0-1-1)

Results aside, Racing Louisville FC has not had a bad start to the season. They dominated Chicago with 61 percent of the possession and a 14-8 shots advantage in what turned out to be a 2-1 loss, and then they earned a point in a 2-2 draw with Challenge Cup No. 1 seed OL Reign. They’ve succeeded so far at applying pressure and forcing giveaways. Against Chicago, they broke two league records with 47 total crosses and 43 crosses from open play. Alyssa Naeher and Phallon Tullis Joyce are two of the best goalkeepers in the league, but that will only get them so far if they don’t improve their finishing in front of net.

5. OL Reign (0-1-1)

The Reign have taken the hit for a lot of the problems that have plagued the NWSL lately, from poor scheduling to questionable calls. They then had overcome physical fatigue to play three games in one week while other teams, like Portland and Chicago, had just one. They came close to a win in the Challenge Cup semifinals, but lost after two rounds of penalty kicks and Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury’s heroics. The Reign still have plenty of time to recover and play like the team that earned the top seed out of the Challenge Cup group stage.

4. Washington Spirit (1-0-0)

The Spirit’s 20-game unbeaten streak came to an end Saturday in the Challenge Cup championship game. An emotional 90 minutes of physical play and multiple injuries, the match was not necessarily an accurate representation of what the Spirit are capable of. On any other day, Washington’s creativity on the attack can be lethal, such as in their two wins over OL Reign ahead of the final. When midfielder Ashley Sanchez has the ball, good things usually happen, but it took them a while to find that rhythm on Saturday.

Art from all angles 🎨@kerolinnicolii | #CourageUnitesUs pic.twitter.com/SpfC7DfRNP

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) May 8, 2022

3. North Carolina Courage (0-1-0)

After an unexpected 2-1 loss to Angel City in their regular season opener, the Courage outlasted the defending NWSL champions in the Challenge Cup final. The attacking duo of Kerolin and Debinha showed why they will give other teams nightmares this season. New to the NWSL, Kerolin has mastered the art of setting up goals and drawing penalty kicks in the box. Days after Kerolin was named Challenge Cup Finals MVP, Debinha earned tournament MVP honors. The veteran leadership of players like Abby Erceg, Meredith Speck and Merritt Mathias has helped establish a winning standard in North Carolina.

2. Portland Thorns FC (1-0-0)

It might seem unfair that the Thorns are in second after playing only one match since April 30, but a 3-0 shutout over the Current, the Challenge Cup semifinalists, shot them up the power rankings. The Thorns dominated in the match, outshooting Kansas City 19-5 and setting a league record for the most shots in the first half of a regular season match (10). They reached that mark even without star forward Sophia Smith on the field until the second half.

1. San Diego Wave FC (2-0-0)

The 2022 expansion team is wasting no time in living up to the NWSL’s #CueTheChaos slogan. The Wave have gone from the second-most losses in the Challenge Cup to the most wins so far in the regular season. Outside of the improvements they need to make in the midfield, they’re getting used to each other’s strengths quickly and showing why they could be serious contenders this year. This week, they dominated preseason favorite Gotham FC as Alex Morgan became just the third player in league history to score four goals in one game.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The Naomi Osaka comeback tour at the 2025 US Open has ended, as the two-time New York Grand Slam champion and world No. 24 star ceded her Thursday semifinal to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, who battled back to claim the 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.

"Naomi is playing amazing tennis," the 23-year-old said of Osaka's US Open run. "She's back where she belongs. I told her I'm so proud of her after having a baby and playing at this level — it's insane."

With her Thursday win, Anisimova is now the only player to ever defeat Osaka in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, semifinal, or final — ending the Japanese fan-favorite's 13-0 run in the later rounds of tennis's major tournaments.

Anisimova's US Open success is even more impressive considering the result of her first-ever Grand Slam final — a brutal 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon in July.

In a massive turnaround, Anisimova handed No. 2 Iga Świątek, the 2025 Wimbledon champion, a redemptive straight-set loss in Wednesday's US Open quarterfinals en route to reaching this weekend's championship match.

Anisimova's victory means that a US player has now competed in every women's Grand Slam final dating back to the 2024 US Open, extending the country's championship-match streak to five straight Slams.

With even more history on the line, the US rising star now has a second shot at joining No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 3 Coco Gauff in hoisting a 2025 Grand Slam trophy for the US — a feat not accomplished by any single country since Serena Williams won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2015.

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How to watch the 2025 US Open championship match

Just like Keys and Gauff, Anisimova will have to defeat Aryna Sabalenka to claim her own 2025 Grand Slam trophy — with the hard-hitting US finalist holding a 6-3 all-time record against the world No. 1 player, most recently downing the 2024 US Open champion in this year's Wimbledon semifinals.

Anisimova will battle Sabalenka in for the 2025 US Open crown on Saturday, with live coverage of the championship match beginning at 4 PM ET on ESPN.

The sale saga of the Connecticut Sun added a new chapter this week, as the state of Connecticut submitted a bid proposal on Thursday that would see the WNBA team remain in-state.

Owned by the Mohegan Tribe since 2003, the state is just the latest entrant into an ongoing bidding war for the franchise, with Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, ex-Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and the WNBA itself all making offers ranging from $250 to $325 million in recent weeks.

Unlike previous relocation bids, the state's proposed sale plan sees the Connecticut Sun splitting home games between their current Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and Hartford's larger PeoplesBank Arena, while also promising a new practice facility in the state capital.

Despite winding down 2025 in 12th place, the Sun have amassed a loyal local following, selling out their 10,000-capacity arena four times this year in a state buoyed by NCAA basketball powerhouse and current national champion UConn located less than an hour away.

"The best place for the Connecticut Sun is Connecticut because we have this very fierce fan base for women's basketball," Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz told ESPN. "We love the [UConn] Huskies. We love watching the Sun… and we've seen that the Connecticut Sun players have been great community leaders and role models."

The Chicago Sky reportedly held a team meeting to address the explosive Chicago Tribune interview of Angel Reese this week, after the star forward put the already-eliminated WNBA team on blast.

"We are aware of [Reese's comments]," Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said on Wednesday. "We're addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That's where we'll stay right now."

"Angel has shown a commitment to wanting to be here," he continued. "We as an organization continue to show a commitment that we want people that want to be here."

Reese focused much of her critique on the team's leadership and roster construction, expressing disappointment as the Chicago Sky closes in on back-to-back losing seasons.

"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," the 23-year-old Reese said of veteran Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, following the 36-year-old's season-ending ACL tear in early June. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that."

"We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before," Reese added.

Notably, Vandersloot helped the Chicago Sky snag the 2021 WNBA title before taking the New York Liberty to a franchise-first championship last season.

A high-stakes coastal clash tops this weekend's NWSL bill, with results directly impacting the increasingly tight league standings as No. 8 Gotham tries to hold off a No. 9 Angel City side sitting just one point outside of postseason positioning.

The pair last met in April, when Gotham shutout ACFC 4-0 at LA's BMO Stadium behind a brace from the NWSL's current Golden Boot leader Esther González.

"That's the key — everyone knows their role, their responsibilities, and they're willing to sacrifice for the team defensively while also bringing their quality in attack," Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós said earlier this week.

As they try to rise above the crowded mid-table traffic, both teams have seen positive results in recent weeks — along with challenging levels of upheaval.

Angel City recently lost defender Alanna Kennedy, midfielder Katie Zelem, and star forward Alyssa Thompson to midseason overseas transfers, while Gotham's had little room to breathe after defeating Concacaf W Champions Cup opponent Alianza 2-0 in El Salvador on Tuesday.

"You need to be loyal to your style, cement it, and make sure the players know it," said Amorós. "That's critical when you're playing three games in seven days and traveling almost around the world."

How to watch Gotham vs. Angel City this NWSL weekend

No. 8 Gotham will host No. 9 Angel City this Sunday, kicking off live at 5 PM ET on ESPN.