The NWSL released its full 2025 schedule on Wednesday morning, locking in 190 league contests across all competitions.

The 2025 Challenge Cup will set the stage on Friday, March 7th with a 2024 NWSL Championship rematch between the title-winning Orlando Pride and runners-up Washington Spirit.

One week later, the official 2025 NWSL Kickoff weekend will see all 14 teams in action as the 182-game regular season gets underway. Each club will play a total of 26 regular-season matches, split equally between home and away contests, before the league's eight top teams will battle through seven playoff games in November.

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A mid-summer break begins in late June with a CBA-mandated week-off. The pause extends one month through July to allow for international play. That's when certain national team players will compete for their countries in confederation tournaments while clubs will be free to schedule friendlies. No additional NWSL tournaments will occur during that window.

In one minor adjustment from the league's earlier calendar announcement, the 2025 regular season will be played over 26 weeks (rather than 25) to mitigate the need for midweek games.

The shift also accommodates for the return of Decision Day, which is making a comeback for the first time since 2023. In the popular format, all teams will compete simultaneously to close out the regular season on Sunday, November 2nd.

Moves up season excitement

With playoff positioning often coming down to the wire, capping the regular season with a Decision Day can dramatically up the stakes and increase excitement for the impending playoffs.

In another move to capitalize on fandom enthusiasm, the NWSL has added a dedicated rivalry weekend to its 2025 calendar. From August 8th through 10th, old feuds like the Portland Thorns and Seattle Reign's Cascadia Clash will share the spotlight with newer grudges like Angel City and San Diego's SoCal Classic.

How to watch the 2025 NWSL season

Entering the second year of the league's blockbuster broadcast deal, 160 total games will air across Prime Video, ION, ESPN, and CBS platforms this season, with the remaining 30 matches streaming on NWSL+. International distribution is still in negotiations.

Starting the NWSL's 2025 action is the Challenge Cup between Orlando and Washington, which begins at 8 PM ET on Friday, March 7th, streaming live on Prime Video.

Two concurrent matches will kick off the 2025 regular season at 8 PM ET on Friday, March 14th: Houston will face Washington on NWSL+, while Orlando takes on the newly branded Chicago Stars FC on Prime Video.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver was in the hot seat this week, addressing the growing rift between WNBA players and commissioner Cathy Engelbert while urging the league to come together on a new CBA agreement.

"Cathy Engelbert has presided over historic growth in the league, but there's no question that there's issues that we need to address with our players, not just economic," Silver said on Monday while acknowledging the significant power the NBA holds over WNBA operations. "I'm confident we can fix those over time and this league can continue to be on the rocket trajectory that it's on right now."

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The viral exit interview from Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier blasting WNBA leadership has placed serious pressure on Engelbert, but the NBA's outsized stake in the league also plays into increasingly heated collective bargaining negotiations.

NBA team owners collectively control 42% of the women's league, though WNBA players receive a much smaller revenue share than NBA players.

Under the current CBA, the WNBA must hit certain financial benchmarks before that revenue even becomes available — with players also reporting they're not given access to the data tracking those benchmarks.

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Lisa Leslie, Kelley O'Hara break down WNBA leadership issues

Big names are continuing to speak out on the issues, from Engelbert's future to the WNBA's precarious relationship with the NBA.

"Cathy, yes, has done a really good job of helping raise capital, of helping administer the television deal… but you're only able to do that because of those players that are on the floor," retired WNBA icon Lisa Leslie said on Between the Lines late last week. "Listen, the wolf is only as strong as the pack and the pack is only as strong as the wolf. But just know, when the wolf doesn't lead the pack properly, the pack will eat the wolf."

"The bigger issue is the structure of the league, NBA being the ones who essentially make the decisions, and that's really who the Players Association is negotiating with," said USWNT legend Kelley O'Hara on this week's episode of Sports Are Fun! "Cathy's in the negotiation, but Cathy has to go back and get a sign-off from the NBA…. That's the bigger issue that Phee's trying to get to the heart of."

Angel City FC is on the brink of elimination from making the 2025 NWSL Playoffs, with the No. 11 LA club sitting seven points below the postseason cutoff line after falling to 2025 Shield-winners Kansas City 1-0 on Monday.

"There's no more losses at this point," Angel City center back and captain Sarah Gorden said postgame. "It's win or go home. We're going to have to put that into training this week, and come out and find something in us next weekend."

With only three games left in the regular season, Angel City will face the No. 10 Houston Dash, No. 4 Portland Thorns, and No. 14 Chicago Stars to close out their 2025 campaign.

"I know that if we can perform like this going forward, we will win a lot of football games," LA head coach Alexander Straus said after Monday's hard-fought loss.

In a season headlined by high-profile departures, Angel City now faces their second straight season missing the NWSL Playoffs, having reached the postseason just once since their 2022 debut.

However, that lone run to the playoffs could give this year's squad some hope — the LA club clinched their first and only postseason berth on the final day of the 2023 regular season.

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As for the Current, the spoils keep coming for No. 1 Kansas City, who set a new NWSL single-season record with their 19th win on Monday — all while continuing the club's second-longest unbeaten run of 16 games.

"We believe so much in the process that we know if we execute everything at some point, we are going to be successful," said Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka keeps pushing, as the world No. 16 tennis star followed up her blockbuster comeback run at the 2025 US Open with a first-round win at the Wuhan Open this week.

The Japanese fan favorite battled back from a first-set loss to defeat 2021 US Open finalist and current world No. 27 Leylah Fernandez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 late Monday night, just weeks after suffering an unexpected exit in the first-round of the 2025 China Open.

Monday's Round of 64 win marked Osaka's seventh come-from-behind victory this year, tying her own single-season comeback record.

Osaka still has hills to climb against other top players in Wuhan, including the likes of No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who will return to action early Wednesday morning in her first competitive match since her successful US Open title defense last month.

Also in the mix at the 2025 Wuhan Open are No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula, with Świątek already cruising through her Round of 32 hurdle in straight sets early Tuesday morning.

Notably, after powering through a lingering calf injury to win the 2025 China Open on Sunday, US star No. 4 Amanda Anisimova withdrew from the Wuhan tournament to recover and gear up for her first-ever WTA Finals next month.

How to watch the 2025 Wuhan Open

The 2025 Wuhan Open resumes at 11 PM ET on Tuesday, with Pegula, Gauff, Sabalenka, and Osaka all facing their Round of 32 opponents before dawn on Wednesday.

Live coverage of the WTA 1000 tournament airs on the Tennis Channel.

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese is upping her partnership game once again, with US fashion brand Juicy Couture tapping the two-time WNBA All-Star as its global ambassador and creative collaborator earlier this week.

The deal sees the 23-year-old become the new face of the company's fragrance, Viva La Juicy, while also co-designing a limited-edition "Angel Couture" apparel line that includes the brand's signature velour track suits as well as T-shirts and other pieces.

"I grew up loving the brand, so representing Viva La Juicy and co-designing my own collection has been incredible," Reese said in Monday's statement. "Juicy Couture has always been about confidence and having fun with fashion. Now with Angel Couture, I wanted to bring that same energy forward with pieces that are fearless, fun, and make you feel unstoppable."

With her second WNBA season in the books, Reese has continued to be active off the court, launching her own signature sneaker with Reebok last month while also recently making her feature film debut, playing herself in a cameo in Netflix's upcoming political thriller A House of Dynamite.

How to buy the Angel Reese x Juicy Couture collection

The limited edition Angel Couture collection is currently available for purchase at juicycouture.com.