The NWSL announced the framework for the league’s 12th season on Monday, officially kicking off the 2025 campaign on March 14th, with a new champion crowned on November 22nd.

Similar to the 2024 season, the league’s 14 teams will each play 26 matches — 13 home, 13 away —across 25 weeks, ending on November 2nd. A league total of 190 games will determine the eight contenders set to battle their way through November's playoffs.

The 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup will precede the regular season by one week. The match typically pits the reigning Shield winners against the current champion, but since Orlando earned both those 2024 honors, the Pride will instead host 2024 runners-up Washington in the March 7th contest.

Before any athlete takes the pitch, however, they must report to preseason training camps. Instead of a specific date, the NWSL mandates a kick-off window beginning January 15th and ending February 5th.

There are no official preseason matches, but considering six teams — Angel City, Bay FC, Houston, Portland, San Diego, and Seattle — have already committed to participating in mid-Februrary's 2025 Coachella Valley Invitational, expect those clubs to recall their rosters sooner rather than later.

International play extends NWSL summer schedule

Though 2025 lacks a major international contest like the Olympics or a FIFA World Cup, several confederations do have competitions on this summer's docket. The list includes UEFA's 2025 Euro and Conmebol's Copa América tournament.

As such, immediately after the league's CBA-mandated week-long pause at the end of June, the NWSL will suspend play for the month of July. This window will subsequently allow international players to compete for their respective countries without significantly impacting their NWSL club's season.

Within that break, however, clubs will be free to schedule friendlies against other professional teams, both domestic and abroad. This will follow a similar format as Chelsea and Arsenal's 2024 US tour, where the WSL sides went up against Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit, respectively.

New CBA affects 2025 season

Due to last August's newly inked CBA, both the waiver wire and trade windows have been eliminated. This means player contracts are now guaranteed, and trades can occur anytime before the October 9th roster freeze, so long as the athlete consents to the trade.

Two eight-week transfer windows dot the 2025 schedule. The first opens on January 28th, with the second set to start alongside the 2026 free agency period on July 1st.

Where to watch the NWSL in 2025

The complete 2025 match schedule, including full broadcast details, is yet to come. However, the NWSL’s 2023 landmark media deal means over 120 matches have already been claimed by various domestic broadcasters.

Friday games will again air on Prime Video, and Saturday double-headers will remain on ION. Both CBS and ESPN platforms will have significant match packages spanning the regular season, and all remaining games will be available on the league's direct-to-consumer streamer, NWSL+.

All broadcasters except ION have picked up various match rights to November's playoffs, with CBS scoring rights to the title match for the fourth year in a row.

Additionally, the NWSL is currently in international distribution rights negotiations, with the league taking aim at growing its audience outside the US.

Key 2025 calendar dates

• January 15th: Preseason camps may begin
• January 28th: Primary transfer window opens
• February 5th: Final day for clubs to begin preseason camps
• March 7th: 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup
• March 14th: 2025 NWSL regular season kick-off
• March 24th: Primary transfer window closes
• June 23rd-29th: CBA-mandated break
• July 1st: Secondary transfer window opens; 2026 free agency period begins
• July: League-wide pause for international competitions
• August 25th: Secondary transfer window closes
• October 9th: NWSL roster freeze
• November 2nd: Final day of the 2025 NWSL regular season
• November 7th-9th: 2025 NWSL quarterfinals
• November 14th-16th: 2025 NWSL semifinals
• November 22nd: 2025 NWSL Championship

US tennis star and world No. 12 Amanda Anisimova continued her breakthrough 2025 Wimbledon run on Thursday, taking down No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to punch a ticket to her first career Grand Slam final.

"This doesn't feel real right now," Anisimova said after winning the 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 semifinal thriller. "I don't know how I pulled it out."

"It was such a rollercoaster match," the 23-year-old told ESPN. "[Sabalenka] is such a tough competitor, and I really had to give it my all to fight there to get the win."

As the first US player to reach a Wimbledon final since Serena Williams in 2019 — and the youngest from the US since Williams' 2004 run — Anisimova's meteoric 2025 rise comes just 18 months after she took an extended mental health break from tennis.

"A lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game," she said. "So just me being able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritize yourself, that's been incredibly special to me."

Anisimova's semifinal win also continues a unique pattern for her home country, as Saturday's championship match is now the fourth straight Grand Slam final to feature a US player — a streak dating back to No. 3 Jessica Pegula's 2024 US Open championship appearance.

Even more, should Anisimova emerge victorious on Saturday, she'll join 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys and 2025 French Open winner No. 2 Coco Gauff in continuing a US sweep of this year's Grand Slams.

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Anisimova to face Świątek in 2025 Wimbledon final

To do so, however, Anisimova will have to defeat five-time Grand Slam winner and world No. 4 Iga Świątek in what will be the pair's first-ever senior-level match on Saturday.

Like Anisimova, the 24-year-old Polish phenom is on an unexpected Wimbledon run, as the London Slam's grass courts have historically hampered the clay-court specialist.

That said, Świątek dominated her Thursday semifinal against Switzerland's No. 35 Belinda Bencic, booking her spot in Saturday's title match in two quick 6-2, 6-0 sets.

"Tennis keeps surprising me," she said after the match. "I thought I had experienced everything on the court, but I hadn't experienced playing well on grass. That's the first time."

"Honestly, I never even dreamt that it was possible for me to play the [Wimbledon] finals, so I'm just super excited and proud of myself," Świątek added.

As for Anisimova, she's taking her championship match against the decorated Świątek in stride.

"I'm sure it'll be an amazing match. Getting to compete against an unbelievable player again is going to be super special," said the rising US star.

"Obviously I haven't been in a Grand Slam final before, but I've experienced a lot of moments similar and a lot of high-stakes matches," Anisimova noted. "I'm just gonna go out and enjoy every moment and try to not think about what’s on the line."

How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon championship match

With this year's tournament guaranteed to crown a first-time Wimbledon champion, Anisimova will battle Świątek for the London Slam's trophy at 11 AM ET on Saturday.

The final will air live on ESPN.

Legendary USWNT attacker Tobin Heath officially announced her retirement from soccer on Thursday, nearly three years after playing her final professional match.

"Over New Year's, I actually came to the full acceptance that I wasn't going to be playing," the 37-year-old explained on her podcast, The RE-CAP Show.

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In her 13 years with the senior national team, Heath — widely regarded as one of the most technical players in US history — earned two World Cup titles (2015, 2019) and three Olympic medals (gold in 2008 and 2012, and bronze in 2021).

Across her 181 USWNT caps, the 2016 US Soccer Athlete of the Year logged 36 goals and 42 assists, making her final appearance for the States on October 26th, 2021.

At the club level, Heath spent seven seasons with the Portland Thorns, helping the team to NWSL Championships in 2013 and 2017, as well as the 2016 NWSL Shield.

While her career also included European stints with the Première Ligue's PSG as well as WSL sides Manchester United and Arsenal, Heath ended her pro run with the 2022 NWSL Shield-winning Seattle Reign, playing what would be her final soccer match on August 14th of that year.

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Injury ends Heath's soccer career

The end of Heath's career is not what the creative, nutmegging winger anticipated.

"I thought I was literally going to be peeled off the field," Heath told The Athletic on Wednesday.

However, a 2022 serious left knee injury left Heath unable to play soccer — even at a casual level — ultimately forcing her retirement.

"I tried f---ing everything to get back, I spent tens of thousands of dollars and [had] two surgeries, one crazy surgery," Heath said on her podcast. "And the whole time I believed I was going to get back."

"Football is a 360-degree sport, and I can't do it," she told The Athletic. "So that part is the hardest part. The actual playing of soccer is gone."

Heath still working to lift up women's soccer in retirement

Despite coming to terms with the end of her on-pitch career, Heath isn't leaving the world of soccer anytime soon, helping lead the newly launched World Sevens Football and joining FIFA's technical study group for the men's Club World Cup.

Elevating football — particularly the women's game — is a pursuit that began for Heath with the Portland Thorns.

"[Portland] showed what women's sports could be," she explained. "I was dreaming of the world that I wanted to create."

The 2019 World Cup run then solidified that mission, with the USWNT adding a fourth star to their crest while also facing a pressure-cooker of expectations amid political tension and a contentious fight for equal pay.

"You can't feel what we felt...and not believe that you're doing something so f---ing important for the world," said Heath.

"You feel that responsibility — and that's what it is — and you want to keep carrying that responsibility as far forward as you can."

USWNT and Chelsea FC forward Mia Fishel is officially heading back to the States, with the Seattle Reign announcing that the 24-year-old signed with the NWSL club on Thursday.

The multi-year deal will see Fishel join Seattle through the 2029 season on a contract reportedly worth nearly $2.5 million — the largest cumulative deal in NWSL history.

"We're absolutely thrilled to bring Mia into our squad," said Seattle head coach Laura Harvey in a club statement. "Mia's ability to disrupt defenses, finish in different ways makes her a dangerous addition to our group."

"Mia is a player with tremendous upside — a goal-scorer with presence, creativity, and a drive to keep growing," added Reign GM Lesle Gallimore.

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Notably, though the Orlando Pride originally drafted the San Diego product and UCLA alum in 2022, this week's move will see Fishel make her domestic debut, with the young talent opting to start her pro career in Mexico.

In her single season with powerhouse Tigres UANL, Fishel notched 17 goals in 17 games to become the first foreign athlete to win the Liga MX Golden Boot, all while leading the team to a league championship.

Following her Liga MX success, Fishel signed with Chelsea, spending two seasons with the WSL champions — though a February 2024 ACL tear limited the young attacker's impact on both club and country over the last 16 months.

Nicknamed "Big Fish," the NWSL debutant has big plans for her upcoming lengthy tenure with Seattle.

"I knew coming to the States, I'm gonna be on a team for the long run," Fishel told reporters. "I wasn't expecting to just hop from team to team. Like, no, I want to put stakes in the ground. I want to eventually lead this team."

This weekend's WNBA slate will see the No. 8 Indiana Fever aiming to right the ship, as the once-projected postseason contenders try to make a push prior to next weekend's 2025 All-Star break.

Despite seeing Caitlin Clark return from injury on Wednesday, the Fever will enter the weekend on a two-game losing streak.

"You should look yourself in the mirror and find ways you can get better, and then come back to practice tomorrow, and play again on Friday," Clark said after Indiana's 80-61 Wednesday loss to Golden State.

There's no immediate assist in the Fever's upcoming schedule, however, as they kick off the weekend against an Atlanta side that feeds on mismatches in the paint:

• No. 4 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): The Dream can put any team in a blender with their size and stretch capabilities, and Indiana will need solid three-point shooting to upend Atlanta.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 9 Las Vegas Aces, Saturday at 4 PM ET (CBS): The short-handed Aces will hope to pounce on Golden State's mercurial road form, as Las Vegas tries to keep climbing the standings following a middling season start.

• No. 4 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 3 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): An injury-hampered New York will try to hold on against the formidable Dream, as the reigning champion Liberty keep battling while waiting for starters to return.