North Carolina Courage and USWNT star forward Amy Rodriguez announced her retirement from professional soccer on Friday, bringing to an end a 16-year career. Rodriguez will return to USC, where she won a national championship in 2007 as a player, as an assistant coach.

A legend returns!@AmyRodriguez8 is back with @USC_WSoccer as an assistant coach! pic.twitter.com/dlSaqugLCk

— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) January 28, 2022

The 34-year-old has spent 11 years in the professional ranks, which included stints in the WPSL, the WPS and the NWSL.

A two-time NWSL champion (2014, 2015) with FC Kansas City, Rodriguez joined the Courage in July following a trade with the Kansas City Current. She made 15 appearances for North Carolina, tallying three goals through 987 minutes of playing time.

“Amy contacted the club earlier this week to let us know of her retirement as a result of this incredible new coaching opportunity,” said Courage head coach Sean Nahas. “It was clear this was a very sudden and difficult decision for her, but ultimately what was best for her family and career. She has given so much to this game, it’s been her life and the decision to walk away was one that she hadn’t planned on happening this soon. I fully support her and this decision as for years, decades she has committed to her clubs and teams. She has always been fully invested in her craft. Now she gets to take care of her other team…the most important team, her family.”

Rodriguez also dominated the international stage, joining the USWNT in 2005 and making 132 appearances over 13 years. She has scored 30 goals, adding 19 assists, and won two Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012). Additionally, Rodriguez was a member of the 2015 World Cup winning squad.

The first USC alum to be named a full-time assistant since Isabelle Harvey in 2005, Rodriguez will join newly hired head coach Jane Alukonis in Los Angeles.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to have Amy on the coaching staff,” said Alukonis. “Amy has won titles everywhere she has been — as a player at USC, with the USWNT at the Olympics and a World Cup, and in the NWSL. Needless to say, she is a champion! I know Amy will bring her expertise and give every bit of her heart and soul to the program. I can’t wait to see her push the players to their max on a daily basis. She is the perfect coach and mentor to help USC players achieve their big dreams.”

“I want to thank USC for providing me with the opportunity to come home,” said Rodriguez. “Choosing to retire was an incredibly difficult decision for me. However, continuing to give back to the game was always a priority of mine and there is no better place for me to do that than here at USC. This university has given me so much and now it is my time to give back.

“I am excited to start working with Jane and figuring out how I can complement her coaching style to create the best USC women’s soccer team possible. I plan to roll up my sleeves and get right to work. Bringing another national championship to USC is my ultimate goal!”

The host of the 2022 Men's World Cup is back in the headlines, with Middle East nation Qatar reportedly in talks with FIFA to house the inaugural Women's Club World Cup in January 2028.

Despite recent gains on the men's side, the Qatar women’s national team is currently unranked due to a lack of official matches — founded in 2009, the squad has not competed in any official capacity in 12 years.

The lack of support for the nation's women's team is unsurprising given Qatar's concerning human rights record — one that the soccer world has long called into question, particularly concerning the treatment of women, migrants, and the LGBTQIA+ population.

The reported aim to host the 2028 Women's Club World Cup would constitute another example of Qatar sportswashing those international human rights concerns using the country's close relationship with the international soccer governing body — one bolstered by the fact that FIFA president Gianni Infantino resides in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Despite this week's reports, FIFA said they have yet to receive a formal bid for its first-ever women's club competition.

With 16 teams expected to compete from January 5th through 30th, 2028, European clubs are already bracing for calendar disruptions thanks to the Women's Club World Cup's winter kick-off.

At least five teams from Europe and two each from Asia, Africa, South America, and North America will compete, with the remaining three clubs determined by a 2027 qualifying tournament.

US Figure Skating is hoping to make Olympic history this year, naming powerhouse trio Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, and Isabeau Levito to the official 2026 Winter Games roster on Sunday as Team USA aims to end a 20-year medal drought in Milan next month.

Glenn earned her spot after winning her third-straight national title on Friday, with reigning world champion Liu and 18-year-old 2024 Worlds runner-up Levito chasing her onto the 2026 US Figure Skating Championships podium.

"Just so grateful. That was terrifying," Glenn said after her win. "And I had to skate after two incredible ladies brought down the house."

Liu is the only US women's singles skater returning with Olympic experience — at just 16 years old, she took sixth place in Beijing — but the group's national podium tally adds to Team USA's renewed confidence.

"All we've got to do, is do our job," said 26-year-old Glenn. "I think the US ladies have come so, so far in the last two decades that if all three of us do our jobs in Milan, then more than likely someone's going to be up there [on the Olympic podium]."

How to watch the 2026 Olympic figure skating competition

While the US women will first take the ice in the team competition on February 6th and 8th, the trio will begin contending for individual glory by skating their short programs at 12:45 PM ET on February 17th, airing live on USA Network.

The 2026 Olympic podium will then be finalized in the free skate competition at 1 PM ET on February 19th, with live coverage on NBC.

Incoming Denver Summit FC rookie Jasmine Aikey capped her Stanford career by earning the top honor in NCAA women's soccer, lifting the 2025 MAC Hermann Trophy last Friday.

Aikey is now the sixth Cardinal to win the award, joining fellow alums and USWNT standouts like Kelley O'Hara (2009), Christen Press (2010), Catarina Macario (2018, 2019), and Andi Sullivan (2017).

"I am so happy that Jasmine's hard work and dedication paid off, as she is one of the most talented and competitive student-athletes I have ever coached," said Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe in the school's Friday announcement.

The 20-year-old topped both Stanford and the ACC in goals scored this season with 21, tallying 11 assists as she led the Cardinal to both the 2025 ACC Championship and last month's College Cup Final.

Even more, her dominant season saw Aikey claim the 2025 MAC Hermann Award over fellow finalists and ACC stars Jordynn Dudley, a junior forward for reigning NCAA champion Florida State, and Izzy Engle, a Notre Dame sophomore attacker and the 2025 ACC Offensive Player of the Year.

With her Friday win, Aikey also made history as just the second student-athlete to win both the Hermann Trophy and the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year, joining Portland alum and international soccer's all-time leading scorer, Canada legend Christine Sinclair.

The forward won't be resting on her laurels for long, however, with Aikey now gearing up for next month's NWSL preseason after signing a two-year deal to join 2026 expansion side Denver Summit last Thursday.

"I'm ready to get to work and help set the standard in Denver," remarked the newly minted pro in a club statement.

As top tennis talents turn toward the 2026 Australian Open, this week's WTA rankings refresh hints at the drama to come as the year's first Grand Slam nears.

Following her strong 2026 United Cup showing against world No. 2 Iga Świątek, Team USA favorite Coco Gauff jumped to No. 3, leapfrogging fellow US star No. 4 Amanda Anisimova along the way.

Meanwhile, reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys hit a slight skid, falling two spots to No. 9 after unwavering No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka ousted her from last week's Brisbane Open quarterfinals.

Sabalenka aside, Switzerland's No. 10 Belinda Bencic might have the hottest hand heading into Melbourne, busting into the Top 10 after winning all five of her 2026 United Cup singles matches — including a dominant three-set victory over Poland's Świątek.

Bencic also made history in this week's rankings update, becoming the first returning mother to crack the WTA's top tier since US tennis icon Serena Williams did so in 2021.

"I think it's been a huge goal, maybe a huge ride after the whole comeback, to come back and prove this to myself, that it's possible," Bencic said this week.

How to watch top WTA ranked tennis players this week

Next up for the WTA rankings' elite will be the record-breaking 2026 Australian Open, with the main draw of the season's first Slam kicking off down under on Sunday.

Live coverage from the Melbourne hardcourt will air across ESPN platforms beginning at 7 PM ET on Saturday.