Former U.S. women’s national team fitness coach Dawn Scott has raised the alarm over ACL injuries in women’s soccer.

“We NEED research to explore such information — an increasing number of ACL injuries are not a good statistic,” Scott tweeted on Nov. 12. Her warning seems particularly prescient two weeks later, as England star Beth Mead ruptured her ACL in a Women’s Super League match Saturday.

We NEED research to explore such information - an increasing number of ACL injuries are not a good statistic - but I feel there are some inaccuracies around the direct relation to the menstrual cycle, and what this article clearly highlights is the following:
1 We NEED research https://t.co/CrfVcTKyPe

— Dawn Scott (@DawnScott06) November 13, 2022

Scott worked with the Lionesses as their head of sport science from 2001-10, then returned as their senior physical performance manager from 2019-21. Between those stints with England, she served as the USWNT’s high performance manager, helping the U.S. to two World Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal.

She spent a year as performance director for Inter Miami CF of the MLS before leaving earlier this month to serve in the same role for the Washington Spirit of the NWSL.

Her experience with women’s and men’s teams gives her important perspective on the increased risk of ACL injuries for women athletes.

One in 19 women playing soccer rupture their ACL, per a 2019 study, and women are two to eight times more likely to experience an ACL tear than men, per research cited by the Yale School of Medicine in 2020.

Scott pointed to the need for research specific to women athletes, from the “grassroots to the elite level,” especially in terms of training methods. Women and men have “physiological, psychological, biomechanical and hormonal differences,” she said, and more must be done to make sure women are getting the proper training and care.

“Are we supporting players in relation to lifestyle, nutrition, psychology, biomechanics, sleep and movement profiling?” she continued.

Scott’s questions come amid a rash of ACL injuries at the highest levels of women’s soccer.

Players who have injured their ACLs in 2022 include: USWNT’s Tierna Davidson, Catarina Macario and Christen Press; France’s Dzsenifer Marozsán and Marie-Antionette Katoto.; Spain’s Alexia Putellas; England’s Beth Mead; Australia’s Ellie Carpenter; Brazil’s Marta; and Denmark’s Nadia Nadim.

That list — which includes Ballon d’Or winner Putellas, runner-up Mead, and two more nominees in Macario and Katoto — would make An impressive World Cup roster in its own right. Instead, all these players are in a race against the clock to recover in time for the 2023 World Cup, which is set to kick off July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

A team of women with current ACL injuries would win a championship if they were healthy pic.twitter.com/jlWsHPJAsG

— Samantha (@SS_Evans_) November 22, 2022

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.