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USWNT to Face Japan, Australia, Colombia in 2025 SheBelieves Cup

The USWNT raise their 2024 SheBelieves Cup trophy.
The USWNT won their seventh SheBelieves Cup in 2024. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

The 2025 SheBelieves Cup field is officially set, as the world No. 1 USWNT's path to a sixth-straight victory in the annual tournament will feature matchups with 2024 Olympians No. 7 Japan, No. 15 Australia, and No. 21 Colombia.

After the Paris Olympic Games forced an abbreviated four-match, two-day format in 2024, this 10th edition will return to the tournament's original setup of three double-headers in February. Round-robin play will again determine the Cup champion via accumulated points, with goal differential serving as tiebreaker.

The 2025 tournament will kick off at Houston's Shell Energy Stadium on February 20th. The quartet will then battle at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on the 23rd before wrapping up the Cup at San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium on the 26th.

USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and defender Emily Sonnett pose with the 2024 SheBelieves Cup trophy.
Alyssa Naeher and Emily Sonnett have been on all nine US SheBelieves Cup rosters. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

A history of USWNT SheBelieves dominance

While Australia and Colombia will make their SheBelieves Cup debuts, the 2025 competition will be Japan's third straight trip and fifth overall appearance in the US-hosted tournament.

Other than France's 2017 victory and England's 2019 title, the USWNT has won all other iterations for a total of seven trophies.

That streak, plus their astounding 71-2-15 combined all-time record against the three visitors — marred only by single 1-0 losses to Japan in 2012 and Australia in 2018 — make the US heavily favored to win an eighth SheBelieves Cup.

World-class contenders square off for SheBelieves

That said, it won't be easy, as every 2025 contender poses a challenge. Each has already played the USA this year, starting when Colombia fell 3-0 to the States in their Concacaf W Gold Cup quarterfinal in March.

Las Cafeteras didn't have to face the eventual gold medalists during the 2024 Olympics, unlike Australia and Japan. The USWNT knocked the Matildas out of the Paris tournament with a 2-1 win in group play, then narrowly escaped a tough Nadeshiko side in a 1-0 overtime quarterfinal thriller.

All three visiting teams will be gunning for a redemption win over the US come February. That high-stakes competition is something US head coach Emma Hayes welcomes.

"This will be my first SheBelieves Cup, but I’ve followed the tournament, and it always produces close games between top teams," the US boss said in Wednesday’s announcement.

"All four of these teams were in the last World Cup and Olympics, and all are in the building process to qualify for the next World Cup, so to get three games against talented teams and players in a format that replicates group play at a world championship is valuable in our process. All the games will be great tests for the teams and fun for all the fans."

Japan's Seike Kiko and the USWNT's Jenna Nighswonger battle for position during the 2024 SheBelieves Cup.
Japan will join the SheBelieves Cup for the fifth time in 2025. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The full 2025 SheBelieves Cup schedule for the USWNT

  • Thursday, February 20th (Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, Texas)
    • Japan vs. Australia, 5 PM ET
    • USWNT vs. Colombia, 8 PM ET
  • Sunday, February 23rd (State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona)
    • Colombia vs. Japan, 2 PM ET
    • USWNT vs. Australia, 5 PM ET
  • Wednesday, February 26th (Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, California)
    • Australia vs. Colombia, 7:30 PM ET
    • USWNT vs. Japan, 10:30 PM ET

How to watch the USWNT at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup

Tickets for all 2025 SheBelieves Cup dates and locations are currently available online.

For those unable to make the trip, all USWNT matches will air live on TBS, with the three non-US games will be available to stream on Max.

Australia Coach Reveals Injury Setback for Matildas Star Sam Kerr

Australia striker Sam Kerr looks down at at 2025 Matildas training session.
Australia star Sam Kerr required a second surgery unrelated to her ACL injury. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Incoming Matildas boss Joe Montemurro revealed a new setback in the return of Australia captain Sam Kerr from injury on Monday, disclosing that the Chelsea striker has recently undergone an additional surgery unrelated to her January 2024 ACL tear.

"I think there were some complications," Montemurro told Australia's Channel 10 about the 31-year-old attacker's status this week. "There was a subsequent intervention, but I do believe she is now back running."

"It was something completely different [to the ACL injury]. I think the knee is fine," Montemurro continued.

Montemurro, who took the reins of the Matildas this week following a year-long stint leading European club titan OL Lyonnes, did not detail a specific timeline for Kerr's return.

However, the Australia captain is likely to miss the world No. 16 team's upcoming three summer friendlies against No. 38 Slovenia and No. 57 Panama.

That said, though Montemurro has yet to directly connect with Kerr, the Australia boss did state that "there's nothing to worry about, she's on track."

"By all reports, she's focused on getting back and she's focused on being back at her best, knowing that there's an exciting tournament coming up," the new Matildas manager said, referencing the 2026 Asian Cup.

"So with that attitude, I expect to see a fantastic Sam Kerr."

Gauff, Sabalenka, Boisson, and Świątek Headline 2025 French Open Semifinals

Coco Gauff celebrates her quarterfinal win over Madison Keys at the 2025 French Open.
World No. 2 Coco Gauff topped fellow US star No. 8 Madison Keys in their 2025 French Open quarterfinal. (Tnani Badreddine/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)

This week's 2025 French Open quarterfinals set up the clay-court Grand Slam's semifinals, with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka taking on three-time defending champ No. 5 Iga Świątek while No. 2 Coco Gauff faces wild card No. 361 Loïs Boisson on Thursday.

In Wednesday morning's highly anticipated all-American showdown, Gauff survived a tight 6-7(6) 6-4, 6-1 quarterfinal battle with fellow US star No. 8 Madison Keys to punch her semifinals ticket.

Shortly thereafter, Boisson's historic Cinderella run continued as the 22-year-old French up-and-comer took down heavy favorite No. 6 Mirra Andreeva in straight sets — after pulling off a huge Round of 16 upset of US star No. 3 Jessica Pegula on Monday.

Boisson — the youngest French semifinalist at any Grand Slam in 26 years and the first woman to make the penultimate round in her major tournament debut since 1990 — will leap to at least No. 68 in the next WTA rankings thanks to her Roland-Garros performance.

"I don't think it's a miracle," said Boisson of her unexpected Grand Slam debut. "It's just the result of hard work. Nothing else."

On the other side of the 2025 French Open bracket, both Sabalenka and Świątek cruised through their Tuesday quarterfinal matches to reach Thursday's semis, but their toughest match lies ahead.

Despite beating Sabalenka in five out of six previous meetings on clay, Świątek hasn't reached a major tournament final since her 2024 Roland-Garros win.

"I'm super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win," said Sabalenka about her upcoming date with Świątek.

How to watch the 2025 French Open semifinals

Sabalenka and Świątek will kick off the 2025 French Open semifinals at 9 AM ET on Thursday, with Gauff and Boisson taking the court shortly after the first semi concludes.

Both matches will are live on TNT.

PWHL Teams Drop Protected Players Lists Ahead of 2025 Expansion Draft

Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight looks on during a 2025 PWHL game.
Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight was left unprotected ahead of the 2025 PWHL expansion draft. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The puck has officially dropped on the PWHL expansion process, with existing teams releasing protected players lists as incoming 2025/26 franchises Seattle and Vancouver begin to build rosters.

The teams' exclusive signing window opened Wednesday morning and runs through Sunday, with the 2025 Expansion Draft set for Monday evening.

Both Seattle and Vancouver can sign up to five players each from the league's unprotected and free agency pool this week.

Regardless of how many athletes the franchises choose to sign, the expansion process requires that the new teams grow their rosters to 12 total players by the end of Monday's draft, before completing their 23-athlete lineups alongside the other six teams during the June 24th PWHL entry draft.

The six founding PWHL clubs could only list three protected players for this week's signing window and next week's expansion draft, forcing some difficult roster decisions.

The Boston Fleet did not opt to add captain Hilary Knight to the protected players list — despite the 35-year-old leading the league in scoring this season — with New York's Alex Carpenter and Toronto's Sarah Nurse also headlining the unprotected list.

With growth front-of-mind, the PWHL Players Association also announced that its members voted late last week to publicly disclose their salaries — a move expected to aid negotiations during this week's signing window.

"This will be a tool for players as they consider opportunities across the league," PWHLPA executive director Malaika Underwood told The Athletic.

All-Texas Bill Headlines 2025 WCWS Championship Series

Texas softball players celebrate sophomore left fielder Katie Stewart's fourth-inning home run against Tennessee in the 2025 WCWS semifinals.
The Texas Longhorns will face the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2025 WCWS best-of-three championship series starting on Wednesday. (BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK)

The Lone Star State is now ruling the 2025 Women's College World Series (WCWS), with the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders taking the NCAA softball field for the national tournament's best-of-three championship series for the first time on Wednesday night.

No. 6-seed Texas reached the final round with a 2-0 semifinal win over SEC foe No. 7 Tennessee on Monday, while No. 12 Texas Tech denied defending champion Oklahoma a chance to extend their historic record, ending the No. 2 seed's hunt for a fifth straight NCAA title with a dramatic 3-2 semifinal ousting.

Pitching will take center stage throughout the championship series, as the regional rivals each boast a stellar ace in the circle in Texas Tech transfer junior and this season's National Pitcher of the Year NiJaree Canady and Texas star sophomore Teagan Kavan.

Texas packs experience against Cinderella Texas Tech

While both programs are searching for their first-ever national championship, the more experienced Longhorns have the edge entering this week's competition.

This year marks Texas's eighth overall trip to the WCWS and the Longhorns' third championship series appearance in the last four years, having fallen to Oklahoma in both 2022 and 2024.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech is still blazing trails through brand-new territory, adding a WCWS finals debut to an already-historic 2025 run that included the Red Raiders' first Super Regional appearance and win, and first-ever WCWS berth.

The Longhorns also own this season's head-to-head record over the Red Raiders, snagging two wins over Texas Tech in February.

However, while Kavan threw both those games, including an 11-0 run-rule victory, Canady only featured in one — a narrow 2-1 extra-inning Texas Tech loss in which the deciding run crossed on a throwing error.

Though the Red Raiders are technically the underdogs of this week's championship series, the likely pitchers' duel between Canady and Kavan means that the 2025 WCWS title is anyone's for the taking.

How to watch the 2025 WCWS championship series

The best-of-three 2025 WCWS championship series between Texas and Texas Tech starts on Wednesday, with Game 2 set for Thursday and, if necessary, a winner-take-all final tilt on deck for Friday.

All of the 2025 WCWS championship series clashes will begin at 8 PM ET, airing live on ESPN.

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