Vivianne Miedema has ruptured her ACL, she announced Monday, adding her name to the growing list of top-tier players who have torn knee ligaments.

“Absolutely gutted to share I’ve ruptured my ACL in our last game against Lyon,” Miedema wrote. “It was one of those moments where I knew straight away.”

The striker, who stars for Arsenal and for the Dutch women’s national team, did not provide a firm timeline for her recovery. But she said it would be “a long time” before she would return to the pitch, and she ruled herself out for the 2023 World Cup.

“I won’t be able to help my team anymore this season, no World Cup, surgery and rehab for a long time,” she continued. “I won’t be telling you I’ll come back stronger or that I’m looking forward to spend the next however many months in the gym.

“It will be tough with plenty of difficult days (plenty of crying, which we’ve had a lot of already), but sadly enough it’s part of football.”

💔🤕🩼

Gutted to share I’ve ruptured my ACL.

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PS. I can’t wait to boss around @bmeado9 this time, at least we’ve still got two decent ACL’s between us 🩼😅 pic.twitter.com/E52GAQP1GI

— Vivianne Miedema (@VivianneMiedema) December 19, 2022

Arsenal said in a statement that Miedema will undergo surgery “in the coming days.”

“[She] will unfortunately be ruled out for an extended period of time. A more detailed timescale will be established once the operation is complete,” the Women’s Super League club said. “Everyone at Arsenal wishes Viv well in her recovery and will be providing her with all the support she needs to return to action as soon as possible.”

Miedema joins her girlfriend and Arsenal teammate Beth Mead on the ACL injury list. Miedema suffered her injury last Thursday during Arsenal’s Champions League match against Lyon and had to be stretchered off the field.

With the Dutch star’s injury, 25 percent of the 2022 Ballon d’Or Féminin nominees are sidelined with ACL injuries, including winner Alexia Putellas. The USWNT has also been hit hard by ACL injuries, with both Catarina Macario and Christen Press sidelined.

Miedema is one of the top strikers in the game, having scored 78 goals in 97 league appearances for Arsenal.

She just recently made her return to the field after taking a break in November. Upon her return, she went on a tear, scoring four goals in four games to help Arsenal to second place in the Women’s Super League standings.

Miedema has been vocal in criticizing the packed playing calendar as a contributing factor in the recent rash of injuries. On Saturday, FIFA announced that it will be adding even more to the women’s calendar, introducing a women’s Club World Cup in 2025.

US runner Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has done it again, winning the Women's World Athlete of the Year for the second time at the 2025 World Athletics Awards on Sunday.

In a pivot from her historic 400-meter hurdles dominance, McLaughlin-Levrone chose to master its flat counterpart this year, racing to an undefeated season in the 400-meter flat event in 2025.

"For me, 2025 was a year of stepping outside of the comfort zone and pushing the bounds of what was mentally and physically possible," the four-time US Olympic gold medalist said in a Sunday press release. "I want to continue pushing boundaries in 2026."

Already a winner of the 2018 World Athletics Rising Star Award, McLaughlin-Levrone snagged her first Women's World Athlete of the Year honor in 2022 following a first-ever individual world title in her signature 400-meter hurdles.

This year, the 26-year-old claimed a second individual world trophy in record-breaking fashion, winning the 400-meter with a Championships and North American record-shattering time of 47.78 seconds — the second-fastest of all time — at September's 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.

The victory cemented her as the first athlete to claim world titles in both the 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter flat, ultimately earning her Sunday's World Athlete of the Year honor.

"The culmination of the season in Tokyo was a really special moment. I'm so thankful for everyone who supported, watched, voted, and who was there throughout this whole process," McLaughlin-Levrone added.

The  world No. 2 USWNT ended 2025 with a bang on Monday night, shutting out No. 12 Italy yet again behind first-half goals from young stars Catarina Macario and Jaedyn Shaw.

Macario's masterful 20th-minute chip shot continued a scoring tear for the 26-year-old, marking her fifth US goal in the last three matches while bringing her 2025 tally to a team-leading eight.

"[I'm] finally finding some consistency," Macario said after Monday's 2-0 win, commenting on her history of lingering knee injuries. "Considering everything that I've been through for the past three years, that is definitely the thing I'm most proud of."

Shaw then capped the match's scoring in the 41st minute, when the 21-year-old blasted a bullet from the top of the box to double the US lead.

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The USWNT officially ends 2025 with 12 wins, three losses, and zero draws, tying the team record for most home defeats in a calendar year while shaking up the player pool and honing their style of play.

"I watched the product in the last two games, and I'm like '[Italy] was a team that nearly made the [2025] Euro final,'" USWNT manager Emma Hayes said postmatch. "We've got patience, we could control the game in the right moments, we can attack in a variety of different ways…for me the pride is in all of it."

"It's what we're striving for every game," said 19-year-old midfielder Claire Hutton, one of three teenagers to start Monday's friendly. "We want to put more goals up — two isn't enough for us — but if we can end in a shutout and with a win, it puts us on the front foot going into January."

How to watch the USWNT in 2026

After a brief break, the USWNT will return to action with a pair of friendlies next month, kicking off their 2026 campaign against No. 41 Paraguay on Saturday, January 24th, before taking on a still-unknown opponent on Tuesday, January 27th.

The US's first match of 2026 will kick off at 5:30 PM ET, airing live on TNT and HBO Max.

The USWNT is eyeing another 2025 victory, with US Soccer announcing the finalists for the federation's end-of-year awards on Monday, including the five women nominated for US Soccer Female Player of the Year.

After stellar runs for both club and country, Arsenal defender Emily Fox, Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey, Gotham FC midfielder Rose Lavelle, and Chelsea FC forwards Alyssa Thompson and Catarina Macario headline the 2025 shortlist.

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The youth national teams' Young Female Player of the Year award also tapped top finalists in Angel City forward Riley Tiernan, Chicago Stars forward Micayla Johnson, Seattle Reign defender Jordyn Bugg, Gotham FC defender Lilly Reale, and University of Virginia freshman defender Pearl Cecil.

The USWNT also earned a Game of the Year nomination, with US Soccer recognizing the team's dominant 3-0 victory over North American rival Canada in July.

While national team play is paramount in determining the honorees, club performances also factor into the awards, with several Player of the Year nominees significantly adding to their resumes away from the international pitch in 2025.

In May, Fox helped Arsenal to the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League title and Macario lifted the WSL trophy with Chelsea, while Gotham stars Lavelle and Reale finished their NWSL season as league champions late last month — with Reale also taking home the 2025 NWSL Rookie of the Year trophy.

How to vote for the 2025 US Soccer Player of the Year Awards

Players, coaches, media, the US Soccer board, and fans will determine the ultimate winners, with fan picks making up 15% of the final tally.

Fans can submit their votes online now through Friday, December 12th, with US Soccer slated to announce the winners in January.

Monday's AP Top 25 women's college basketball poll has a new No. 2, as Texas jumped two spots up the ladder after taking down then-No. 2 South Carolina and then-No. 3 UCLA at last week's Players Era Championship in Las Vegas.

With the Longhorns knocking off two Top 3 programs in the shortest time frame in 25 years, the 32-member media panel rewarded Texas with 10 first-place votes on Monday.

Despite their losses, the No. 3 Gamecocks and No. 4 Bruins fell just one spot each, with UCLA bouncing back against then-No. 14 Tennessee on Sunday — a 99-77 victory that sent the Vols tumbling five spots to No. 19 in the week's biggest rankings drop.

Meanwhile, Nos. 5 through 10 held steady this week, as No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Maryland, No. 8 TCU, No. 9 Oklahoma, and No. 10 Iowa State all managed to avoid upsets.

The Big Ten and SEC are now neck-and-neck atop NCAA basketball, with both conferences featuring eight Top 25 teams after a narrow win over No. 25 West Virginia last Wednesday saw No. 23 Ohio State enter the AP Poll for the first time this season.

How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball this week

The ranked action will continue with a trio of Top 25 matchups on the second day of the annual ACC/SEC Challenge on Thursday.

First at 7 PM ET, No. 11 UNC will visit No. 2 Texas on ESPN2 while No. 3 South Carolina faces No. 22 Louisville on ESPN.

No. 18 Notre Dame will close out the night against No. 13 Ole Miss at 9 PM ET, airing live on ESPN2.

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll: Week 5

1. UConn (7-0, Big East)
2. Texas (8-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (7-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (8-1, Big Ten)
5. LSU (8-0, SEC)
6. Michigan (6-1, Big Ten)
7. Maryland (9-0, Big Ten)
8. TCU (8-0, Big 12)
9. Oklahoma (7-1, SEC)
10. Iowa State (9-0, Big 12)
11. UNC (8-1, ACC)
12. Iowa (8-0, Big Ten)
13. Ole Miss (7-0, SEC)
14. Baylor (7-1, Big 12)
15. Vanderbilt (8-0, SEC)
16. USC (5-2, Big Ten)
17. Kentucky (8-1, SEC)
18. Notre Dame (5-1, ACC)
19. Tennessee (5-2, SEC)
20. Michigan State (8-0, Big Ten)
21. Washington (8-0, Big Ten)
22. Louisville (7-2, ACC)
23. Ohio State (6-1, Big Ten)
24. Oklahoma State (8-1, Big 12)
25. West Virginia (6-2, Big 12)