Sam Mewis has not played for the U.S. women’s national team since she suited up at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

The prospect of her return — to the USWNT and to the sport — remains a question mark, coach Vlatko Andonovski told reporters ahead of the team’s two friendlies in New Zealand this week. Mewis made two NWSL preseason appearances in 2022 but otherwise has not played.

“At this point I don’t want to guess what the time is or if she is going to be back at all,” Andonovski said Tuesday.

The star midfielder received her first call-up to the senior national team in 2014. By 2018, she had established herself as a mainstay on the roster, and she excelled for the 2019 World Cup-winning squad.

But Mewis last took the field for the USWNT in its bronze-medal match against Australia in August 2021. She underwent arthroscopic surgery on her right knee later that month, with an anticipated recovery time of eight weeks.

More than 16 months later, the USWNT is gearing up for another major tournament. But Mewis remains on the sidelines.

“With Sam, it’s a long-term injury and at this point, you know, we probably would not go into details for that,” said Andonovski, per a transcript from Australian Associated Press reporter Ben McKay.

In the NWSL, Mewis features on the Kansas City Current roster after she joined the club via trade in November 2021, though she only played for the team in two Challenge Cup matches in March 2022. Current general manager Camille Levin Ashton said last week that the 30-year-old midfielder is focused on recovery.

Mewis is not the only player absent from the USWNT for its New Zealand trip. Andonovski provided updates on several other players before the first match against the Football Ferns, which will kick off at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Tierna Davidson is “already in full training,” Andonovski said. The 24-year-old defender is expected back for the next camp in February — if she earns a spot, the coach noted.

He also provided brief updates on Megan Rapinoe (ankle) and Kelley O’Hara (hip), saying both are progressing well.

Veteran midfielder Julie Ertz welcomed her first son in August. She “needs a little bit more time to prepare before she even starts training,” Andonovski said, so the team is giving her “a little more space and time until she’s fully ready to join.”

Full comments from Vlatko Andonovski on #USWNT absentees including Sam Mewis: "I don't want to guess what the time is or if she is going to be back at all" 😳 pic.twitter.com/Th2Zcs1plF

— Ben McKay (@benmackey) January 17, 2023

The USWNT is getting the band back together this October, as manager Emma Hayes tapped a number of veteran faces in a 26-player roster for the team's upcoming three international friendlies on Wednesday morning.

The team's European-based players are stepping back into the spotlight, after Hayes chose to rest stars Lindsey Heaps, Lily Yohannes, Emily Fox, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and Catarina Macario during the summer.

However, sidelined Chelsea defender Naomi Girma will sit this one out as she continues to recover from a calf injury.

The roster also highlights the return of favorites Trinity Rodman, Rose Lavelle, and Jaedyn Shaw, as Hayes also calls up 24-year-old San Diego Wave defender Kennedy Wesley for the first time.

As next fall's qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup quickly approach, Hayes is narrowing the field from her previous developmentally focused roster-building strategy.

"I think this was the one camp I had to make some really hard decisions, and that's the place I wanted to be in," Hayes told reporters on Wednesday morning. "It's the build for [World Cup] qualification for next year."

With an average age of 24.6, the latest squad reflects the US's youth movement, though Lavelle's return helps boost the average international experience from 18.4 caps in this summer's USWNT roster to 27.3 appearances on Hayes's October lineup.

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The October 2025 USWNT roster

• Goalkeepers: Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign) Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United)

• Defenders: Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Lilly Reale (Gotham), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (Gotham), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave)

• Midfielders: Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Rose Lavelle (Gotham), Sam Meza (Seattle Reign), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes)

• Forwards: Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Catarina Macario (Chelsea), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Yazmeen Ryan (Houston Dash), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea)

How to watch the October USWNT friendlies

The world No. 2 USWNT will first take on No. 23 Portugal at 7 PM ET on October 23rd and at 4 PM ET on the 26th, before closing out the international window against No. 33 New Zealand at 8 PM ET on October 29th.

All three friendlies will air live on TNT.

The 2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League action returns on Wednesday, kicking off another week of league-phase play as WSL titans Chelsea search for their first UWCL win of the season.

The Blues settled for a disappointing 1-1 draw with FC Twente last week, despite outshooting the Dutch club 20-9 while holding 65% of possession.

"When I analyze the games, I think we are creating a lot, which is the most important thing," said Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor. "But the most difficult thing in football is to score goals. We need to stay confident and keep trying."

"Sometimes, when you're able to be clinical, you kill the opposition’s hope a bit sooner," Bompastor continued, hoping to supercharge the Blues' offense ahead of their Wednesday afternoon clash with French side Paris FC.

Other UWCL heavy hitters will also feature on Wednesday's pitch, as Barcelona, Wolfsburg and OL Lyonnes all look to continue their winning ways after major victories in last week's opening slate.

The rest of the 18-club league phase will conclude the second matchday on Thursday, when fellow WSL powerhouses Manchester United and defending Champions League winners Arsenal return to the UWCL pitch.

How to watch Chelsea vs. Paris FC in Champions League play

Chelsea will host Paris FC in London for their second league phase match at 3 PM ET on Wednesday.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will air live on Paramount+.

South Carolina basketball head coach Dawn Staley isn't sure about the NBA, as the venerated NCAA sideline leader told media this week that, after taking an interview with the New York Knicks earlier this year, she doesn't see the men's pro league hiring a woman coach anytime soon.

"No, I don't," the 55-year-old responded when asked on Tuesday if she thought there'd be a woman NBA coach in her lifetime. "And I hope I'm wrong."

"If the Knicks have a five-game losing streak, it's not going to be about the losing streak, it's going to be about being a female coach," she explained. "So you as an organization, a franchise, you have to be prepared for and strong enough to ignore those types of instances when you're going to look to hire a female coach."

Earlier this year, Staley — who also interviewed with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021 — admitted that she would have taken the Knicks job if New York offered it to her.

"I would have had to do it. Not just for me. For women. To break [that door] open," Staley told Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and retired WNBA icon Candace Parker on their "Post Moves" podcast in August.

As it stands, Staley remains open to using her NBA interview experiences to help any future woman coach — or men's team — navigate the pitfalls of breaking that glass ceiling.

"It's not just about hiring the first female NBA coach," explained the South Carolina boss. "[There will be] questions that you don't have to answer if you're a male coach."

"I've got all the information," Staley offered. "Come see me, because I'll [prepare you] for the interview."

Incoming 2026 WNBA expansion side Portland sprung a leak this week, prematurely introducing NBA assistant Alex Sarama of the Cleveland Cavaliers as the inaugural head coach for the Fire on LinkedIn early Tuesday morning before pulling the post.

Shortly following the retracted news, the Fire did official announce that WNBA veteran Ashley Battle will join the team as VP of basketball operations, strategy, and innovation.

Per a Front Office Sports report, Portland is currently on track to announce Sarama's hiring in the coming days, though the parties are still working to finalize a contract.

Sarama falls in line with the WNBA's recent turn to the NBA pipeline, with the Phoenix Mercury bringing on head coach Nate Tibbetts from the Orlando Magic in 2023, the Las Vegas Aces tapping Becky Hammon from the San Antonio Spurs in 2021, and Hammon herself hiring now-Golden State Valkyries boss Natalie Nakase from the LA Clippers in 2022.

Sarama also has experience with Portland Fire GM Vanja Černivec, after both spent time working for the British Basketball League's London Lions.

While the rollout might have come early, Portland now has their basketball staff in place as the WNBA enters an uncertain offseason dictated by tense CBA negotiations.