Shelina Zadorksy plays as a defender for both the Orlando Pride of the NWSL and the Canada women’s national team. With the CWNT, Zadorsky won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Below, she discusses Canada’s decision (before the games were officially postponed) to withhold athletes from the Tokyo Olympics, as well as how she’s both training under quarantine and handling the uncertainty surrounding the start of the NWSL season.

What did you think of Canada’s decision to announce its withdrawal from the Olympics ahead of the official cancellation? What was your overall impression of how the Canadian Olympic Committee handled the situation? 

Canada made the right move with the COC. Everything going on in the world is bigger than sports. The safety of the athletes and all those involved is most important. I’m proud of how the COC handled themselves and proud that other countries followed suit. Obviously, the IOC wanted to keep the games. They had to react to everything in real time, so I understand why they were a little slow, but they ultimately made the right call. I’m also very thankful the games were postponed and not cancelled.

Walk us through the moment when you heard the games were officially being pushed back. What was going through your head?

Because we already had all the build up, and the COC had already pulled out, when the final decision was announced I think I mostly felt relief. Obviously, it would have been really difficult to have had the games and not been a part of it, even if we knew it was the right call by Canada and the other countries to keep their athletes home. So ultimately, I just felt relief knowing everyone was on the same page.

#TeamCanada will not send athletes to Games in summer 2020 due to COVID-19 risks.

????https://t.co/AKmI2rbyeO pic.twitter.com/8McEbgirVp

— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) March 23, 2020

What have the conversations been like between you and your Canadian teammates throughout all this? 

Our conversations and communication have been really positive. Throughout the whole process, both the leadership group within our team and our coaches have been really open and transparent in their conversations with us. Mostly, we’ve just been checking in to make sure everyone is okay and feels supported during this time. We’re even doing video workouts together!

How does being quarantined impact your training both personally and as a team?

Obviously, not being on the field with your team and feeling like you’re not getting better to play a 90 minute game with your team is really hard as an athlete. But in this time, you just have to focus on what you can do. We had a Zoom workout with around 20 of us earlier led by my CNT strength and conditioning coach. I am also lucky to live in a warm place (Orlando) where I can social distance but still run and do some speed, agility and ball work outside.  I have also been slowly adding pieces to my home gym so I can do workouts inside — I just got a stationary bike, which is pretty exciting.

There is some clarity around when the Olympics will happen, but still no clarity on when the NWSL season will start. Are you just focused on staying fit as you possibly can?

Yes and no… Right now it’s about managing our energy with a lot of unknowns.  Basically, I want to just stay mentally and physically prepared to go into a pre-season at a moment’s notice. But I also know there’s no clear timeline, so I have to focus on not getting burned out. I try to make small gains every day.

How has your life off the field been affected by the pandemic?

I’ve always known that I’m a social person, and I really have felt that in this time. I really love being around people and having that community so isolating can be really difficult. Obviously, it’s what we need to do to get to the other side of this. So I’m talking on the phone more, and I’ve become really thankful for FaceTime and having the ability to check in with people that are far away.

Anything else you would like to share?

Just that we all need to do our part and socially distance so we can get past this and get back to doing what we love. But also that while we’re in these tough times, I think we can learn a lot about ourselves and what’s really important to us.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.