Naomi Girma is a defender for the Stanford University Cardinal, with whom she won the 2019 NCAA College Cup. 

How do you feel about being called into USWNT training camp?

I’m really excited. It just feels like a bright spot in what has been a tough year with obviously our season getting canceled and all these things. So yeah, I’m super excited to go.

How’d you find out about the call-in? And how excited were you to see some current and past teammates on the roster? 

I got an email. Sophie Smith, who went pro last year, is also going and we were kind of talking about it and it was just like, “Yeah.” It was really exciting. My parents were super excited. And I think it’s great to see familiar faces there and a new environment for me. And yeah, I think it’s just cool that Stanford has that many people representing them there.

How have you been training this fall given that the Pac 12 isn’t playing? 

I’m happy I stayed on campus. We’ve been getting good training with our coaches and then also playing by ourselves and just focusing on finer details that we don’t usually focus on during the season. It’s just been great to have a steady training environment compared to the rest of this year when we were at home.

At this point, do you count on there being a spring season?

Well, I’m preparing for a spring season. That’s kind of been my outlook the whole year. If there’s a season, I want to be ready for it. I think it’s looking a lot better because of how Stanford is pushing for basketball and football to get the testing to be able to fully practice and then also be able to play in the game. So I think depending on how this fall season goes for them, that’ll kind of determine what happens with us. But I’m hopeful for a spring season and I mean, it’s really cool. We have the opportunity to play for a national championship in spring. And then also in the fall to play for 2021. That’d be pretty cool.

What have the last 6 months been like for you in terms of Covid, the season being cancelled, and the protests against social injustice? What’s changed in your perspective both as a person and as an athlete? 

It’s definitely changed. I would say I feel more empowered to use my platform as an athlete and to use my voice in ways that I didn’t feel like I could before. I think seeing the impact athletes can have on these issues has definitely inspired me and has caused me to start speaking out more. And I think it’s also great that our team is super open and willing to have those conversations, which has helped me feel more supported in speaking out and stuff.

You’ve talked before about the importance of having Black role models when you were younger in a sport that’s historically white. Your own platform is growing as we speak. How has your sense of yourself as a role model changed over the last few months? 

I think I just realized how special this opportunity that I have is, because obviously I know playing for Stanford soccer and getting to be in this environment is such a privilege. And I’m obviously grateful for it every day, but I think I realized the impact that it can have on other people who are younger than me. And I didn’t necessarily think about that before, that as a first generation American, I can have an impact by showing younger kids that you can do anything you set out for. And I think I realized the people that I looked up to inspired me and I can be that for younger kids as well.

What would “success” mean for you in camp?

Honestly, I think growing and learning as much as I can and going into that environment with an open mind and just being exposed to the faster pace, their style of play, and just retaining as much as I can. That is my goal going into this. And obviously, I want to perform and play my best as well.

What are your goals for the next 12 months? I mean, you’ll have camp, you’ll have more training, you’ll potentially have a spring season. What does all of that kind of look like on your radar? 

I think the coming months are really exciting, especially compared to what’s been happening. I think right now I’m continuing to build my base, making sure I’m ready for a spring season, and then hopefully in that spring season, competing for a national championship. And then I want to continue to perform in camps, whether it be at the senior level or at the U20 level if those happen. After all the work that’s been put in this year during this prolonged offseason, we should finally have a chance to perform and show out. I think it’s time for the fun part.

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.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.