Entering the 2026 Olympics with a newly torn ACL, Team USA skiing icon Lindsey Vonn will race in the women's downhill event on Sunday — with the 41-year-old using it as a test case before committing to additional events at the Winter Games.
Vonn is also hoping to compete in Tuesday's team combined slalom event — possibly alongside fellow US star Mikaela Shiffrin — but the recent knee injury could derail her fifth, and likely final, Winter Olympics run.
"It will be objective performance that will define what our teams look like," USA women's skiing head coach Paul Kristofic clarified. "In the end, my job is to put the best pairings together so we can perform and get a medal and potentially win."
With Vonn's status technically still unclear, Italy is eyeing a home win, as 2018 gold medalist Sofia Goggia teams up with fellow decorated veteran Federica Brignone on Tuesday.
That said, Vonn successfully completed an early Friday training run — on the same Cortina course where she holds a record 12 World Cup wins.
"She was smart. She didn't go all in," said Vonn's coach Aksel Lund Svindal after her 11th-place run. "There was reserves today.... It's going to be hard but I think she could possibly [medal] on Sunday."
"No one would have believed I would be here…but I made it!!" Vonn posted to social media prior to Friday's downhill training. "I'm not going to waste this chance.... Let's go get it!!"
How to watch Lindsey Vonn at the 2026 Winter Olympics downhill event
Vonn will make her 2026 Olympic debut in the women's downhill event at 5:30 AM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on USA Network.
The comeback story for Team USA skier Lindsey Vonn isn't over yet, as the 41-year-old announced on Tuesday that she'll hit the slopes at the 2026 Winter Olympics despite tearing her ACL last week.
Vonn said she "completely ruptured" her left ACL while also suffering bone bruising and meniscus damage during last Friday's FIS World Cup downhill event in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, but added tht she's still able to ski with a knee brace.
"My knee is not swollen, and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday," Vonn told reporters. "I will do everything in my power to be in the starting gate."
Amid one of the biggest comeback seasons in alpine skiing history, Vonn expressed comfort with overcoming adversity — even if it's for the last time.
"This would be the best comeback I've done so far," Vonn said, after recovering from a previous ACL injury and subsequent surgery more than 10 years ago. "Definitely the most dramatic."
In addition to her signature downhill event, the three-time Olympic medalist voiced interest in participating in the Super G and a new combined team event.
How to watch Lindsey Vonn at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Vonn will open her Milano-Cortina campaign in the women's downhill at 5:30 AM ET on Sunday, airing live on Peacock.
The No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks are calling in roster reinforcements, announcing Monday that French forward Alicia Tournebize will join the NCAA basketball team after the holidays.
"Alicia has an incredible skill set and basketball IQ," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a news release. "She has great touch around the rim, can shoot it out to the 3-point line and is a shot blocker."
While they've only dropped one game so far this season, the Gamecocks' roster has been running thin due to injuries — including losing star forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending ACL injury in October.
With the continued absence of forward Ashlyn Watkins, who is out this season as she continues to rehab a January ACL tear, South Carolina has suffered additional temporary roster losses this month as injuries forced forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer into concussion protocol.
Though Okot, who is currently averaging a double-double, returned to play last Thursday, Makeer remains out, as the Gamecocks and their traditionally deep bench continue a 2025/26 campaign that's seen just three games played with a healthy 10-player roster.
The midseason signing of Tournebize will add both depth and height to bolster South Carolina, as the 6-foot-7 freshman rivals Chicago Sky forward Kamilla Cardoso as one of Staley's tallest-ever players.
The 18-year-old daughter of French basketball Hall of Famer Isabelle Fijalkowski — one of the inaugural WNBA players for the Cleveland Rockers — is already making a name for herself in Europe, leading the France's youth squad in both scoring and rebounding as they claimed bronze at last summer's 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket.
Tournebize also packs professional experience, coming to Columbia from French club Tango Bourges Basket.
The young star will likely make her NCAA debut as South Carolina kicks off SEC conference play in early 2026.
As the 2025/26 European club season shifts into full gear, a spike in ACL injuries is shedding new light on the increasingly dense women's soccer calendar.
Germany and Bayern Munich star Lena Oberdorf ruptured her right ACL during her club's Bundesliga match on Sunday, just weeks after the 23-year-old midfielder returned to play from rehabbing the same injury — in the same right knee.
"To now face a second such setback is incredibly hard," said Bayern Munich director of women's football Bianca Rech. "We are fully by Lena's side, will support her as best we can in her recovery and be there for her in every way."
Oberdorf is far from alone, with over 20 ACL injuries impacting multiple women's soccer leagues across the world in just the last three months.
Arsenal goalkeeper and Austrian international Manuela Zinsberger went down with an ACL tear during the Gunners' 2025/26 Champions League match last week, joining standouts like midfielder Sarah Zadrizil (Bayern Munich/Austria), striker Sophie Román Haug (Liverpool/Norway), forward Liana Joseph (OL Lyonnes/France), and midfielder Maite Oroz (Tottenham/Spain) on the injury's mounting hit list.
ACL injuries have long plagued the women's game, with FIFPRO recently developing the Project ACL research initiative to investigate and alleviate the issue.
Fresh off the program's record-extending 12th national championship, the UConn Huskies will tip off the 2025/26 NCAA season as the top-ranked team on the preseason AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll.
The elite start marks the Huskies' first No. 1 preseason ranking since 2017, as returning starters like sophomore forward Sarah Strong and grad student guard Azzi Fudd prepare to defend their NCAA title.
"Hopefully, it's a little bit of a confidence builder and not, 'Oh my god!'" UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said of his team's poll results. "I'm happy for them…. You tend to finish the year where you're predicted, so I like being in this position."
All of last season's Final Four teams will begin their 2025/26 campaigns on a high note, with national runners-up South Carolina ranking second while UCLA snagged third and Texas fourth.
Not every ranked team remained as unchanged, however, as No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 18 USC saw expectations dip in the face of significant player turnover.
USC will be without superstar guard JuJu Watkins for the entirety of the upcoming season, as the 20-year-old Trojan continues to rehab an ACL tear suffered during 2025's March Madness.
As for Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish lost standouts Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld to the WNBA, with the team planning to re-center their approach around guard Hannah Hidalgo after celebrated point guard Olivia Miles transferred to No. 17 TCU.
The 2025/26 NCAA basketball season tips off on Monday, November 3rd.
The 2025/26 NCAA basketball preseason AP Top 25 poll
1. UConn (Big East)
2. South Carolina (SEC)
3. UCLA (Big Ten)
4. Texas (SEC)
5. LSU (SEC)
6. Oklahoma (SEC)
7. Duke (ACC)
8. Tennessee (SEC)
9. NC State (ACC)
10. Maryland (Big Ten)
11. UNC (ACC)
12. Ole Miss (SEC)
13. Michigan (Big Ten)
14. Iowa State (Big 12)
15. Notre Dame (ACC)
16. Baylor (Big 12)
17. TCU (Big 12)
18. USC (Big Ten)
19. Vanderbilt (SEC)
20. Louisville (ACC)
21. Iowa (Big Ten)
22. Oklahoma State (Big 12)
23. Michigan State (Big Ten)
T24. Kentucky (SEC)
T24. Richmond (Atlantic 10)
Two-time World Cup champion Christen Press is hanging up her boots, as the Angel City and USWNT star announced her retirement on Wednesday, marking the end of the 2025 NWSL season as the finish line of an almost two-decade-long pro and amateur career.
The 36-year-old forward ranks ninth on the USWNT's all-time scoring list with 64 goals across her 155 international appearances, earning World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019 plus Olympic bronze at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.
However, a 2022 ACL tear saw Press sidelined, with the Stanford alum undergoing four surgeries over two years as she battled back onto the pitch, making her return to ACFC in 2024.
Press was the LA expansion side's first official signing in 2021, going on to make 37 appearances for her hometown NWSL team after stints with the Chicago Red Stars, Utah Royals, and the WSL's Manchester United, among other teams.
Her impact also extended beyond the pitch, as Press found success alongside her wife, recently retired fellow USWNT star Tobin Heath, in the lifestyle brand RE—INC and its "The RE—CAP Show" podcast.
"I'm retiring from professional soccer and I've decided that this is my last season and my last few games," Press told Good Morning America on Wednesday morning. "I thought I would wait until I didn't want to play anymore, but I realized…that time is never going to come."
"I feel a mix of everything," Press acknowledged about her impending retirement. "Yes, there's relief, there's joy, there's excitement, there's fear, there's so much grief. I have so much grief, a part of me, a piece of me, I'm losing her."
The South Carolina Gamecocks are officially without their star Chloe Kitts, with the university announcing Monday that the forward will miss the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season after sustaining an ACL tear to her right knee.
"We hate this for Chloe, who has worked incredibly hard to become the best version of herself on the court this season," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a team statement.
"While this isn't how I hoped my senior season would go, I'm trusting God's timing and purpose," Kitts wrote in a social media post on Monday. "I'll continue to lead, support, and push my team from the sidelines. We have big things ahead!"
A starter for the the Gamecocks since the 2023/24 NCAA season, Kitts helped South Carolina bring home a national championship in 2024.
Last season, the then-junior earned an All-America honorable mention for a season in which she averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game — both career highs.
Kitts was particularly potent in the 2025 postseason, snagging the MVP title at both the SEC tournament and in South Carolina's NCAA regional en route to a national runner-up finish for the Gamecocks.
Though South Carolina is now gearing up for the 2025/26 NCAA season without their leader in the paint, the Gamecocks are perhaps uniquely capable of overcoming a big-name loss like Kitts, with the team boasting a full 10-player rotation and one of the deepest collegiate benches in recent years.
"[Kitts's] teammates are capable of stepping up, and I know that her competitive fire and tenacity will be felt from the sidelines as she pours what she can into them to ensure our team's success," said Staley.
USC basketball star JuJu Watkins won't take the court this year, with the junior guard announcing Sunday that she'll miss the entire 2025/26 NCAA season while continuing to recover from injury.
"These last few months have been filled with a lot of healing, rest, and reflection," Watkins posted to social media on Sunday. "Following the advice of my doctors and trainers, I will sit out this season and fully focus on continuing to recover so I can come back to the game I love."
Watkins tore her right ACL in the second-round of the 2024/25 NCAA tournament, just days after earning her second straight All-American nod.
The reigning Player of the Year's 23.9 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game were instrumental in leading the Trojans to the 2024/25 Big Ten regular-season title.
Though ACL recovery timelines can vary, recent history has shown that taking a measured, methodical approach can make an athlete's return even more powerful — an outcome that Watkins is clearly banking on.
While Watkins remains key to the longterm USC game plan, the Trojans' 2025/26 season hopes are still very much alive on the heels of back-to-back Elite Eight appearances.
That said, with the additional loss of USC alums Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall to the WNBA, there are big shoes to fill on the roster — though the Trojans did snag this year's No. 1 high school recruit Jasmine "Jazzy" Davidson to boost their lineup this season.
"While we will certainly miss her impact on the court, [Watkins] continues to play a vital role in our program as a leader and teammate," said USC manager Lindsay Gottlieb. "The strength and maturity she has shown through this process is a reflection of who she is, and we know the Trojan Family will continue to rally behind her."
Chelsea FC star striker Sam Kerr made headlines on Sunday, as the Australian international scored her 100th goal for the six-time reigning WSL champions in the waning minutes of the Blues' 3-1 win over Aston Villa — Kerr's first competitive match in 634 days.
Kerr subbed into the match in the 75th minute before slotting in the historic goal amid a corner-kick melee three minutes into stoppage time.
"I feel like it's nice to finally be out there and have people stop talking about an injury," Kerr said postgame, referring to the 2024 ACL tear that kept her sidelined for more than 18 months. "Now they can start talking about goals."
Kerr is now chasing Chelsea FC's all-time leading scorer Fran Kirby on the career stat sheet, with the attacking midfielder notching 116 before leaving the Blues to sign with Brighton & Hove Albion in July 2024.
"For me, she's an idol," Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor said about Kerr after Sunday's match. "It's a lot of positives, a lot of confidence for her, for the team."
Along with Kerr's return, Sunday's clash also saw blockbuster new signing Alyssa Thompson make her Chelsea debut, with the USWNT rising star taking the pitch as a halftime substitute.
Chelsea FC star Sam Kerr is officially back, as the 31-year-old Australian striker gears up to make her first appearance for her WSL club in 20 months after suffering an ACL tear in January 2024.
"Sam Kerr is on the squad, so she will be involved in the game [against Manchester City]," Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor told reporters on Thursday as the Blues gear up for their 2025/26 WSL season opener on Friday.
"[Kerr] is in a good place, she has been training well, she's physically in a good position," Bompastor continued. "She's also mentally in a good position, because again I think she's one of the players everyone wants to see on the pitch."
Kerr's return to play is just the latest boost for the six-time reigning WSL champions this week, with Chelsea officially finalizing the near-$1.5 million transfer of USWNT forward Alyssa Thompson from NWSL side Angel City.
Thompson signed a five-year deal with the London club just hours before the WSL's transfer window closure on Thursday evening.
Chelsea quickly accelerated interest in the 20-year-old rising US star after Colombian striker Mayra Ramirez suffered a significant right hamstring injury in a preseason match last weekend.
How to watch Sam Kerr in Chelsea FC's 2025/26 WSL opener
The Blues will begin their hunt for a record-extending seventh consecutive WSL trophy on Friday, when Chelsea hosts Manchester City to open the UK league's 2025/26 season.
The clash kicks off at 2:30 PM ET with live coverage streaming on ESPN+.