On Monday, the U.S. women’s national team arrived in London for a pair of friendlies against England and Spain, starting with the Lionesses on Friday in front of a sold-out crowd at Wembley Stadium. The match against the 2022 Euro champions and FIFA No. 4-ranked team is one of the USWNT’s most anticipated games of the year, with both teams preparing for the 2023 World Cup.

Also on Monday, U.S. Soccer released a bombshell report on the findings of Sally Q. Yates’ independent investigation into abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in the NWSL. The report unveiled allegations of misconduct against three coaches who worked in the league during many of the national players’ NWSL careers.

Since the release of the findings, the players have been “horrified and heartbroken and exhausted and really, really angry,” USWNT defender Becky Sauerbrunn told the media on Tuesday. They are frustrated, she said, that outside reporting and a third-party investigation were needed to expose the league’s abusers.

Friday’s match against England is quickly approaching. As a result, the USWNT’s players, 22 of whom currently play in the NWSL, are tasked with enduring the emotional weight of the report and preparing for arguably their biggest game of the year.

For Sauerbrunn and 25-year-old U.S. defender Alana Cook, that balance is nothing new. Last year, NWSL players finished the season while grappling with the fallout from a report in The Athletic detailing allegations of sexual coercion and emotional abuse against then-North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley.

“Unfortunately, I would say that you have to get used to it and you have to ride the highs and the lows and you have to do your best and you have to enact as much change as you can, while also demanding more from those that have the power to do so,” Sauerbrunn said.

Cook agreed, adding, “I think as women, especially as a minority, this isn’t new. I think these hostile conditions are kind of now being unearthed and publicly revealed, but it’s things that we’ve been dealing with for the entirety of our careers.

“We have gotten to this point because we have learned how to deal with the difficulties surrounding what we do and the difficulties in our lives and being able to still perform.”

The full findings of U.S. Soccer’s investigation into the NWSL were released on Monday.

The 172-page report outlines a pattern of systemic abuse and failures by NWSL coaches and executives.

This thread will summarize some of the findings. Please note some details are graphic.

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) October 3, 2022

The approach, as Sauerbrunn and Cook explained it, is taking camp one day at a time and using training as time to think about soccer and being with teammates. They’re also trying to appreciate the small moments that bring joy.

“I think that for so long, the passion for the game has been taken away from players because of the abuse that they have faced in this league,” said Sauerbrunn. “I think that for me, I’m done allowing that to happen. I love the game of soccer. I want to be passionate and I want to play, and you need to bring that joy and accessibility back to the game.

“For me, it’s finding that joy again with my teammates and not allowing anyone to take that away from me like it’s been taken away from so many people.”

Straight to work in London 💪#USWNT x @BioSteelSports pic.twitter.com/YO6bu0TxzO

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) October 4, 2022

Since arriving in London on Monday, soccer has been treated as an outlet for the players and not an obligation.

As they prepare to face England on Friday before traveling to Spain for Tuesday’s friendly, players and staff are all dealing with the weight of the findings in different ways. Some need space, while others need to talk.

“That means that if they don’t want to participate in a meeting or they don’t want to participate in training, or even if they don’t want to play the game, it is up to them because this is more than that,” head coach Vlatko Andonovski told reporters on Tuesday.

“The recommendation here has been, ‘Do what you need to be OK,’” Cook said. “I think we all recognize in this moment that the things that have gone on, the things that have been unearthed, are much bigger than soccer.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The Naomi Osaka comeback tour at the 2025 US Open has ended, as the two-time New York Grand Slam champion and world No. 24 star ceded her Thursday semifinal to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, who battled back to claim the 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.

"Naomi is playing amazing tennis," the 23-year-old said of Osaka's US Open run. "She's back where she belongs. I told her I'm so proud of her after having a baby and playing at this level — it's insane."

With her Thursday win, Anisimova is now the only player to ever defeat Osaka in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, semifinal, or final — ending the Japanese fan-favorite's 13-0 run in the later rounds of tennis's major tournaments.

Anisimova's US Open success is even more impressive considering the result of her first-ever Grand Slam final — a brutal 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon in July.

In a massive turnaround, Anisimova handed No. 2 Iga Świątek, the 2025 Wimbledon champion, a redemptive straight-set loss in Wednesday's US Open quarterfinals en route to reaching this weekend's championship match.

Anisimova's victory means that a US player has now competed in every women's Grand Slam final dating back to the 2024 US Open, extending the country's championship-match streak to five straight Slams.

With even more history on the line, the US rising star now has a second shot at joining No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 3 Coco Gauff in hoisting a 2025 Grand Slam trophy for the US — a feat not accomplished by any single country since Serena Williams won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2015.

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How to watch the 2025 US Open championship match

Just like Keys and Gauff, Anisimova will have to defeat Aryna Sabalenka to claim her own 2025 Grand Slam trophy — with the hard-hitting US finalist holding a 6-3 all-time record against the world No. 1 player, most recently downing the 2024 US Open champion in this year's Wimbledon semifinals.

Anisimova will battle Sabalenka in for the 2025 US Open crown on Saturday, with live coverage of the championship match beginning at 4 PM ET on ESPN.

The sale saga of the Connecticut Sun added a new chapter this week, as the state of Connecticut submitted a bid proposal on Thursday that would see the WNBA team remain in-state.

Owned by the Mohegan Tribe since 2003, the state is just the latest entrant into an ongoing bidding war for the franchise, with Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, ex-Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and the WNBA itself all making offers ranging from $250 to $325 million in recent weeks.

Unlike previous relocation bids, the state's proposed sale plan sees the Connecticut Sun splitting home games between their current Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and Hartford's larger PeoplesBank Arena, while also promising a new practice facility in the state capital.

Despite winding down 2025 in 12th place, the Sun have amassed a loyal local following, selling out their 10,000-capacity arena four times this year in a state buoyed by NCAA basketball powerhouse and current national champion UConn located less than an hour away.

"The best place for the Connecticut Sun is Connecticut because we have this very fierce fan base for women's basketball," Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz told ESPN. "We love the [UConn] Huskies. We love watching the Sun… and we've seen that the Connecticut Sun players have been great community leaders and role models."

The Chicago Sky reportedly held a team meeting to address the explosive Chicago Tribune interview of Angel Reese this week, after the star forward put the already-eliminated WNBA team on blast.

"We are aware of [Reese's comments]," Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said on Wednesday. "We're addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That's where we'll stay right now."

"Angel has shown a commitment to wanting to be here," he continued. "We as an organization continue to show a commitment that we want people that want to be here."

Reese focused much of her critique on the team's leadership and roster construction, expressing disappointment as the Chicago Sky closes in on back-to-back losing seasons.

"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," the 23-year-old Reese said of veteran Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, following the 36-year-old's season-ending ACL tear in early June. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that."

"We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before," Reese added.

Notably, Vandersloot helped the Chicago Sky snag the 2021 WNBA title before taking the New York Liberty to a franchise-first championship last season.

A high-stakes coastal clash tops this weekend's NWSL bill, with results directly impacting the increasingly tight league standings as No. 8 Gotham tries to hold off a No. 9 Angel City side sitting just one point outside of postseason positioning.

The pair last met in April, when Gotham shutout ACFC 4-0 at LA's BMO Stadium behind a brace from the NWSL's current Golden Boot leader Esther González.

"That's the key — everyone knows their role, their responsibilities, and they're willing to sacrifice for the team defensively while also bringing their quality in attack," Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós said earlier this week.

As they try to rise above the crowded mid-table traffic, both teams have seen positive results in recent weeks — along with challenging levels of upheaval.

Angel City recently lost defender Alanna Kennedy, midfielder Katie Zelem, and star forward Alyssa Thompson to midseason overseas transfers, while Gotham's had little room to breathe after defeating Concacaf W Champions Cup opponent Alianza 2-0 in El Salvador on Tuesday.

"You need to be loyal to your style, cement it, and make sure the players know it," said Amorós. "That's critical when you're playing three games in seven days and traveling almost around the world."

How to watch Gotham vs. Angel City this NWSL weekend

No. 8 Gotham will host No. 9 Angel City this Sunday, kicking off live at 5 PM ET on ESPN.