The end of 2022 closed the book on a landmark year in women’s sports, one full of triumph and turmoil.

We’ll always remember the title runs for the Las Vegas Aces, Portland Thorns and South Carolina basketball, among other champions, just as we’ll never forget the reverberations from the NWSL abuse reports and Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia.

As 2023 dawns, though, Just Women’s Sports looks forward, as our writers and editors provide New Year’s resolutions for women’s sports.

Healing and progress

Women’s sports gave us much to celebrate in 2022, but hanging over all the little victories was a resounding heaviness.

The NWSL reckoned with years of systemic abuse and cover-ups, as multiple investigations revealed the power imbalances that allowed coaches to sexually and emotionally harass players. The WNBA, meanwhile, kept Brittney Griner front and center throughout the 2022 season as was wrongfully detained on drug charges in Russia. Both situations reached a resolution in recent months, with the release of two detailed reports on NWSL abuse and Griner’s return home via a prisoner swap. The NWSL has plans in place to support its players and fix the systems that enabled abuse, while Griner said she intends to play for the Mercury in 2023.

The leagues are trending in a positive direction as we head into the new year, but that doesn’t mean the next steps will be easy. Players will cope with their traumas, the leagues will be held accountable to their decisions, and may we all continue to respect their humanity as much as their performances on the field and court. — Hannah Withiam

Expansion

From both a product and business perspective, women’s sports took a giant step forward last year. The player talent pool and the games themselves are better than ever, and the results are showing in record-setting attendance and viewership numbers. NWSL expansion clubs Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC were living proof of what good investments in women’s sports can look like on the field and off. The NWSL plans to add two more teams by 2024. We’re ready for more.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently walked back that league’s timeline for expansion, with the expectation that one team will join the league in 2025 as opposed to up to two in 2024. Expansion has never felt more urgent in the WNBA, as a strict salary cap continues to limit roster spots and preseason becomes synonymous with a revolving door of both waived draft picks and seasoned veterans. As Engelbert referenced, and as we saw with Angel City and San Diego this year, due diligence is required for expansion to be done right. Here’s to hoping the WNBA figures it out before more quality talent is wasted. — HW

Happy New Year 🎉 pic.twitter.com/qg4JED8cmk

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) January 1, 2023

More upsets — and the chance to watch them

The 2022 NCAA basketball tournament proved upset central, headlined by No. 10 Creighton’s Lauren Jensen hitting a 3-pointer to send her team past No. 2 Iowa in the second round. In 2023, let’s keep our fingers crossed for even more craziness, both during March Madness and in the regular season. Unranked Michigan State ended 2022 by toppling previously unbeaten No. 4 Indiana, which could be a good omen of chaos to come in 2023.

Yet while women’s college basketball has more parity than ever, lack of TV time could prevent us from enjoying it. Several top-25 matchups have been aired on local channels, apps or shoddy online streams, rather than the prime-time spots they deserve. In 2023, I want women’s college basketball to get all the attention it deserves, on national television. — Eden Laase

Women’s sports on TV

The broadcast issue for women’s sports extends beyond college basketball.

The sports landscape is at an interesting moment in its relationship to television. Some broadcasters have picked up league rights to bolster streaming catalogues, while others are committed to spreading properties to all platforms, from flagship channels to exclusive social media streams. With the ground constantly shifting, it’s important that women’s sports not be lost in the shuffle.

The NWSL’s current deal with CBS expires in 2023, so it will have the opportunity to negotiate a new contract that reflects both the rising viewership numbers and the potential of women’s sports for the next decade. Whether the league renews for a mixture of games on CBS platforms or finds a better partner through a bidding war, a strong TV deal would provide an influx of investment. The next step is bigger and better production standards, to make it easier for fans to enjoy games and showcase the obvious talent on the field. — Claire Watkins

The 2023 Moment

When discussing women’s soccer in the U.S., we frequently refer to “the 2019 moment,” as the USWNT’s World Cup win in France ushered in a new era of popularity for the sport back in the States. Attendances across the NWSL rose, as new soccer fans became hooked on watching their favorite players every week, and the momentum carried through the following four years.

The 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand might not have quite the same impact, with time zones limiting accessibility for casual viewers in the Western Hemisphere. Still, every tournament year is a fresh opportunity to grow the game.

The tournament features an expanded field of 32 teams, so the 2023 moment could — and should — reach much further than the U.S. Debut nations, more parity at the top, and rising support for women’s soccer across the world should create the most competitive World Cup we’ve ever seen, with new opportunities to create dedicated women’s soccer fans. The next step, then, would be pivoting that energy to the domestic club game, to continue to build the new bedrock of the global game. — CW

TFW when the clock strikes midnight to ring in a @FIFAWWC year! pic.twitter.com/yrdH0VIeTX

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) January 1, 2023

Adding to their already historic season, 2024/25 WSL champions and 2025 League Cup winners Chelsea FC handed Manchester United a 3-0 defeat in Sunday's 2025 FA Cup final, completing the club's second-ever domestic treble.

Though the Blues first claimed an elusive treble in the 2020/21 season, this year's roster did so without dropping a single match in any of the three domestic competitions.

"I could not have expected this," said first-year Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor about her debut success leading the Blues. "It is almost ideal in terms of domestic dominance."

To clinch that dominance, Chelsea upended the defending FA Cup champs Manchester United at London's iconic Wembley Stadium behind a brace from French fullback Sandy Baltimore and a header from USWNT attacker Catarina Macario.

Baltimore gave Chelsea the lead by slipping a late first-half penalty past 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove winner and USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and the Blues never relented, with second-half sub Macario doubling their scoreline in the 84th minute before Baltimore tacked on a final goal in stoppage time.

"It's a very emotional day," an emotional Macario told the broadcast after finishing her first season following a long ACL recovery. "It's a trophy we always wanted to win."

"All the credit to my players," said Bompastor. "We showed our mentality and our values in this game so we ended the season in an almost perfect scenario – we won, we were playing at Wembley, the stadium was nearly sold out, and we had a strong performance and result against a strong opponent."

"It is an almost ideal way to finish the season."

FA Cup crowds prove sustained demand for women's soccer

Chelsea FC's undefeated treble-winning season wasn't the only notable victory on Sunday, as the FA Cup final drew a crowd of over 74,000 fans for the third straight year.

Sunday's 74,412 attendance mark was just shy of both last year's crowd of 76,082 and the 77,390 fans who watched Chelsea defeat the Red Devils in 2023 — all well beyond the tournament final's previous record of 49,094 attendees achieved in 2022.

Fueled by the football fervor following England's 2022 Euro victory — the country's first international trophy, men's or women's, since the 1966 men's World Cup — the 2023 FA Cup final still stands as the largest crowd at a domestic women's soccer match across all nations.

With Sunday's match joining the over-74,000 attendance club, it's clear the post-Euros enthusiasm wasn't a blip, but a boost to the continued growth and sustained success of the women's game.

While most WNBA stars hit the court running this weekend, a few saw their 2025 campaigns already shortened as teams released season-opening injury reports.

Phoenix forward Kahleah Copper will miss four to six weeks of play, the Mercury reported on Saturday, after the 2024 Olympic gold medalist underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on her left knee last week.

Another knee injury has LA's Rae Burrell sidelined for the next six to eight weeks, after the fourth-year guard took a knock to the right leg just 41 seconds into the Sparks' 2025 debut win over Golden State.

On Friday, the Mystics released updates on both second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards and rookie guard Georgia Amoore. While another assessment of the Unrivaled 1v1 runner-up's back injury will occur in two more weeks, Washington confirmed that the Australian standout will miss the entire 2025 WNBA season after undergoing a successful surgery to repair her right ACL.

Seattle's Katie Lou Samuelson is also out for the full 2025 campaign, with the 27-year-old Storm forward recovering from last week's successful surgery after tearing her right ACL in practice on May 1st.

Kitley makes long-awaited WNBA debut as Brink eyes return

In more uplifting news, LA's Cameron Brink is on track to return to the Sparks sometime next month, one year after her standout rookie season came to a halt in a left ACL tear.

Already celebrating, however, is 2024 second-round draftee Elizabeth Kitley, who battled back from injury to make her WNBA debut and score her first league points in Las Vegas's Saturday loss to New York.

The Aces took a draft chance on Kitley, despite the center suffering an ACL tear in her final NCAA postseason. In response, the former Virginia Tech star successfully translated her year-long delayed shot at a pro career by surviving Las Vegas's brutal 2025 roster cuts.

Notably, Kitley's close friend and collegiate on-court counterpart with the Hokies is the aforementioned Amoore, who will aim for a rookie-season redo of her own next year.

The No. 1 Kansas City Current strengthened their grip on the 2025 NWSL Shield race on Friday, taking down now-No. 3 Orlando 1-0 on the road to earn a four-point lead atop of the NWSL table.

Reigning league MVP Temwa Chawinga scored the top-table game's lone goal. With five goals in nine matches, Chawinga now sits in a four-way tie for second place in the 2025 Golden Boot race.

"If you don't come with heart, you have no chance," Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the match. "And today I think we showed heart."

Kansas City now stands 7-2-0 on the season, putting the NWSL Shield firmly within their grasp.

Kansas City's rise aside, the weekend's biggest drama hovered near the playoff line.

Gotham FC fell to No. 2 San Diego 1-0 on Friday, sending the Bats skidding to No. 8 on a three-game winless streak while boxing No. 9 North Carolina out of playoff contention — despite the rising Courage securing their third win in four games with Saturday's 2-0 victory over last-place Chicago.

"Obviously, we were hot for a little bit, and teams have slumps all the time, so now it's just finding a way," Gotham midfielder Jaelin Howell said of the team's recent struggles.

While some rebuilds soar, last year's postseason contenders are still finding their way as the league moves into the second third of the 2025 season.

Indiana's 35-point blowout win over Chicago wasn't Saturday's only newsmaker, as a controversial foul on Sky forward Angel Reese by Fever guard Caitlin Clark sparked intense off-court conversations and a WNBA investigation into subsequent fan misconduct.

Clark's third-quarter foul against Reese incited a brief dust-up between the second-year stars, with Clark's offense upgraded to a Flagrant 1 while Reese and Fever center Aliyah Boston picked up a pair of offsetting technicals for their reactions.

"Basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on," Reese said after the game, while Clark told reporters, "It was just a good play on the basketball. I'm not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that's up to their discretion."

Immediately following the flagrant ruling, however, Indiana fans allegedly directed racially charged remarks toward Reese, prompting the league to open an investigation on Sunday.

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Officials acknowledged allegations of racist abuse inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, saying the WNBA "strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms," and that they're "looking into the matter."

"We stand firm in our commitment to providing a safe environment for all WNBA players," said Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines, who oversees the Fever, in a statement.

"We will do everything in our power to protect Chicago Sky players, and we encourage the league to continue taking meaningful steps to create a safe environment for all WNBA players," echoed Sky CEO and president Adam Fox.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Fever-related fan misconduct has taken center stage, as last season's storylines start to spill over into the 2025 WNBA campaign.

In anticipation of the issue, the league launched "No Space for Hate" on Thursday, describing the campaign as "a multi-dimensional platform designed to combat hate and promote respect across all WNBA spaces — from online discourse to in-arena behavior."