In 2025, everyone wanted in on the NWSL. Average crowds exceeded 10K for the third straight year, including a record 40K at San Francisco’s Oracle Park, while season viewership rose 22% YoY (especially among young women).

Dust off your dancing shoes because March Madness is right around the corner with Selection Sunday slated for, you guessed it, this Sunday. Most of the women’s conference tournaments have already wrapped, but the men are in the thick of it. Let’s shimmy into the latest.

The NWSL keeps growing and will feature 16 teams this season, with expansion squads Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC joining the fun. Every club will compete in 30 regular-season matches (up from 26 in 2025), facing every team twice — once at home and once away.

NWSL opening weekend was a downright party — and not just the birthday kind. From the two expansion squads making their heart-pumping debuts to our favorite golazo of the season thus far, here are the headlines to know with Matchweek one in the books.

Today, F1 Academy — the racing league’s circuit for women drivers — named Sephora as its official beauty retail partner. The global beauty store is the latest in the space to flag racing as a place to connect with women fans, as many are being drawn to the sport.

The NFL’s free agency period starts today, kicking off the 2026 league year. And there’s New Year resolutions everywhere you look as contenders fill out their rosters, stars hunt for new homes, and the trade market heats up. No dropping the ball here — let’s discuss the latest.

This feature is brought to you on partnership with Invisalign®.

Last week, Nielsen shared impressive statistics illustrating the growth of women’s sports U.S. viewership in 2025 across many disciplines and audiences. SponsorUnited also shared its own YoY data on trends in women’s sports investment, spanning leagues and industries.

Last week, Front Office Sports covered the ATX Open’s rage room, an idea that came from Jessica Pegula on the podcast she launched alongside Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Kawczyk. After countless women players have been criticized for showing their frustrations on the court, Pegula argued athletes need this — and the tournament agreed.

The WNBA’s self-imposed March 10th collective bargaining agreement (CBA) deadline is…tomorrow — and despite the exchange of highly-classified counterproposals over the weekend, the two sides have yet to agree on a new deal. Let’s hoop to it.

ICYMI, the queer love story framed through a hockey rivalry has become a massive phenomenon averaging 10.6M U.S. viewers per episode, with millions of Canadian viewers returning to rewatch Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov’s love story. It’s HBO’s most-watched acquired series ever, and the book that inspired it is currently Canada’s top-selling novel.

Experiencing curling withdrawals? Same. Luckily, the Milano Cortina Paralympics officially begin with today’s 2 p.m. ET Opening Ceremony, marking the 50-year anniversary of the Paralympic Games. Here are three storylines to watch as it all begins in Italy.