After injuries to Georgia Amoore and Nika Muhl, WNBA could benefit from FIFA study linking women's menstrual cycle to ACL tears

As the 2025 WNBA season inches closer, the Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics will be without young players Nika Muhl and Georgia Amoore for the campaign. Both players will be sidelined for the rest of the season while they undergo medical care and rehabilitation for their injuries.

Muhl was placed on the suspended list by the Storm last month, as the franchise felt she needed more time to recover from the ACL tear she sustained while playing for Turkish team Besiktas in October 2024. Last season, the Croatian guard played just 57 minutes in over 16 games as a rookie, after being selected as the 14th pick in the 2024 draft.

As for Amoore, she suffered an ACL tear during practice with her new teammates in training camp on April 30. Highly rated as a top prospect coming in the 2025 draft, she was selected as the sixth pick by the Washington Mystics. However, her excitement at becoming a WNBA player was short-lived as she would now sit the entire season out.

The latest development puts a dent in Amoore's clean injury record as she only missed one game in college, which spanned five seasons at Virginia Tech and Kentucky.

With the injuries becoming career setbacks to Nika Muhl and Georgia Amoore, a new study funded by FIFA could improve the situation in women's basketball.

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FIFA conducts study on ACL injuries that could improve outlook for WNBA players

Funded by the soccer governing body, FIFA, the study is investigating ACL tears suffered by female athletes in a bid to potentially find preventative solutions. The new research undertaken by experts at Kingston University, London, is trying to determine whether hormonal fluctuations during menstrual cycles contribute to ACL injuries among women players.

According to Stadium Rant, the researchers are examining the effects of hormones like estrogen, which can cause ligament laxity, and progesterone, which may affect neuromuscular control. This comes as female athletes, including WNBA stars, are three to six times more likely to tear an ACL than their male counterparts.

Simon Augustus, a senior biomechanics lecturer at Kingston University, said the following on the topic:

"We want to examine whether athletes may be more predisposed to injuries because of the functional changes in terms of their anatomy and physiology during the menstrual cycle. We know some injuries are unavoidable, but we’re attempting to help those individuals who injure their ACL outside of impact actions.

"Those are the ones where we might have more chance to intervene and prevent them from taking place by utilizing strength training or tweaking technique. We are starting to research this from an individual approach, and look at an athlete’s whole profile, and putting protocols in place to reduce risk."

While the WNBA already invests heavily in player wellness programs, the study could help reshape how injuries can be prevented in women's basketball if a link is established between menstrual cycles and ACL tears. It could also lead to newer treatment methods that players like Amoore and Muhl can benefit from. This study is certainly something to keep an eye on.