Sabrina Ionescu and Alanna Smith lead the WNBA injury list as the 2026 season begins. Injuries significantly impact team performance, with some teams exceeding expectations despite being shorthanded.
As the WNBA returns, so do the injury reports.
The league opens play for the 2026 season Friday, and the dreaded “day-to-day" status updates have already started rolling in.
While there’s no overstating just how impactful injuries can be on the outcome of a season, it’s also important to note that some teams exceed expectations even when they’re shorthanded.
Last season, the New York Liberty entered the year as the defending league champions but came out first-round losers as they fielded a laundry list of injuries. The Indiana Fever, on the other hand, came just a win shy of the WNBA Finals despite losing five players to season-ending injuries.
Here are the key injuries to watch as this WNBA season begins:
2026: Azzi Fudd, Dallas Wings (Connecticut)
2025: Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings (Connecticut)
2024: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever (Iowa)
2023: Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever (South Carolina)
Key injuries to watch include those affecting Sabrina Ionescu and Alanna Smith as the season kicks off.
The New York Liberty, despite being defending champions, were eliminated in the first round due to a series of injuries.
The Indiana Fever narrowly missed the WNBA Finals, finishing just one win shy while dealing with five season-ending injuries.
The WNBA 2026 season opens on Friday.
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2022: Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream (Kentucky)
2021: Charli Collier, Dallas Wings (Texas)
2020: Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty (Oregon)
2019: Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces (Notre Dame)
2018: A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces (South Carolina)
2017: Kelsey Plum, San Antonio Stars (Washington)
2016: Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm (Connecticut)
2015: Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm (Notre Dame)
2014: Chiney Ogwumike, Connecticut Sun (Stanford)
2013: Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury (Baylor)
2012: Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks (Stanford)
2011: Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx (Connecticut)
2010: Tina Charles, Connecticut Sun (Connecticut)
2009: Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta Dream (Louisville)
2008: Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks (Tennessee)
2007: Lindsey Harding, Phoenix Mercury (Duke)
2006: Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx (LSU)
2005: Janel McCarville, Charlotte Sting (Minnesota)
2004: Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury (Connecticut)
2003: LaToya Thomas, Cleveland Rockers (Mississippi State)
2002: Sue Bird, Seattle Storm (Connecticut)
2001: Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm (Canberra Capitals, Australia)
2000: Ann Wauters, Cleveland Rockers (USV Olympic, France)
1999: Chamique Holdsclaw, Washington Mystics (Tennessee)
1998: Margo Dydek, Utah Starzz (Fota Porta Gdynia, Poland)
1997: Tina Thompson, Houston Comets (Southern California)
1 / 30
2026: Azzi Fudd, Dallas Wings (Connecticut)
1 / 30
2026: Azzi Fudd, Dallas Wings (Connecticut)
2 / 30
2025: Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings (Connecticut)
3 / 30
2024: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever (Iowa)
4 / 30
2023: Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever (South Carolina)
5 / 30
2022: Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream (Kentucky)
6 / 30
2021: Charli Collier, Dallas Wings (Texas)
7 / 30
2020: Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty (Oregon)
8 / 30
2019: Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces (Notre Dame)
9 / 30
2018: A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces (South Carolina)
10 / 30
2017: Kelsey Plum, San Antonio Stars (Washington)
11 / 30
2016: Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm (Connecticut)
12 / 30
2015: Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm (Notre Dame)
13 / 30
2014: Chiney Ogwumike, Connecticut Sun (Stanford)
14 / 30
2013: Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury (Baylor)
15 / 30
2012: Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks (Stanford)
16 / 30
2011: Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx (Connecticut)
17 / 30
2010: Tina Charles, Connecticut Sun (Connecticut)
18 / 30
2009: Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta Dream (Louisville)
19 / 30
2008: Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks (Tennessee)
20 / 30
2007: Lindsey Harding, Phoenix Mercury (Duke)
21 / 30
2006: Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx (LSU)
22 / 30
2005: Janel McCarville, Charlotte Sting (Minnesota)
23 / 30
2004: Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury (Connecticut)
24 / 30
2003: LaToya Thomas, Cleveland Rockers (Mississippi State)
25 / 30
2002: Sue Bird, Seattle Storm (Connecticut)
26 / 30
2001: Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm (Canberra Capitals, Australia)
27 / 30
2000: Ann Wauters, Cleveland Rockers (USV Olympic, France)
28 / 30
1999: Chamique Holdsclaw, Washington Mystics (Tennessee)
29 / 30
1998: Margo Dydek, Utah Starzz (Fota Porta Gdynia, Poland)
30 / 30
1997: Tina Thompson, Houston Comets (Southern California)
New York is picking up right where it left off, leaving fans wondering how the team’s health will progress. Guard Sabrina Ionescu will miss the team’s season opener against the Connecticut Sun.
She rolled her left ankle during the team’s preseason win over the Sun on May 3. Although the Liberty said Ionescu avoided a severe injury, she is expected to miss the first two weeks of the season before being reevaluated.
Ionescu's injury is the same ankle that kept her sidelined for a large chunk of her rookie WNBA season in 2020. She’s one of the five players the Liberty will be without on Friday night, joining Satou Sabally (cyst) and Rebecca Allen (left leg) on the bench.
Raquel Carrera and Leonie Fiebich will miss the game due to international commitments.
Alanna Smith was a key free agency pickup for the Wings, but she might not be available for the team’s season opener against the Indiana Fever on Saturday.
Aces star A'ja Wilson, who shared the Defensive Player of the Year award with Smith last season, caught Smith with an elbow in a preseason game. The Wings forward's face was bloodied on Sunday at Moody Center.
Smith did not practice with the Wings on Thursday, but guard Aziaha James (ankle) did. Wings coach Jose Fernandez said Smith is “on schedule” with progressing back from her facial injury but did not commit to her being able to play Saturday.
The Sky had a full contingent of injured players watching from the bench they finished the preseason. Chicago is likely to be down a few players as it faces the Portland Fire on the road to start their season on Saturday.
Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca told reporters this week Azura Stevens, DiJonai Carrington and Courtney Vandersloot will not play in the opener.
Stevens is back to basketball activities and "hopefully a few weeks away" from playing in a game, Pagliocca said. There are no set return timelines for the three. Carrington is recovering and in a boot after having hardware removed from her foot, which was used to treat in injury she sustained with the Lynx last season. Vandersloot is working back from a right ACL injury she sustained in June. Multiple reports say she can sprint but has not participated in contact basketball activities.
The Aces' guard rotation could be impacted by the absence of Dana Evans, who proved to be a key addition for the team in its 2025 postseason run.
Evans didn’t play in playoffs for the Unrivaled offseason basketball league or any of the Aces’ preseason games due to a knee injury she dealt with throughout last season. Aces coach Becky Hammon has not offered a timeline for her return.
During the Aces’ media day, Evans said she was focused on rehab for a knee surgery she underwent in October.
Although Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark appears to be opening her third WNBA season in full health, that may not be the case for at least one of her teammates.
Monique Billings, a 6-foot-4 frontcourt addition for the Fever in free agency, injured her ankle in the Fever’s preseason matchup with the Nigerian women’s basketball team on May 2. She was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice.
Kate Martin, a former Iowa teammate of Clark’s, was also dealing with an injury that may have contributed to her being waived by Golden State Valkyries.
ESPN reported Martin had been diagnosed with a grade two hamstring strain after the Valkyries’ preseason schedule ended, adding Martin could at risk of missing time in the regular season.
It’s unclear if that development will hamper her odds of being signed back to the Valkyries on a developmental contract or joining another team once she clears waivers.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA injury watchlist: Sabrina Ionescu, Alanna Smith hurt entering 2026 season