Back in 1997, when the WNBA was just starting off, the schedule was a modest 28 games. That quickly grew to 30 and then 32 in the next two years. Women’s basketball started drawing more eyes, and naturally, the expansion didn’t stop there. Soon, the slate stretched to 36 games, then 40. So when Commissioner Cathy Engelbert bumped the number to 44 this season, it felt like the logical next step in the league’s growth. That decision, however, comes with a big problem. Injuries.

Caitlin Clark is a good example. Her injuries limited her to just 13 games, and she will miss the rest of the WNBA season. While the officiating crew and the growing physicality took the fall earlier, studies indicate that scheduling may have been the primary culprit all along. WNBA reporter Alicia Jay discussed this on the We Need To Talk podcast. She started, “There was a study done by the National Institute of Health. From 2015 to 2019, 34-game seasons found that 195 injuries occurred during those four years, and a total of 1352 games were missed.

“That did not state that all injured player reports were available because, of course, we’re not getting all the information when it comes to these injuries. But if you just look at over the past two and a half seasons, the number of games have gone up. Looking at around 551 total illness or injuries and over 2,000 games lost. When you look at that, you have to look into, just as the Indiana Fever has to look into their own franchise and what’s happening there, the W has to look into what is happening with these injuries as a whole. And they need to change some things around.”

An epidemiological study by Baker et al. (2020) dug into injury patterns in the WNBA. Apart from the above numbers, it also pegged the overall injury rate at 5.97 per 1,000 athletic exposures in that time span. Across the 2023-2024 seasons, when the league increased from 36 games in 2022 to 40, a study by Lucas Seehafer found 379 injuries and illnesses resulting in 1,500 games lost. Ankle, knee, and foot injuries were the most common. But in Clark’s case, many blamed the Fever medical staff for mishandling the injury.

Here’s another issue: The WNBA remains a summer league, playing from May 16 to September 11 this year, lasting 118 days. However, the games have increased by four for each team, thus increasing the chances of an injury. In comparison, the 2023 40-game regular season—played without any major international competitions requiring a break like the Olympics—was played in a 114-day timespan.

So, Alicia Jay concluded her take, “Whether they find that it directly correlates or not, there has to be some type of movement in that area to help protect these players. Even further as we go on, because the schedules are just going to get more rigorous, the games are going to increase, the travel is increasing with the amount of teams that are going to be in this league. I mean, there are so many different variables connected that contribute to injuries. So, you need to see how you’re going to make it look better as a whole for these players. You can’t just sit by and let it happen. You have to make sure that they’re as safe as they can be moving forward.“

The addition of the Golden State Valkyries helped soften the blow this season. Next season, though, the league will expand further by two teams: One all the way in Toronto, and all games will be crammed into the same timeline. Additionally, teams like the Phoenix Mercury had to play 9 games in 18 days to start their season. The reigning champions, the New York Liberty, will play the most back-to-back games this season.

In fact, Liberty’s Natasha Cloud gave her verdict in early June after seeing injuries piling up. “If Cathy keeps adding more games in this short stint of time, the injuries are going to continue to go up. When you talk about a big business and the overall protection of your investment, we are the investment as players. Your job is to protect us. Cathy needs to extend the season.” However, this is not a new trouble for the league. An ESPN article by Michelle Smith from the late 90s, when the league increased games and franchise count, stated how tough it was for players to face constant challenges, yet stay healthy.

Interesting Fact: As of September 8, The Next’s Seehafer’s injury tracker has recorded 247 injuries across 954 games this season.

No wonder stars like Natasha Cloud, Breanna Stewart, and Satou Sabally have openly voiced frustration, directing their criticism at commissioner Cathy Engelbert. They’ve been joined by coaches such as Cheryl Reeve and Tyler Marsh, who have also spoken out about the shortage of rest days built into the schedule. With CBA talks already stalled and the specter of a lockout looming, Engelbert faces a delicate test because the WNBA can hardly afford another major disruption right now. But is there a way to solve at least some of the concerns related to scheduling?

How can the WNBA solve its scheduling problem?

Although there may be some difficulties since the WNBA avoids clashing with NBA and NFL seasons, there are some ways in which the scheduling issues and how they impact injuries can be solved. Let’s have a look at some possibilities:

• Increasing season length: Average rest between games has dropped alarmingly, from 4.03 days in 2021 to just 2.7 in 2025. While the WNBA remains a summer league, it did become the fastest-growing brand in the nation last season. With the increasing popularity, Engelbert, too, can try to extend into the NFL season and add more resting time for the players.
• Using tools to create a schedule: In 2017, with 30 teams playing 1,230 games in just six months in the NBA, the league had to make sure players got enough rest, travel wasn’t too draining, fans got weekend games, and TV networks got the best matchups. To handle all this, the NBA worked with KPMG to build a special computer system that could test out trillions of different schedule combinations. After weeks of crunching numbers, the system helped the league find options that struck the best balance.
• Optimizing the team’s road games: Traveling can also impact the resting period and can even lead to fatigue. The league can ensure a balance between the traveling and road games to reduce them. Although it is not to say the league hasn’t improved in this aspect. The WNBA has a stretch of road games followed by multiple home games now to reduce traveling fatigue. Moreover, getting charters over domestic flying has also helped manage the time.
• Increasing roster size: Currently, each team is capped at 12 players. Still, with limited salary caps, some teams can only afford 11 players in a season. As a result, teams have little flexibility, forcing stars to log heavy minutes. Allowing larger rosters wouldn’t solve the scheduling crunch outright, but it would help in two important ways: spreading playing time more evenly to keep athletes fresher, and creating additional opportunities for players to enter the league.

Looking at the league’s growth in many aspects, it is not a tough call to agree with the players and increase the season. Now, the ball is in the league’s court. Let’s see which way they toss it.