From Being Mistaken as Caitlin Clark to Breaking Her Records, Sonia Citron Forges Path to Superstardom

“I bring versatility, but I think I am more excited to bring the intangible with just the little things that I do.” After the 2025 season, it’s pretty clear that Sonia Citron is one of a kind. In a draft class headlined by Paige Bueckers, the six-foot-one guard has carved out a name for herself in WNBA history by sheer willpower alone. But did you know that Caitlin Clark had a major role to play in Citron’s newfound stardom? In fact, people often end up confusing the two in real life! Let’s take a look at how the Mystics’ guard went from being mistaken for Caitlin Clark to breaking some of her biggest records.

Facial resemblance? Or a shadow for Sonia Citron to escape from

Imagine getting recognised in public only to be called the wrong name. That’s exactly what happened with Sonia Citron during her time at Notre Dame. Citron talked about this experience in detail.

“I would say something weird happened when I got recognized, because it wasn’t me,” she said, talking about times she has been recognised in public. “I was at a restaurant with my two best friends from Notre Dame, in South Bend, and this guy came up to me, and was super excited, and was like ‘Oh my goodness, are you Caitlin Clark?” Apparently, the fan asked for a signature and a picture, but Sonia Citron quickly had to shut all of that down by saying, “It’s not me.” 

The thing is that now these comparisons aren’t just about how similar the two athletes look. Every recent guard having a breakout season in the WNBA is bound to get compared to Caitlin Clark. To her credit, Sonia Citron has rounded her game out quite a bit. And let me say something, and it’s gonna be really obvious… There’s only one Caitlin Clark. And similarly, there’s only one Sonia Citron. The Washington Mystics rookie, after her expansive rookie year, has earned the right to define herself as something different. As someone new, someone exciting, someone that’s next!

Sonia Citron’s got next!

Words can’t describe just how explosive Citron’s rookie year has been. I mean, giving competition to Paige Bueckers is already hard enough. That’s a generational talent right there, but then again, so is Sonia Citron. Although the Dallas Wings star is ahead of the six-foot-one guard in terms of ROTY voting, Citron already has quite an impressive resume of her own!

Averaging 15.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals a game, Citron has been stuffing the statsheet for Washington this season. Instead of talking about what she can do on the basketball court, it’s a lot quicker to ask what she can’t! In just her rookie season, Sonia Citron managed to earn herself an All-Star call-up and solidified her spot in the Rookie of the Year race.

But what is it that sets Citron apart from every other rookie? Her efficiency. The six-foot-one guard is an absolute machine on the court. She’s currently averaging 47% from the field and a whopping 43.9% from deep. To put this into perspective, Sonia Citron also has the Washington Mystics record for most three-pointers by a rookie by converting over 75 three-pointers! So the Mystics guard does all of this at a very high usage rate, attempting over 4 threes a game.

And it is her offensive brilliance that led to Sonia Citron breaking a huge record, one previously held by Caitlin Clark. Fitting, right? On August 31st, against the Los Angeles Sparks, the Mystics star recorded her 36th game of the season, scoring in double-digits. This just goes to show how much effort Citron put into defining her own game and carving out her own space on the basketball court.

The thing is, the ROTY race is not in our hands. Although Citron is having a legendary year, so is Paige Bueckers, and ultimately? It will boil down to the voters. But it is our job as fans to appreciate greatness, and what the Washington Mystics guard is doing definitely counts! It will be interesting to see who pulls away with the Rookie of the Year award, but whichever side it goes to, we know we’re witnessing history.