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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts to a call during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Sparks Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Jae C. Hong)<\/p>\n
NEW YORK \u2014 The WNBA is trying to fix its physicality problem and is going through some growing pains during the opening week of the season.<\/p>\n
Fouls are up so far in the first week of the WNBA season with teams averaging 21.6 fouls \u2014 that\u2019s up just under two per game from the same point last year (19.9). That number dropped over the course of the year with 17.5 fouls on average per game for each team.<\/p>\n
\u201cFouls are up. I don\u2019t think if we are going to get rid of rough play that we saw in previous seasons there is any other outcome other than at the beginning fouls will be up,\u201d said Monty McCutchen, who is the head of WNBA officiating, on a Zoom call with The Associated Press. \u201cThat\u2019s a fairly safe assumption.\u201d<\/p>\n
The increased fouls aren\u2019t really leading a major increase in free throws with 21.9 being attempted this season to 21.4 last year at this point. By the end of the year, 18.2 free throws were attempted by each team on average.<\/p>\n
The WNBA formed an officiating task force in the offseason as part of the \u201cstate of the game\u201d group that included players and coaches. The hope was to clean up some of the league\u2019s growing concerns around physicality.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat came out of our meetings was we didn\u2019t really change any rules or change an interpretation,\u201d said Sue Blauch, who is the head of referee performance and development for the WNBA. \u201cWhen we drilled down to the nitty gritty, it came down to we needed to strictly enforce our current guidelines. So that\u2019s what you\u2019re seeing more of. A more stricter enforcement of freedom of movement. That will allow the game to open up and the players to showcase their talents.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCutchen said the taskforce spent many hours discussing what players, coaches and the league wanted from officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat amount of hours gives clarity to Sue on the day-to-day portion for teaching our staff,\u201d he said. \u201cThere will be some over calibration when we try to impart freedom of movement. I think we\u2019ve experienced a little bit of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCutchen said the officiating group will continue to meet frequently to make sure that \u201cour alignment can become finer and finer as we move into our best parts of our season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve is on the task force and knows it will take a little bit of time to get everyone on the same page.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we\u2019ll continue to work with the league on getting right because we\u2019re not the only team sitting here wondering why everything is a foul,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Increased fouls also lead to longer games. The New York Liberty\u2019s overtime win over Washington went for 2 hours, 41 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt disrupts everyone\u2019s flow,\u201d Liberty star Breanna Stewart said. \u201cThis game was 2 hours and 41 minutes long. That\u2019s insane. \u2026 I know it\u2019s going to take time of, like, figuring out what\u2019s the standard of what\u2019s going to be called, but there\u2019s calls that are being called that are unnecessary on both sides, and then there\u2019s no flow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale also noticed a difference so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess we just have to adapt, because that\u2019s going to happen,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time since I had three fouls in the first half and almost fouling out. I guess show our hands and see what we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark got a technical foul during the team\u2019s win over Los Angeles on Wednesday night. After the game, she praised the officials for their efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the refs are doing a tremendous job. I deserved the technical they gave me. But it\u2019s great for the game,\u201d she said. \u2018They\u2019re going to keep the hands off; they\u2019re going to make the play be good. Obviously they called a lot of fouls tonight but it\u2019s going to even out. So, you\u2019ve got to give them credit. They\u2019re doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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