NEW YORK (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu is ready to make her season debut for New York after suffering a foot injury in the preseason.
The Liberty’s star guard practiced Saturday and said afterward she’s good to go against Dallas on Sunday.
“It’s exciting to me,” Ionescu said after practice. “I haven’t had a regular-season game yet, so I’m excited. It feels like it’s been a while. It hasn’t, but it feels like it’s been forever having to watch from the sidelines.”
Ionescu, who averaged 18.2 points, 5.7 assists and 4.9 rebounds last season, knew the injury wasn't major when she went down against Connecticut on May 3, but that it was going to cost her some time.
“I knew I was going to be out for a little bit, and thankfully, I came back a lot sooner than I was supposed to with returning now,” she said. “So I’m really excited about that. I had some structural damage, but thankfully it responded quickly, came back. It was nothing that was going to sideline me or need surgery."
Coach Chris DeMarco said Ionescu would be on a minutes restriction and with New York playing back-to-back games, he wasn't sure if she would also play on Monday against Portland. The Liberty were 3-2 without Ionescu and are in the midst of a seven-game homestand.
While Ionescu is back, New York is still missing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton who is out for personal reasons. DeMarco said she wouldn't play Sunday. She was practicing Saturday when reporters could watch.
New York is finally getting completely healthy. Satou Sabally made her season debut in Thursday's loss to Golden State. Leonie Fiebich was taking shots after practice as she just got to New York after winning a championship in a Spanish League.
Raquel Carrera is ready to make her debut The Spanish forward was drafted by Atlanta in 2021 and traded to New York the next season. She's been playing overseas the past few years, but finally is in the WNBA.
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FILE - New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu shoots during the 3-point contest at the WNBA All-Star basketball weekend, July 18, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) — Venezuela's Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado announced on Saturday that she plans to run for president again and intends to return to her home country before the end of 2026.
Machado's remarks, made while meeting in Panama with several fellow Venezuelan opposition leaders, come more than four months after the stunning White House decision to sideline her and instead work with a Venezuelan ruling party loyalist following the U.S. military’s capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro.
Machado has been in exile since December, when she emerged from 11 months in hiding somewhere in Venezuela and traveled to Norway where she was honored with the Nobel prize.
She told reporters in Panama City that she and the other gathered opposition leaders remain committed to a democratic transition “through free and fair presidential elections, where all Venezuelans inside and outside the country vote.”
Still, it is unclear when Venezuela will hold a presidential election.
U.S. President Donald Trump and senior administration officials have praised Maduro’s successor, acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who has thrown open Venezuela’s oil industry to U.S. investment at a time of surging oil prices tied to the war in Iran.
The Trump administration has also dampened talk of elections, which are required by Venezuela’s constitution within 30 days of the president becoming “permanently unavailable.”
Machado said that an election with democratic conditions would take between seven and nine months of planning. Needed changes include the appointment of neutral electoral authorities, voting registration updates and the ability of opposition candidates to run for office without government interference.
Machado rose to become Maduro’s strongest opponent in recent years, but his government barred her from running for office in the 2024 presidential election, leading her to choose retired ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia to represent her on the ballot.
Officials loyal to the ruling party declared Maduro the winner mere hours after the polls closed, but Machado’s well-organized campaign collected evidence showing González had defeated Maduro by a more than a 2-to-1 margin.
On Saturday, she told reporters she would run against any other presidential hopeful in “an impeccable election.”
“I will be a candidate, but there may be others, of course,” she said. “I would love to compete with everyone, with anyone who wants to be a candidate.”
Venezuela's opposition activist Leopoldo Lopez looks at opposition leader Maria Corina Machado during a press conference in Panama City, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, center right, speaks during a press conference in Panama City, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela's opposition activist Leopoldo Lopez, right, looks at opposition leader Maria Corina Machado after a press conference in Panama City, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, center, attends a press conference in Panama City, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado attends a press conference in Panama City, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
