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Jeff Kassouf
Multiple Authors
Angel City FC forward Sydney Leroux hinted at her return to play in a social media update on Tuesday after taking a hiatus throughout the previous year.
“This comeback is for you,” Leroux expressed in her social media post, addressing those who offered their support during her time off. “I’ll see you soon.”
Leroux had revealed her decision to “step away from soccer for my mental health” just a day before the start of Angel City’s season last year. Though she took the break, she assured everyone that she planned to return.
As she approaches her 36th birthday in May, Leroux has been a part of the NWSL since its founding in 2013 and has played for Angel City since the summer of 2022.
A member of the U.S. squad that won the World Cup in 2015, she has made 77 appearances for the senior national team.
In her Instagram update on Tuesday, Leroux did not disclose the reasons behind her absence during the 2025 NWSL season.
“The hardest year of my life,” Leroux described. “Heartbreaking, isolating, and devastating. A year that will stay with me forever. A year that changed me.”
She further expressed, “I fought and clawed my way through everything that should have broken me. I will forever be grateful to everyone who showed me love, grace, patience, and support.”
An Angel City representative did not provide additional details regarding Leroux’s upcoming season or her status on the roster when asked for comment.
As of January, Leroux was still marked as an excused absence on the team’s preseason roster. She remains under contract with the club until 2027.
Angel City FC is set to begin its 2026 season on March 15 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, where they will face the Chicago Stars.
The team will be missing retired veterans Christen Press and Ali Riley for the first time, as both were among the inaugural players signed prior to the 2022 expansion season. They announced their retirements at the end of 2025.