It Sounds Like Caitlin Clark Will Be Back To Save WNBA Tanking Ratings On Saturday
Clark has been out of action since late May
It sounds like Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is about to return to action this Saturday after her first major bout with injury in her professional career, and for the WNBA ratings, it can't come a moment too soon.
Clark has been out of action since May 24 when she suffered a quad injury against the New York Liberty. That caused her to miss five games, and with the biggest player in the league (whether they like it or not) sidelined, WNBA ratings hit the skids in a big way, with viewership down more than 50% during her absence.
Now, the league might finally be thrilled about seeing Caitlin Clark on the court, because her return — barring any sort of recovery setbacks between practice on Friday and the game on Saturday afternoon — will take place in a nationally televised game against the still undefeated New York Liberty.
"As long as we don’t have any regressions, she’s going to be ready to roll," Fever head coach Stephanie White said, according to the Associated Press.
Barring a setback, Caitlin Clark will return to the Indiana Fever lineup on Saturday and will probably save the league's ratings in the process.. (Photo by Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
It sounds like Clark herself is ready and raring to go.
"I’m really excited," she said after drilling a half-court shot to wrap up practice on Friday. I think it’s definitely been a process. I think the hardest part is when you like begin to feel really good and then it’s just a process of working yourself back into actually getting up and down and getting out there with my teammates."
Despite her eagerness to get back to business, Clark said that the first extended absence of her career was a learning experience.
"It was certainly a learning opportunity, and I think it’s going to benefit me a lot throughout my career, just falling back and understanding certain moments like this," Clark said. "But I’m super, super excited. I’m antsy to get out there and probably shake off a little bit of rust and then play."