On Tuesday, Turkish ladies’s basketball powerhouse Fenerbahce tweeted a surprising choice from Seattle Storm middle Dominique Malonga. The Istanbul, Turkey-based franchise acknowledged that Malonga “unilaterally and with out justifiable trigger terminated her skilled participant contract with our membership.” The announcement added that the workforce would search authorized assist for damages.
Entrance Workplace Sports activities reporter Annie Costabile reported that Malonga’s return to the WNBA might be in jeopardy:
“To ensure that Malonga to return to play within the WNBA in 2026, a letter of clearance from the Turkish federation by the use of Fenerbahçe will likely be required. If there may be an excellent case between Fenerbahçe and Malonga, the letter of clearance might be withheld underneath the situation that she violated the phrases of her contract.”
WNBA gamers usually spend their summer time suiting up for abroad groups. For that to occur, the league and FIBA agreed to make use of a “letter of clearance” as a requisite to play. Costabile wrote that the Storm had already given one to Fenerbahce to permit Malonga to play. For the 6-foot-6 middle to renew her WNBA profession, she would wish the identical clearance from the Turkish federal basketball affiliation.
Costabile reported that whereas Dominique Malonga didn’t give a cause for her actions, the Frenchwoman was reportedly injured. The WNBA insider famous that Malonga posted a TikTok video on Oct. 16, claiming she would wish six weeks to cope with a wrist surgical procedure.
Fenerbahce is at the moment competing within the Turkish Girls’s Basketball Tremendous League (KBSL) and the ladies’s EuroLeague. Their subsequent sport will likely be a showdown with Olympiacos on Wednesday within the group stage of the Euro match.
Fenerbahce nonetheless stacked with WNBA gamers with out Dominique Malonga
If Dominique Malonga refuses to honor her contract, Fenerbahce stays stacked with WNBA expertise. They introduced on Friday that Minnesota Lynx star Kayla McBride and Las Vegas Aces middle Megan Gustafson are becoming a member of the workforce.
McBride is coming off an All-Star marketing campaign within the WNBA, whereas Gustafson helped the Aces to the 2025 championship. They make the already loaded workforce much more formidable.
Dominique Malonga is effective, however Fenerbahce has a strong roster from prime to backside. Iliana Rupert, Monique Billings, Emma Meesseman, Rebecca Allen, Sevgi Uzun and Julie Allemand are among the WNBA skills on the roster.
Edited by Michael Macasero