Former UConn women’s basketball starting point guard Nika Mühl is expected to make her WNBA debut with the Seattle Storm Wednesday night.

Mühl, a native of Croatia, has been sidelined because of a visa issue. She has missed the first four games of the season, but the problem has apparently been resolved.

According to The Net, approval for her P1 visa — the status for athletes and entertainers — was approved by the United States on Friday. But Mühl, who was on a student visa at UConn, apparently needed a further status change that required a trip to Canada.

The official X account of the United States Consulate General Vancouver shared a post Tuesday with a photo of Mühl posing with Consul General Jim DeHart.

“CG DeHart was glad to meet  @WNBA star @MuhlNika today in Vancouver. We look forward to seeing the @SeattleStorm  vs @IndianaFever Wednesday. Including an exciting Women’s Final Four rematch at the point guard position!” the post said.

On Tuesday night, the Storm listed Mühl as “probable” for the Wednesday night game against the Indiana Fever in Seattle.


The game could feature a rematch of Mühl and Fever rookie Caitlin Clark. Mühl’s defensive performance against Clark in the Final Four enhanced her draft status.

Clark is averaging 17 points, 5.5 assists and 4 rebounds for the Fever (0-4). Indiana has lost two games to the New York Liberty and two games to the Connecticut Sun, starting the season against two of the top teams in the WNBA.

Mühl was a tenacious defender at UConn, earning Big East Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. But she also left UConn as the program’s all-time assist leader (686).

She averaged 6.9 points and 6.5 assists as a senior, shooting a career-best 40.2 percent from 3-point range.

The delayed started to her WNBA career has been a source of fascination and frustration for fans and fellow players. While the hashtag #freenika has been trending on social media for days, fellow rookie Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky began a Tuesday post on X with “Get Nika her visa NOW.”

The Storm are 1-3, coming off a loss to the Liberty on Monday. Mühl is expected to back up starter Skylar Diggins-Smith (14.5 points, 5.8 rebounds).