Ariana Ramsey becomes first USA woman nominated for World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year

Ariana Ramsey has become the first woman from the United States to receive a nomination for World Rugby’s Sevens Player of the Year, with the announcement arriving ahead of the HSBC SVNS World Championship finale at Stade Atlantique in Bordeaux. The 26-year-old USA winger joins Australians Maddison Levi and Jorja Miller on the three-player shortlist, with the winner to be revealed at the HSBC SVNS Awards 2026 on Sunday.

Ramsey only learned she was the first American woman ever nominated for the honour during a conversation with reporters on Thursday, having initially been told of the nomination by USA coaches before the semi-finals at SVNS Valladolid the previous weekend. The news left her visibly emotional.

“That’s absolutely amazing. I feel like in this sport I have been breaking barriers, even being the first woman at Dartmouth College to go to the Olympics in rugby and then we’re the first team to win a bronze medal… I’m the first women’s rugby athlete in the USA to be signed by Nike,” Ramsey said. “I just feel like I’m breaking down barriers and it’s just really paying off in terms of the career I want to have.”

The nomination caps a career-best season for Ramsey. Should she win, she would join France’s Anne-Cecile Ciofani as the only recipients from outside Australia or New Zealand — a list currently limited to just one player. Michaela Brake and Charlotte Caslick are the award’s only two-time winners, a distinction Levi and Miller are both chasing.

On the field in Bordeaux, Ramsey has been central to the USA’s deep run. She scored in the fourth minute of a 40-14 quarter-final victory over Fiji and contributed match-defining plays in a tense 14-12 semi-final win over Canada, where Sereana Vulanono and Kaylen Thomas crossed for the tries. The USA had also beaten Australia during the pool stage before the sides met again in the Cup Final, where Ramsey scored just before half-time but Australia ultimately prevailed 27-14.

“It fuels me even more and I do feel myself getting satisfied… but I’m still playing my best because I want to be consistent,” Ramsey added. “Off the field I think it’s motivating me a lot in regular life. Eventually I want to build a major business and I’m just going to apply what I’m doing now to that.”