USWNT’s Savannah DeMelo Files Lawsuit Against Racing Louisville Team Doctors 1 Year After Mid-Game Cardiac Arrest

Savannah DeMelo is suing Racing Louisville FC's team doctors with the University of Louisville Health (UofL) on a claim of alleged negligence, which she claims led to her cardiac arrest in 2025

The lawsuit claims doctors failed to diagnose her heart condition despite her complaints of symptoms like chest pain and dizziness earlier that year

Sources told ESPN and The Guardian that the team will not renew its contract with the UofL after the current season

National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) player Savannah DeMelo has filed a lawsuit against Racing Louisville FC's team doctors, a year after suffering cardiac arrest during a game.

DeMelo, who plays for Louisville as a midfielder, is suing University of Louisville Health (UofL) and two physicians for negligence after, DeMelo says, they allegedly failed to diagnose a heart condition she had prior to the cardiac arrest on Sept. 14, 2025, according to The Guardian , ESPN and the Louisville Courier Journal .

The player had not disclosed what had happened that day until she shared an Instagram post on Tuesday, Sept. 15, that she "collapsed due to an undiagnosed cardiac arrhythmia, that caused me to go into cardiac arrest."

"I respect and appreciate the privacy everyone has met me with while going through everything I have this year. I'll never be able to fully put into words how emotionally hard this year has been. There has been a lot of uncertainty and emotions intertwined with it all," she added.

In the complaint, which she shared screenshots of online, DeMelo's attorneys claimed that she was referred to a UofL physician for evaluation and treatment in March 2025 after she had been experiencing symptoms like "chest pain, dizziness and shortness of [breath]."

She underwent a physical examination and diagnostic testing at the doctor's direction and remained under the physician's care and treatment from March through September of that year.

However, after she collapsed during a NWSL game in Seattle, Washington, on Sept. 14, 2025, she was subsequently diagnosed and treated for "ventricular tachycardia," per the complaint. Ventricular tachycardia is a fast and abnormal heart rhythm that starts in the lower chambers of the heart, known as the ventricles, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The complaint alleged that the two UofL physicians in charge of DeMelo's care, Dr. Jennifer Daily and Dr. Sarabjeet Suri, "failed to act as a reasonably prudent and competent cardiologist" and "negligence was a substantial factor in causing" DeMelo "to suffer physical injuries" like her cardiac arrest, her attorneys alleged in the complaint.

DeMelo's attorneys said she has also incurred medical, hospital, and other care-related expenses as a result of her cardiac arrest and she has "suffered a permanent impairment in her power to labor and earn money," along with experiencing "severe physical and mental pain and suffering."

Her attorneys are seeking compensation "for the injuries and damages she has sustained."

PEOPLE has reached out to DeMelo's attorney, Racing Louisville FC and the UofL for comment on this case but didn't immediately receive responses.

UofL told ESPN in a statement that it was unable to comment on pending litigation.

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Sources told The Guardian and ESPN that Racing Louisville FC, which partnered with the UofL for medical staff, would not renew its contract with them after the current season.

Insiders also told The Guardian that DeMelo, whose contract was set to expire at the end of this season, has reached a verbal agreement with the soccer club to return next season. The deal is pending league approval and could be announced as soon as next week, the outlet reported.

DeMelo, who was selected fourth overall in the 2022 NWSL Draft, emerged as a standout in 2023, earning a spot on the U.S. Women's National Team's World Cup roster, per ESPN.