Canberra Capitals young gun Gemma Potter granted more time to make call on UCLA

It comes as the Capitals sign Mikaela Ruef on a two-year deal to end an uncertain time of her own after securing permanent Australian residency last week.

The Canberra Times can reveal Ruef will return to the WNBL champions, where she was signed to play last season before pursuing an overseas opportunity when her immigration paperwork failed to clear in time.

Ruef's signing is a huge boost as the Capitals wait on Potter, who now has until October 1 to opt out of her commitment to UCLA with the COVID-19 pandemic threatening to derail her college ambition.

The 18-year-old will rejoin the Capitals in search of a WNBL three-peat if she is forced to scrap her college basketball hopes. Potter has a visa appointment lined up but even that is no guarantee - Ezi Magbegor had hers cancelled three times before finally heading overseas to join the WNBA bubble.

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Two-time WNBL championship-winning coach Paul Goriss says uncertainty about college dreams, overseas contracts and Olympic Games hopes marks an incredibly tough time for players.

"Even for the older ones, the mental anguish of 'I'm going, now I'm not going, now I've got a visa appointment', I feel for the athletes," Capitals mentor Goriss said.

"They're not knowing from week to week what's going on. It's a hard one. Across the board it's a hard one for them, because there is no certainty. It's not just sport, but it's most people's jobs.

"There is no certainty from week to week or month to month on how you're going to live your life. The mental well being is the most important thing rather than the physical part right now."

Ruef has been through a tough mental battle of her own, having never missed a training session last season in the hope she would eventually be cleared to play.

The Capitals let her go when it became clear she would not have her paperwork given the stamp of approval in time, and now she has repaid the favour.

"I was so happy, I nearly cried. After the disappointment of not being able to play with the Caps last season, when I got the email saying it had finally been approved, I was just so relieved that I didn't have to stress about it anymore," Ruef said.

"It's something I've wanted for a while, and now that it's finally complete, I feel like I can just relax and work on my game knowing there are no more barriers to me playing.

The spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria and NSW could have a major impact on the WNBL season, which has already been pushed back to November 20.

Victoria boasts two WNBL clubs while Sydney has one, and lockdown laws mean players in virus-stricken cities are struggling to gain access to courts for training.

There is also no guarantee crowd restrictions will ease by tip-off for a WNBL season that has a start and end date, but plenty of uncertainty in between.

"It's a little bit easier for us because we're different to Melbourne, we can get in and train and we've got a venue at UC we're able to use," Goriss said.

"Abby [Cubillo] and Shak [Reilly] are getting to play Waratah, while [Marianna] Tolo, Kelsey [Griffin] and Keely [Froling] were doing sessions with the Centre of Excellence girls. They're in the Australian squad so they get access to the AIS. It gives them a little bit of game play.

"They've got support here, so it's a little bit easier for the girls here. Someone like Britt [Smart] hasn't had access to a court at all, Tahlia [Tupaea] on and off has access but not a lot, Gemma has no access to a court now."