[6][7] Ludlow decided to focus on football, but had to travel to Barry Town to play since there were no girls' teams in the South Wales Valleys.

[6][8] Ludlow won a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, but left months into the four-year course due to dissatisfaction with the standard of football.

[4][3][10] During Arsenal's 1–0 league win at Everton in April 2010, Ludlow was red carded for an "aggressive outburst" at opponent Fara Williams.

[11] This meant that club captain Ludlow was suspended for the 2010 FA Women's Cup final, in which Arsenal were beaten by Everton.

In July 2013, after a succession of injuries, Ludlow announced her retirement from playing, indicating a desire to focus on her role as an academy coach with Arsenal and Wales.

[17] She stepped down from the role at the end of the 2014 FA WSL season, after being appointed manager of the Wales women's national football team on 2 October 2014.