The WNBA All-Star game less than one month away, and fan voting for the 10 starters is open through June 20.

Just Women’s Sports has one deserving candidate from each team to keep an eye on during the voting process. Fans can vote online once per day.

Atlanta Dream – Rhyne Howard

As a rookie, Rhyne Howard leads the Dream with 16.2 points per game. She’s also adding 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

Connecticut Sun – Alyssa Thomas

While Jonquel Jones is putting up big numbers, Alyssa Thomas has been an all-around threat for the Sun. She’s averaging 14.9 points per game and a team-leading 8.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Chicago Sky – Candace Parker

This one may be an obvious choice. On top of putting up her second triple-double of her career this season, Candace Parker currently leads the Sky with 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

Dallas Wings – Satou Sabally

Satou Sabally has been a steady presence for the Wings, scoring 11.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. She’s second on the team in rebounds behind Kayla Thornton, who has 7.8.

Indiana Fever – Queen Egbo

While Queen Egbo isn’t the biggest scorer on the Fever, she is making her impact felt in other ways. She leads the team in rebounds (7.3), steals (1.2) and blocks (1.5). She also has one of the lowest assist to turnover ratios on the team at 0.6.

Las Vegas Aces – Kelsey Plum

Kelsey Plum has been making the most of her starting spot in the lineup and proving she’s no longer the Sixth Woman of the Year for the Aces. Plum is averaging 19.8 points per game, which is good for second in the league behind Seattle’s Breanna Stewart (who has played just eight games to Plum’s 12).

Los Angeles Sparks – Nneka Ogwumike

A top 10 scorer in the league, Nneka Ogwumike leads the Sparks with 18.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. She’s also been adding 1.5 steals per game.

Minnesota Lynx – Sylvia Fowles

Sylvia Fowles is one of the few players this season averaging a double-double on the season, with 17.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. She also leads the Lynx in steals (1.5) and blocks (1.3).

New York Liberty – Natasha Howard

Natasha Howard ranks first on the Liberty in rebounds (6.5), steals (1.6) and blocks (1.1) She’s also putting up 14.4 points per game.

Phoenix Mercury – Skylar Diggins-Smith

While there is no shortage of talent on the Mercury, Skylar Diggins-Smith is the team’s leader in points (18.4) and assists (4.6). She’s also adding 1.6 steals per night, which is tied for the team lead.

Seattle Storm – Breanna Stewart

While the Storm could no doubt have more than one All-Star, Breanna Stewart should be at the top of the list. Not only does she lead the team, she also leads the league in points with 20.4 per game. She’s also adding a team-high 7.0 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game.

Washington Mystics – Elena Delle Donne

Elena Delle Donne has been making a splash in her first full season back in the league, averaging 17.5 points per game through eight games played. She’s also adding 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.

The Naomi Osaka comeback tour at the 2025 US Open has ended, as the two-time New York Grand Slam champion and world No. 24 star ceded her Thursday semifinal to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, who battled back to claim the 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.

"Naomi is playing amazing tennis," the 23-year-old said of Osaka's US Open run. "She's back where she belongs. I told her I'm so proud of her after having a baby and playing at this level — it's insane."

With her Thursday win, Anisimova is now the only player to ever defeat Osaka in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, semifinal, or final — ending the Japanese fan-favorite's 13-0 run in the later rounds of tennis's major tournaments.

Anisimova's US Open success is even more impressive considering the result of her first-ever Grand Slam final — a brutal 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon in July.

In a massive turnaround, Anisimova handed No. 2 Iga Świątek, the 2025 Wimbledon champion, a redemptive straight-set loss in Wednesday's US Open quarterfinals en route to reaching this weekend's championship match.

Anisimova's victory means that a US player has now competed in every women's Grand Slam final dating back to the 2024 US Open, extending the country's championship-match streak to five straight Slams.

With even more history on the line, the US rising star now has a second shot at joining No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 3 Coco Gauff in hoisting a 2025 Grand Slam trophy for the US — a feat not accomplished by any single country since Serena Williams won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2015.

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How to watch the 2025 US Open championship match

Just like Keys and Gauff, Anisimova will have to defeat Aryna Sabalenka to claim her own 2025 Grand Slam trophy — with the hard-hitting US finalist holding a 6-3 all-time record against the world No. 1 player, most recently downing the 2024 US Open champion in this year's Wimbledon semifinals.

Anisimova will battle Sabalenka in for the 2025 US Open crown on Saturday, with live coverage of the championship match beginning at 4 PM ET on ESPN.

The sale saga of the Connecticut Sun added a new chapter this week, as the state of Connecticut submitted a bid proposal on Thursday that would see the WNBA team remain in-state.

Owned by the Mohegan Tribe since 2003, the state is just the latest entrant into an ongoing bidding war for the franchise, with Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, ex-Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and the WNBA itself all making offers ranging from $250 to $325 million in recent weeks.

Unlike previous relocation bids, the state's proposed sale plan sees the Connecticut Sun splitting home games between their current Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and Hartford's larger PeoplesBank Arena, while also promising a new practice facility in the state capital.

Despite winding down 2025 in 12th place, the Sun have amassed a loyal local following, selling out their 10,000-capacity arena four times this year in a state buoyed by NCAA basketball powerhouse and current national champion UConn located less than an hour away.

"The best place for the Connecticut Sun is Connecticut because we have this very fierce fan base for women's basketball," Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz told ESPN. "We love the [UConn] Huskies. We love watching the Sun… and we've seen that the Connecticut Sun players have been great community leaders and role models."

The Chicago Sky reportedly held a team meeting to address the explosive Chicago Tribune interview of Angel Reese this week, after the star forward put the already-eliminated WNBA team on blast.

"We are aware of [Reese's comments]," Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said on Wednesday. "We're addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That's where we'll stay right now."

"Angel has shown a commitment to wanting to be here," he continued. "We as an organization continue to show a commitment that we want people that want to be here."

Reese focused much of her critique on the team's leadership and roster construction, expressing disappointment as the Chicago Sky closes in on back-to-back losing seasons.

"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," the 23-year-old Reese said of veteran Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, following the 36-year-old's season-ending ACL tear in early June. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that."

"We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before," Reese added.

Notably, Vandersloot helped the Chicago Sky snag the 2021 WNBA title before taking the New York Liberty to a franchise-first championship last season.

A high-stakes coastal clash tops this weekend's NWSL bill, with results directly impacting the increasingly tight league standings as No. 8 Gotham tries to hold off a No. 9 Angel City side sitting just one point outside of postseason positioning.

The pair last met in April, when Gotham shutout ACFC 4-0 at LA's BMO Stadium behind a brace from the NWSL's current Golden Boot leader Esther González.

"That's the key — everyone knows their role, their responsibilities, and they're willing to sacrifice for the team defensively while also bringing their quality in attack," Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós said earlier this week.

As they try to rise above the crowded mid-table traffic, both teams have seen positive results in recent weeks — along with challenging levels of upheaval.

Angel City recently lost defender Alanna Kennedy, midfielder Katie Zelem, and star forward Alyssa Thompson to midseason overseas transfers, while Gotham's had little room to breathe after defeating Concacaf W Champions Cup opponent Alianza 2-0 in El Salvador on Tuesday.

"You need to be loyal to your style, cement it, and make sure the players know it," said Amorós. "That's critical when you're playing three games in seven days and traveling almost around the world."

How to watch Gotham vs. Angel City this NWSL weekend

No. 8 Gotham will host No. 9 Angel City this Sunday, kicking off live at 5 PM ET on ESPN.