The US Open will celebrate 50 years of equal prize money this summer. The theme art for this year’s tournament commemorates the accomplishment.

As the first Grand Slam to implement equal pay in the Open era, the US Open did so in 1973. The change was sparked by tennis great Billie Jean King, who continues to fight for equal pay across women’s sports. It took decades for the other Slams to follow suit, with the Australian Open implementing equal prize money in 2001 and the French Open and Wimbledon waiting until 2006 and 2007, respectively.

“The USTA is incredibly proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of awarding equal prize money at this year’s US Open, and to honor Billie Jean King’s efforts to make this a reality,” USTA president Brian Hainline said in a statement.  “No individual has done more to secure equality for female athletes than Billie Jean King. Her impact goes far beyond the tennis court, and there is no better time to celebrate her legacy than on the anniversary of this historic milestone.”

✨ Iconic ✨

2023 theme art honors @BillieJeanKing & the 50th anniversary of equal prize money at the US Open. pic.twitter.com/dqCt2z5Pba

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) March 14, 2023

“It was a lot of hard work,” King told USA Today. She says she remembers being “exhausted all the time” during what was a pivotal year for tennis and “women in general.”

“In 1972, I won and got $10,000, while the men’s champion, Ilie Nastase, won and got $25,000,” she continued. “This was ridiculous so I said, ‘I don’t think the women are going to be back next year, we’re not going to be back in 1973 unless we get equal prize money.’ I’m saying this but just hoping and trusting the other players would go along with it at that point.”

Yet King knew that they wouldn’t accomplish anything through complaints alone. Instead, she helped to come up with solutions.

“I knew I had to not just complain, but to come up with solutions,” she said. “So I talked to different sponsors and asked them if they’d make up the difference in total prize money. I was a business woman and this was a business decision, so I knew if I got some sponsors to pay more money, I was hoping that would make the difference, and it did.”

Brazil officially rained on the homecoming parade of back-to-back Euro winners England on Saturday, when the 2025 Copa América Femenina champions humbled the Lionesses 2-1 in their friendly matchup — despite competing shorthanded for nearly 70 minutes.

World No. 7 Brazil took an early lead behind first-half strikes from forward Bia Zaneratto and attacker Dudinha, before midfielder Angelina received a straight red card for a foul against the Lionesses' Ella Toone in the 21st minute.

No. 4 England did manage a few clear-cut chances, grabbing a goal back from Brazil early in the second half via a sharply shot penalty from attacking midfielder Georgia Stanway, though the effort was not enough to overcome the South American titans.

With two years until the Brazil-hosted 2027 World Cup, both top-ranked teams will look to learn from the weekend result.

"We start slow and we make these mistakes," said England manager Sarina Wiegman. "If I knew why, I would have solved it straight away."

"After the red card there was resilience and maximum effort," said Brazil head coach Arthur Elias. "You have to have that in this national team: spirit and dedication."

How to watch England in action this week

The No. 4 Lionesses' homecoming series continues with a Tuesday friendly against No. 15 Australia at Derby's Pride Park Stadium.

The match kicks off at 7 PM ET, with live coverage airing on Paramount+.

Reigning NCAA basketball champion UConn is facing a change of scenery, with the ongoing government shutdown forcing the top-ranked Huskies to move their November 4th season-opener against the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals from Germany's Ramstein Air Base to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Dubbed the Armed Forces Classic, the game was originally on track to be Ramstein's first-ever women's matchup, with this season's Huskies following in the overseas footsteps of the UConn men, who defeated Michigan State in the inaugural Classic in 2012.

This year's 10th edition would have marked the third Armed Forces Classic at Ramstein, after the 2017 game between Texas A&M and West Virginia also took place at the German base.

Though the move is an unplanned pivot, this season's matchup will not be the first time that the Armed Forces Classic occurs on domestic soil, with previous iterations bringing NCAA games to US military sites in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Texas, Alaska, and California.

"We're excited to have [the] opportunity to play at the academy," Louisville head coach Jeff Walz told The AP after last week's venue change. "It's going to be a great experience for our players. Everyone was excited about going to Germany and playing at Ramstein, but we will make the best of this."

Overseas bases operate at reduced levels during a government shutdown, impacting on-ground access for both the schools and broadcasters.

"We're appreciative of the Naval Academy for helping provide a first-class venue for this first-ever women's college basketball matchup that will showcase perennial powers Louisville and UConn," added ESPN VP of events Clint Overby.

How to watch the UConn vs. Louisville in the Armed Forces Classic

The No. 1 UConn Huskies will tip off the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season by taking on the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals at the US Naval Academy on Tuesday, November 4th.

The clash will tip off at 5:30 PM ET on ESPN.

Another WNBA team has reportedly landed a leader, with the Seattle Storm rumored to have tapped former New York Liberty and Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Sonia Raman as the team's newest head coach.

Building out her early head coaching career in the NCAA's Division III leading the MIT Engineers, Raman spent four seasons as an NBA assistant in Memphis before joining Sandy Brondello's Liberty staff for the 2025 WNBA season.

According to a Friday report, the Seattle Storm have offered Raman a multi-year deal, and the hiring will make her the first-ever WNBA head coach of Indian descent.

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With the Dallas Wings as well as both 2026 expansion teams the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo also recently locking in their new locker room leaders, Seattle's sideline news means that only 2024 champions New York remain without a manager well into the WNBA offseason.

Reports indicate that Raman initially caught the Liberty's eye, after Brondello parted ways with the team following New York's first-round exit from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs.

Raman will replace Seattle's 2021-2025 head coach Noelle Quinn, taking over a Storm roster centered around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 2 pick and All-Rookie team honoree Dominique Malonga plus an anticipated 2026 lottery pick.

US Soccer is developing new pre- and post-pregnancy protocol plans, USWNT manager Emma Hayes told media on Saturday — hours after star forward Lynn Biyendolo announced on social media that she is expecting her first child.

"It is how to combine the right things in the right ways and the right specialisms around so that players feel supported," said Hayes. "That through their journey of having a baby, that feels like they're doing the right things, but also gets them back in the safest way possible, depending if it's a natural pregnancy or if it is a C-section."

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Described as a 360 approach, the pregnancy protocol and how best to manage new parents has been a point of focus for the national team, with the players union and US Soccer most recently ratifying new protections and resources for parent-athletes into the 2022 CBA.

Multiple USWNT starters have started families in the years since that landmark agreement, with US and Portland Thorns forward Sophia Wilson giving birth to her first daughter last month and Triple Espresso teammate Mallory Swanson expecting her first child later this year.

Hayes said that she expects to share those protocols "with our larger landscape," though she did not specify a timeline for the roll-out.

"I keep reminding the players, whenever things get challenging, lean into the team in every way, shape, or form, whether that's in our game model, whether that's outside of the field," she added. "Healthy culture, great people always is going to represent great progress."