The Champions League final is fast approaching. Chelsea vs Barcelona: two teams who have yet to win the coveted trophy, and who are each looking to wrap up their wildly successful seasons. 

These are the players who will decide which team walks away with the biggest trophy in Europe.

𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 🤝

⚽️ @ChelseaFCW vs @FCBfemeni
🗓 Sunday 16 May
⏰ 21:00 CET
🏟 Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg

Who’s lifting the #UWCL🏆 in Sweden?

#UWCLfinal

— UEFA Women’s Champions League (@UWCL) May 5, 2021

Asisat Oshoala, Barcelona 

It became apparent early on in Asisat Oshoala’s career that she was a player to watch. In her teen years, she impressed for F.C. Robbo and River Angels, two clubs in her native country of Nigeria. Her breakout year in 2014 saw her lead Nigeria to the final of the 2014 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Canada. Nigeria ended up losing 1-0 to Germany, but Oshoala was awarded the Golden Ball for being the best player of the tournament and the Golden Shoe for being the tournament’s top scorer. A couple of months later, Nigeria won the 2014 African Women’s Championship, and Oshoala was again awarded the Golden Ball. 

She became the first African player to play in England when she signed for Liverpool in 2015, and a year later, she moved to Arsenal, winning the FA Women’s Cup with the Gunners. After a short stint in China with Dalian W.F.C., where she won two league championships, she was acquired on a loan deal by Barcelona in the middle of the 2018/19 season. 

Oshoala’s performances at Barcelona have cemented her as one of the world’s best. In her first season, she failed to win any hardware with the club, despite having a fantastic individual season, scoring seven goals in her seven league appearances. Barcelona came second in the Primera División, losing the top spot to Atlético Madrid. 

The club had a chance to win their first-ever UEFA Women’s Champions League that season; however, they lost 4-1 to the ever-dominant Olympique Lyonnais. Regardless, Oshoala made history that night, becoming the first Barcelona player and African player to ever score in a Women’s Champions League Final and the first Nigerian to score in any Champions League final, men’s or women’s.

The winner from the 3⃣ talented nominees for African Women's Player of the Year is...

Asisat Oshoala! 🏆#CAFAwards2019 pic.twitter.com/5buHOw3NjV

— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 7, 2020

In her second season, she was an integral part of the club, winning both the Primera División and Copa de la Reina. This season, Barcelona are on track to once again win the league, having won every single league game thus far, putting them at a perfect 75 points, with 127 goals scored in 25 games. Their ticket to the Champions League final came from victories in the quarter-final against Manchester City and the semi-finals against Paris Saint-Germain.

Oshoala, as a striker, is one of the deadliest poachers in the game. When she’s in the box, she consistently finishes plays by challenging the opposition defenders for the ball and betting on herself in 1vs1 situations against the goalkeeper. 

Every team has struggled to contain her in the Champions League thus far. Chelsea will need to buck the trend if they want to win.

Lieke Martens, Barcelona

Even if Chelsea can successfully isolate Oshoala, they’ll still have to worry about Barcelona’s star midfielder Lieke Martens. 

Martens spent the first eight years of her career playing all around Europe, accumulating different tactics from different coaches that allowed her to become the versatile player she is today. 

The Dutch native began her career in Holland with Heerenveen in 2009 before moving on to VVV-Venlo the following year. She then moved to Belgium to play for Standard Liege, where she won the Super Cup in 2012. 

Martens then went on to play for Duisburg in Germany and for Goteborg and Rosengärd in Sweden, where she won the Cup and Super Cup with the latter in 2016. 

She also made her senior national team debut in 2011 after becoming the top scorer at the U–19 Euros in 2010. With the senior national team, she then scored the Netherlands’ first-ever Women’s World Cup goal in 2015, at the age of 22. 

She became one of Barcelona’s most high-profile signings in 2017 and since then has continued to impress. The same month, she led the Netherlands to their first international trophy after they beat Denmark 4-2 in the final of the 2017 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She was named the tournament’s best player and was awarded not only the Golden Ball but also the Bronze Boot. 

Her contributions to Barcelona, both in Primera División and in the Champions League, have earned her a multitude of individual honours, including the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year Award and The Best FIFA Women’s Player. 

As mentioned prior, Martens is an exceptionally well-rounded player with the versatility to play both on the wing and in midfield. Her unpredictability is a nightmare for opponents, and her ability to read the game allows her to dictate the play and tempo of the match in favour of her side. She is also disciplined enough to put in a shift defensively and make sure that the opponent’s attackers do not have any number advantage.

🎥 Torna a vibrar amb el memorable doblet de @liekemartens1 des d'un altre angle #ForçaBarça #UWCL pic.twitter.com/voIUXyPfVg

— FC Barcelona Femení (@FCBfemeni) May 3, 2021

Her positional awareness, dribbling ability and speed are aspects of her game that can push Barcelona over the line to win their first-ever Champions League trophy. 

Fran Kirby, Chelsea

Barcelona may be stacked, with players like Oshoala, Martens, Alexia Putellas, Vicky Losada, and Jennifer Hermoso. But so is Chelsea. 

Fran Kirby has been one of their most dominant players since she signed for the London club in 2015. 

Kirby has always been a goalscorer. Prior to Chelsea, she played for Reading, her hometown club, and in forty-two appearances, she scored 68 goals, averaging 1.6 goals a game. When she signed for Chelsea, expectations were high. 

And these expectations were met. With the club, Kirby has won six trophies, including four FA Women’s Super League titles, the most of any team. 

With England, Kirby was a standout in the team’s third-place finish in the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada and was an integral part of the Lionesses win in the SheBelieves Cup in 2019. 

Kirby is another one of those extremely versatile players who can play multiple positions. Initially, Kirby was an attacking midfielder, playing in the number 10 role, which occupies the space right behind the forward players. Her job was to make plays and connect the team’s midfield to the forward strikers. However, over the years, she has been deployed as second striker often, playing more in the penalty box and supporting the number nine in scoring goals. 

'And a Champions League final for Chelsea!' 🔥@FranKirby sealing it for the Blues! 😍 pic.twitter.com/oli4kEBqgA

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) May 4, 2021

Kirby has scored 23 goals this season, with six of them being in the Champions League, the most out of any Chelsea player. Barcelona will have to work tirelessly in defence if they don’t want to concede a goal that Kirby is involved in. 

Pernille Harder, Chelsea

It’s hard to talk about Kirby without talking about Harder, who have been partners in crime on the pitch for Chelsea this season. We already know that Sam Kerr will be a difference maker in the Champions League final, but Harder’s play may have a greater impact on Chelsea’s success. 

Harder spent the early days of her career in her home country of Denmark. Playing primarily as a striker at IK Skovbakken, she scored 22 goals in 27 appearances. By 2012, after five years of playing in Denmark, she decided to move to Sweden to play for Linköpings. Her performances in the Damallsvenskan (Swedish League) are what got her international recognition. In two seasons, she won three trophies and won the Damallsvenskan’s Forward of the Year and MVP award twice. 

By 2016, several clubs had shown interest in acquiring Harder, and in January of 2017, she became a VfL Wolfsburg player. Harder was part of a larger project at Wolfsburg, with the club signing several high-profile players in hopes of being a consistent force in German football and in the Champions League. 

Harder’s time at Wolfsburg did lead to domestic domination. The club won both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal double in the four consecutive seasons that Harder was a part of the team, with Harder winning the league Golden Boot in two of those seasons. However, Wolfsburg were no match for Lyon, and they lost to the French club in two separate Champions League finals. 

Despite coming second in both 2018 and 2020, Harder impressed during all her Champions League campaigns with Wolfsburg, winning two UEFA Women’s Player of the Year Awards and two UEFA Champions League Forward Awards. 

With her performances in Germany, it was no surprise that she became the world’s most expensive women footballer after signing for Chelsea in September of 2020. The world-record fee saw Harder come to London and join a star-studded attack that includes Kirby, Kerr, and Bethany England. 

Champions League final. Here we come!!! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/eaVD7KucUL

— Pernille Harder (@PernilleMHarder) May 4, 2021

Harder has taken Chelsea to the next level; she is a creative and game-intelligent forward who makes her mark through excellent positioning, intricate passing, and on-target shooting. She has the ability to play as a forward, a second striker, or an attacking midfielder.

Chelsea have already won three trophies this season, and both Harder and Kirby have been integral to the team’s success. Barcelona will have to work as a unit to be defensively sound in order to keep the Chelsea offense out.

Tune in: Champions League final is Sunday, May 16th at 3:00pm ET.

Aryna Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam of the 2025 WTA season on Saturday, with the world No. 1 defeating then-No. 9 Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6(3) to claim the US Open trophy — the final Slam of the year.

"To bring the fight and be able to handle my emotions the way I did in this final, it means a lot," Sabalenka said following the match. "I'm super proud right now of myself."

After successfully defending her 2024 US Open title — and claiming tennis's top 2025 paycheck in the process — Sabalenka is now the tournament's first repeat champion since 2014, when Serena Williams claimed a third straight trophy at the New York Slam.

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The 27-year-old narrowly avoided a Slam-less year, going without a trophy despite reaching both the Australian Open and French Open finals as well as the Wimbledon semifinals.

"I think because of the finals earlier this season, this one felt different," Sabalenka said. "All of those lessons are making me tougher, tougher, and tougher."

As for Anisimova, the US rising star added a new career-high WTA ranking alongside her second straight Grand Slam final appearance on her 2025 resume, rising to world No. 4 in Monday's update.

Also earning a noticeable bump on Monday was Japanese star Naomi Osaka, who clocked in at No. 14 after a stellar Grand Slam comeback run to the 2025 US Open semifinals.

The Golden State Valkyries have made WNBA history yet again, setting a new league attendance record by selling out all 22 of the 2025 expansion team's home games this year — and doing so in their debut season.

Even more, the WNBA surpassed the 3 million-fan mark over the weekend, an historic first for the 29-year-old league.

A hit from the very first tip-off, the Valkyries have seen unprecedented support while becoming the first-ever expansion team to make the WNBA playoffs in their inaugural year.

Making the announcement in their final 2025 regular-season home stand against the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday, the Valkyries have officially seen fans fill every one of the Chase Center's maximum 18,064 seats all season — claiming a WNBA all-time record for any team's per-game average along the way.

With those season-long record crowds, Golden State also now owns the WNBA total attendance mark at 397,408 fans on the year.

Just behind Golden State are the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty — the only other WNBA teams that will close out the 2025 regular-season with average crowds over 16,000 and totals breaking the 300,000-fan mark.

With one home game still left to play for each team, Indiana has welcomed 349,313 total fans so far, while New York currently sits at a 341,575 total attendance for the 2025 WNBA season.

Attendance has skyrocketed across the WNBA year, thanks in part to the league adding both a 13th franchise as well as two more home games to each team's 2025 schedule.

As a result, the league demolished the previous season-high attendance of 2.36 million set in 2002 and, with 11 games still on the 2025 regular-season schedule, the WNBA is currently on track to push past the 3.1 million mark before the postseason tips off.

Three retired WNBA icons received their flowers over the weekend, as Minnesota Lynx legends Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore and Seattle Storm great Sue Bird took their places in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday — making the 2025 WNBA class arguably the most dominant in HOF history.

"Now that I'm in the Hall, I believe I have become Auntie Maya," Moore said in her enshrinement speech. "I want to challenge you up-and-comers to learn to love and seek out joy and connection as your biggest motivator."

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With 11 Olympic gold medals — more than any other HOF group — and 10 league championships between them, plus countless individual honors, Fowles, Bird, and Moore comprise the strongest women's basketball Hall of Fame class in history.

Even more, this is the first year that the Naismith has added a full trio of WNBA players to its hallowed halls — a testament to the unmatched careers of Bird, Moore, and Fowles.

"Put us on a 3×3 team, you'd have some problems — we'd be pretty good," Bird joked. "It is pretty special to go in with people who aren't just amazing players, having impact on and off the court, but these are players that I got to experience life with."

"I think that would be fair to say that they would have the title of best class ever," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve said.

The 2025 NWSL season for the No. 5 Orlando Pride has taken a sharp downturn, as the reigning league champions are now winless in their last seven games following Sunday's 5-2 loss to the No. 13 Chicago Stars at Northwestern University's Martin Stadium.

While left back Carson Pickett and defensive midfielder Haley McCutcheon each managed to take a goal back for the Pride, a leaky Orlando back line saw five different Stars players hit the back of the net — including a 10th goal on the season for Chicago star striker Ludmila.

"I apologize to the fans that were watching at home, and I apologize to the fans that were here with their support. That was not us today and we have to get it right," Pride head coach Seb Hines said following the match.

Orlando have continued to slide down the NWSL standings since their last win on June 13th, most recently logging three straight losses as the team struggles to find their form following MVP candidate Barbra Banda's season-ending injury on August 16th.

One of the Pride's rare bright spots on Sunday was record-breaking signee Lizbeth Ovalle, with the Mexican international subbing in at the half to make her NWSL debut.

Chicago, on the other hand, hasn't dropped a match since returning from the midseason summer break, with the surging Stars putting on a Sunday show in their impending lakefront home.

"I feel like it's just a really cool atmosphere, a lot more people can come now, and it's really good vibes," midfielder Julia Grosso said after the match.