Christen Press has waited her entire career to play for a team in her hometown of Los Angeles. She’s waited just as long to compete for a club whose values are so synced with her own.

Since she turned professional out of Stanford in 2010, while living in Portland, the UK and many places in between, Press has been driven to elevate the women’s game. That’s what NWSL expansion club Angel City FC is all about, and finally, Press is home.

“To play at this point in my career for a club that’s trying to represent a new future for women’s soccer, and one with equity and inclusion at its core, one that’s working for progress, that’s truly meaningful to me,” she said.

Now, for the first time in franchise history, it’s match day for Press and Angel City. The team meets fellow expansion side San Diego Wave FC on Saturday in their Challenge Cup opener.

Angel City picked up just three rookies late into the 2022 NWSL draft, including Hope Breslin (No. 28), Lily Nabet (No. 36) and Miri Taylor (No. 39). With more players familiar with the pro landscape than a lot of other NWSL teams this season, Angel City is already living up to its culture of building through and around strong women.

“It’s really empowering to be led by successful women and women that want to see us succeed at the highest level, so I think having that behind us is one of the biggest differences that I have seen,” said defender Allyson Swaby.

Women athletes often spend their entire careers not only training to be elite at their sport, but also serving as advocates for the growth of the game. Angel City’s players have a club willing to fight that battle with them, allowing them more freedom to focus on soccer.

“I honestly can hardly believe that it’s a reality, and it’s a very unique thing for me to be able to be a part of and with where the game is today,” Press said.

Light work for @weareangelcity — this is just the start 💪⚽️ https://t.co/mrU9O15F97

— Alexis Ohanian 7️⃣7️⃣6️⃣ (@alexisohanian) March 14, 2022

The staff, so far, has been able to strike an ideal balance of fun and hard work. Intelligence, talent, culture, diversity and inclusion are just a few words the players used to describe the community the club has created, which has helped them sell over 14,000 season tickets for the upcoming season. Savannah McCaskill says the wide range of supporters the club has recruited will be “really unique to this league and the U.S.”

“I think every person I meet around the team, their character is impeccable, and when you put that group together, we could do amazing things,” said defender Paige Nielsen.

Ali Riley and Simone Charley have never been a part of an expansion club, so they’ve been experiencing Angel City’s gorwth with fresh eyes.

“They’re dedicated to just giving back to the community, and I think that’s an amazing foundation to be built on, just bettering those around you,” Charley said. “I think just building a team and the staff around that is an awesome philosophy.”

“It’s pretty incredible to be [my first expansion] and to build our own culture and create the team environment we want to have, and be the first team now to be Angel City players and represent L.A. in the NWSL,” Riley said.

The players have built that chemistry in training, in the locker room and before practice during games of soccer tennis. Off the field, the club recently organized a visit to San Diego, where they played jeopardy, went to the beach and had 25 minutes to paint portraits of each other, which Nielsen jokingly described as hideous.

On the field, what stands out to midfielder Dani Weatherholt is the excitement they share, knowing they’re an underdog team.

“For me initially, seeing all the names and a lot of people were either on the brink of breaking out on their team, or are new to the NWSL, like maybe didn’t get drafted, I think there’s this chip on their shoulder of wanting to prove themselves, and I think that’s super exciting,” she said.

When Angel City plays their first match of the Challenge Cup on Saturday, fans can expect a strong defensive team with a flare on the attack.

“Dangerous,” Nielsen said. “Fast and furious,” according to Swaby.

Charley prefers to keep it a secret.

“You’ll just have to come to our first game and see,” she said with a smile.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.