Megan Rapinoe’s farewell tour hit a special location Saturday night: Portland.

Rapinoe, the OL Reign winger, is set to retire at the end of the season, and every away game marks an emotional moment. But few cities mean as much to Rapinoe, who played college soccer at the University of Portland and then became one of the cities’ biggest villains as the Reign developed an epic rivalry with the Portland Thorns.

When Rapinoe was subbed out in the Reigns’ 2-0 loss to the Thorns, she received a standing ovation from Providence Park.

“I have to go quick, or I’m going to start crying,” Rapinoe told reporters after the game, in reference to the ovation. “I’ve been trying to impress people in Portland since I was 18. So you know, to play college here and have so many amazing memories. You know, even the rivalry. These are always the very best games.

“So, even when you’re on the losing end, like tonight, this really sucks but it’s always really special playing here.”

Rapinoe played at Portland alongside her twin sister, Rachael, who still lives in Portland. At Providence Park, Rapinoe was greeted by a giant sign that read: “bye, Rachael’s sister.”

“Oh my god. It was so cute,” Rapinoe said. “I was literally cracking up, it was well done Portland.”

Rapinoe was grateful for the big crowd for what was likely her final game in one of the sport’s most epic rivalries.

“I have so much love and respect for the fans here and how they show up for their team and obviously, I have a lot of good friends on the other team,” she said.

Sabrina Ionescu finds motivation wherever she can get it.

In the second half of the New York Liberty’s game Friday against the Washington Mystics, for instance, Ionescu took issue with what she believed was a non-call by the referees. Ionescu believed the Mystics should have been called for a shooting foul at one point of the opening game of the team’s first-round playoff series.

The call never came, however, and Ionescu drained back-to-back 3-pointers, adding to what turned into a game-high 29-point performance in New York’s 90-75 win over the Mystics.

“I don’t want to get fined, but let me say,” Ionescu told reporters after the game. “Some of those 3s were for the refs, with all due respect.”

Ionescu, a two-time WNBA All-Star, was second on the Liberty during the regular season with 17 points per game, shooting 42.3 percent from the floor and 44.8 from long-range. She set a single-season league record with 128 made 3-pointers.

A former mentee of the late Kobe Bryant, Ionescu is never afraid to wear her art on her heart on her sleeve.

That was clear against the Mystics on Friday, when she made seven 3-pointers – a franchise playoff record. After swishing a long ball with just under seven minutes remaining to give the Liberty a 12-point lead, she waved her arms above her head, egging on a bombastic Barclays Center crowd.

The Liberty’s success has Ionescu convinced they are the top team in New York City, women’s or men’s.

“We’re going to let our work do the talking,” Ionescu said. “We’ll be able to shut up those people on Twitter that have anything to say [about] what’s going on with New York sports.

“We’ve been playing the best basketball that’s been played in New York City for a very long time. Whether people recognize it or not, they will in the next few weeks. I’m excited to see what they say then.”

Sydney Colson believes in the WNBA’s potential to grow. But first, she said in an interview with Gilbert Arenas, the league needs to actively court more women fans.

“Y’all should have been getting beauty deals for women,” Jones said. “There should’ve been skin deals, lipstick, feminine products, tampons. There are so many things that should be easy, like, low hanging fruit.”

Colson, 34, a point guard for the Las Vegas Aces, has been in the league since 2011, when she was drafted by the Connecticut Sun with the No. 16 pick in the WNBA Draft. She’s seen the WNBA grow in that time but believes there’s even more room.

She has developed an audience of her own, with 139,000 Instagram followers, and is set to star in an unscripted series for Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort alongside Theresa Plaisance. The show, called “The Syd + TP Show” will follow Colson and Plaisance’s efforts to become the faces of the WNBA despite being bench players.

Colson has been a key role player for the Aces as they look to repeat as WNBA Champion. Earlier in the season, her teammate, A’Ja Wilson, scored 53 points against the Atlanta Dream, tying the league’s all-time record for points in a single game.

Colson believes more of an emphasis on scoring could bring additional fans to the league.

“With scoring, that could be a thing that men and women want to see, and kids, you want to see a fast-paced game. I want to see somebody score 53 points in a game,” Colson said. “There are definitely things they could be doing to grow the game, and the viewership.”

Jonquel Jones has accomplished a lot in her career, but there’s one thing that has eluded her.

Jones, a forward for the New York Liberty, is one of the most decorated players in the WNBA. But she has never won a WNBA Championship. In a recent interview with ESPN, the 2021 WNBA MVP spoke to the lengths she would go to achieve that goal.

“I’d give up my MVP trophy to be a champion,” Jones says. “That’s what you play for. You don’t play for individual accolades.”

Jones has sacrificed this season in pursuit of that goal. She’s fourth on the team in scoring (11.3 points per game), way down from her 2021 (19.4 points per game). It appears to be working: The Liberty entered the postseason at 32-8, the second best record in the league.

In the team’s 90-75 win over the Washington Mystics in the first game of their first-round series, Jones scored 20 points and recorded 12 rebounds and four assists. She was one of four New York players to score in double-figures, including Sabrina Ionescu (29 points), Betnijah Laney (19 points) and Breanna Stewart (10 points).

Jones, Stewart and point guard Courtney Vandersloot all previously played together overseas for UMMC Ekaterinburg. Now, alongside Ionescu and Laney, they’ve formed a “superteam” intent on making noise in the postseason.

“I’m very happy to be in New York and be playing with these ladies,” Jones said in an interview with Slam.

The Liberty host the Mystics in the second game of the series Tuesday, before heading to Washington, D.C. for Game 3 on Friday.

A champion has arrived at Gotham FC.

On Thursday night, Gotham formally introduced Esther González, captain of the World Cup-winning Spain national team, as its newest addition at a Manhattan restaurant.

After a decorated career that has included stops at Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid, González’s arrival in the NWSL will represent a unique challenge.

“There are some leagues and some countries where I think players have been somewhat reluctant to come to this league,” Gotham general manager Yael Averbuch West told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “From the very beginning, we realized Esther has the personality necessary to come here and succeed. She’s up for an adventure and really intense in a way that — you can just tell when you talk to someone if they’re going to be up for this.”

González joins a Gotham (7-5-6, 27 points) team clinging to one of six playoff spots. The striker actually played her first game for the club Sept. 2 at North Carolina, but her first home game will be Saturday against the Washington Spirit.

Her arrival marks just the second time in NWSL history a reigning World Cup champion from a country other than the United States has joined a team. Spain’s victory has been overshadowed by scandal; Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Soccer Federation, resigned last week after uproar stemming from his unsolicited kiss of Jenni Hermoso during the team’s medal celebration.

González will look to add to her legacy in New York, after scoring 30 goals in 54 games for Real.

“The U.S. is a powerhouse, especially the national team, and as a team they were always the best and a reference for all of us, including me,” she said. “Now having the chance to play in this league, face those players that I’ve idolized — I never thought I’d make it.”

Skylar Diggins-Smith is putting in the work – even if she can’t access the Phoenix Mercury facilities.

Diggins Smith, who is on maternity leave and embroiled in a feud with the franchise, will be a free agent next year. And on Saturday, Bridget Pettis, a former Mercury guard, posted a video of Diggins-Smith to Instagram.

In the video, the guard is seen shooting jumpers, dribbling between her legs and driving into the lane for layups.

Diggins-Smith, a six-time WNBA All-Star, missed the end of the 2022 regular season and the team’s first-round playoff loss to the Las Vegas Aces because of personal reasons.

She then went on maternity leave at the start of this season and, as she revealed in a series of tweets in early August, has not been allowed to use the teams’ practice facilities or access other team resources: massage therapists, chiropractors, chefs, strength and conditioning coaches and nutritionists.

“I’m fine with being distanced,” she wrote on X. “Now I can’t possibly be the villain anymore.”

The Mercury (9-30) have struggled without Diggins-Smith and have the worst record in the league. In their final home game of the season, the Mercury fell to the Las Vegas Aces, 94-73, but Sug Sutton provided a bright spot with a triple-double – the first in league history by a player drafted after the first round.

The team wraps up its regular season Sunday on the road against the Aces.

Jewell Loyd is staying with the Seattle Storm.

Loyd, 29, has agreed on a two-year extension, her agent, Jade-Li English of Klutch Sports, told ESPN. The deal will pay her $241,984 in the first season, the supermax for that year, and $249,032 in the second.

The All-Star forward has scored 911 points this season, a WNBA single-season record, and she’s leading the league with an average of 24.6 points per game. Loyd has been with the Storm since the team picked her No. 1 overall in the 2015 WNBA Draft.

“It’s been special for Seattle to witness Jewell compete for championships and rise to be one of the best in the game. She is a franchise player, and we are excited to continue to build our future around her,” Storm president and CEO Alisha Valavanis said. “She is a remarkable person and leader, she lifts her teammates, the organization, and her community. Everyone around Jewell knows she embodies greatness. We’re so glad she’s staying in Seattle.”

Loyd has been a bright spot in an otherwise dark season for Seattle, which is 11-28 entering its final game of the season, Sunday against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Loyd will look to finish her historic season on a high note. After signing the extension, she posted a famous Bruce Lee quote to X.

“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine,” Loyd wrote.

Growing up, Coco Gauff idolized Serena and Venus Williams.

In a mostly white sport, Gauff saw herself in the Black sisters who dominated the sport during her childhood. And in the aftermath of her U.S. Open victory Saturday, Gauff credited the sisters.

“They’re the reason why I have this trophy today,” Gauff said. “They’ve allowed me to believe in this dream. Growing up, there weren’t too many Black tennis players dominating the sport. It was just them at the time that I can remember, and obviously more came because of their legacy. It made the dream more believable.”

Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the tournament finals at Arthur Ashe Stadium, falling to the ground and crying when she won. Gauff, 19, became the first American teen to win the U.S. Open since Serena Williams in 1999.

Williams, of course, went on to win the tournament another five times, including in 2002, when she defeated her sister in the final. Gauff wasn’t born until 2004, but she grew up with the backdrop of both Williams sisters as icons of the sport.

And on Saturday, Gauff joined her heroes and etched her name as one of the titans of the sport.

“All the things they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this,” Gauff said. “You look back at the history of Indian Wells with Serena, and all she had to go through. Venus, fighting for equal pay. It’s crazy and it’s an honor to be in the same lineup as them.”

When it was over, Coco Gauff dropped to the Arthur Ashe ground and started to cry.

Gauffe defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S. Open final Saturday, capturing her first Grand Slam championship. Gauff, 19, became the first American teen to win the U.S. Open since Serena Williams in 1999.

The 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory marked the culmination of a yearslong journey for Gauff, who has long been lauded the future of American tennis but had yet to break through. Gauff picked up some momentum with a pair of tournament victories in August: the Washington Open and the Cincinnati Open.

Gauff had defeated Karolina Muchova, 6-4, 7-5, in the semifinal, while Sabalenka, ranked No. 2 in the world, edged American Madison Keys 0-6, 7-6, 7-6 to advance to the final. The clinching point came when Gauff, on the run to her left, fired the ball past Muchova’s outstretched racket.

“Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” Gauff said afterward. “A month ago I won a 500 title and people said I was going to stop there. Three weeks ago I won a 1000 title and people said that was as good as it was going to get. Three weeks later I’m standing here with the trophy.

“Those who thought they were adding water to my fire, they were really putting gas on it and I am burning so bright right now.”

By defeating Muchova, Gauff became the first American to win the U.S. Open since Sloane Stephens in 2017.

Gauff went into the stands to hug her mother and father after the historic win as social media tributes started to roll in.

“So proud of you,” Michelle Obama wrote on X. “Your hard work and grit was on display throughout this tournament. This is your moment!”

Manaka Matsukubo made history during the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup – in more ways than one.

Matsukubo, 19, a midfielder for the North Carolina Courage, became the youngest player to start in a game in the tournament. And then, on Saturday, after the Courage’s 2-0 win over Racing Louisville in the final, she was named Challenge Cup MVP.

After the game, Matsukubo was asked through a translator how she felt. But instead of waiting for the translation, Matsukubo beamed and offered her answer: “I’m so happy.” Her teammates erupted in joy around her.

The midfielder scored in the 54th minute of the final, icing the win after Kerolin found the back of the net in the 28th minute.

Matsukubo scored on an assist from teammate Tess Boade, who broke through the line and sent a through ball to Manaka. Manaka one-timed the reception and chipped the ball into the top right corner of the net, becoming the youngest player ever to score in the Challenge Cup.

The Courage acquired Matsukubo on loan from Mynavi Sendai of the Japanese WE League for a fee. She had scored four goals and added an assist during the 2022-23 WE League season.

“We are very excited to add another young talent to the team. Manaka is one of the young up and coming talents in world football. A player with a simple approach to the game and ability to unlock opposition through the thirds,” Courage head coach Sean Nahas said in a press release announcing her acquisition.