Cat Osterman is set to take the field in what will be her second and last Athletes Unlimited softball season.

The United States Olympian and inaugural AU champion headlines the five-week season in Rosemont, Ill, which begins with doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. Players can acquire points individually and as a team after each game. League leaders are then appointed as captains, with the ability to draft their own teams the following week.

Osterman captured AU’s first softball title in October 2020, beating out 56 other players with a total of 2,408 points. The veteran pitcher played for 13 winning teams during the 2020 season, finishing the season with 95 strikeouts and a league-leading 1.53 ERA.

The 38-year-old enters the 2021 season on the heels of an emotional Olympics. Softball returned to the Olympics this summer in Tokyo after 13 years, giving Team USA a chance at redeeming their silver medal from the 2008 Beijing Games. Osterman and Team USA advanced to the gold-medal game in Tokyo but again fell to Japan and took home the silver medal.

“Unfortunately, it’s just not been our day twice now,” Osterman said after the loss while fighting back tears. “If you told me this was the ending and I had to redo it, I would choose to do it all over again because this team has heart, has fight.”

Osterman finished the Olympic tournament second to teammate Monica Abbott in ERA and fourth in strikeouts. The Team USA veteran pitched six shutout innings against Italy in the Olympic opener, allowing only one hit. She then threw a complete-game shutout against Mexico in a 2-0 victory.

One month after the Olympics, the Athletes Unlimited season gives Osterman a final chance to take the mound. After coming out of retirement in 2018 to compete with Team USA in Tokyo, Osterman has said she’s officially hanging it up after the AU season.

Osterman will have the likes of Haylie McCleney, Jessica Warren, Victoria Hayward, Erika Piancastelli and Odicci Alexander, among other softball stars, to contend with as she looks to end her professional career with another title.

Warren finished the 2020 AU season ranked second overall in points after posting an 8-1 record as captain. Hayward finished behind her at third, leading the league in stolen bases and posting a .396 batting average. Piancastelli, a catcher who represented Italy at the Tokyo Olympics, ended the 2020 season in fourth with nine home runs and a .885 slugging percentage. McCleney, the 2020 GEICO Defensive Player of the Year, enters the AU season after a dominant Olympic run at the plate, leading all players in Tokyo with a .643 batting average leading into the gold-medal game. Alexander signed with Athletes Unlimited as a rookie following a storied career with James Madison that included a 66-strikeout performance in the 2021 Women’s College World Series.

Warren, Hayward and Piancastelli join Osterman as the first team captains, drafting their own squads for the opening weekend of competition.

The Athletes Unlimited Season starts on Saturday, with Team Hayward and Team Warren facing off at 4 p.m. ET on YouTube and Team Osterman taking on Team Piancastelli at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

For a full schedule of the weekend’s games, click here.

Editor’s note: Athletes Unlimited is a sponsor of Just Women’s Sports.

The 2026 LPGA Tour officially teed off on Thursday, when 39 top-ranked golfers began competing for a piece of this year's $2.1 million HGV Tournament of Champions purse.

Following Thursday's first round, No. 17 Nasa Hataoka (Japan) led the field with a 6-under 66 performance, with world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand), No. 11 Lottie Woad (England), No. 24 Linn Grant (Sweden), and No. 53 Chanettee Wannasaen (Thailand) chasing her just one shot behind.

Defending Tournament of Champions winner No. 27 A Lim Kim (South Korea) enters Friday's second round three strokes back.

Leading a US contingent that includes No. 13 Angel Yin, No. 25 Lauren Coughlin, and No. 49 Lilia Vu is 2025 Tournament of Champions runner-up No. 2 Nelly Korda, who capped Thursday trailing Hataoka by two shots.

"Overall, I'm happy with my round. [It's only] Thursday, so hopefully, I can continue building momentum going into the next three days," said the 27-year-old US star. "But [I] can't complain."

Featuring 16 of the Top 25 golfers, including 2024 champion No. 6 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) and 2023 winner No. 23 Brooke Henderson (Canada), the 2026 LPGA season-opening tournament pairs pros with amateur celebrities including USWNT legend Brandi Chastain and golf icon Annika Sörenstam.

How to watch the 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions

Live coverage of the 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions airs at 11:30 AM ET on Friday and 3 PM ET on Saturday on the Golf Channel, before NBC broadcasts the LPGA season opener's final round at 2 PM ET on Sunday.

Aryna Sabalenka is one match away from her third Australian Open title after the world No. 1 tennis star took down Ukraine's No. 12 Elina Svitolina in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) in the 2026 tournament's semifinals on Thursday.

Entering her fourth straight Australian Open final, the 27-year-old Belarusian initially won the Melbourne Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024 before dropping the 2025 final to US star No. 9 Madison Keys.

"The job is not done yet," Sabalenka said following her Thursday semifinal win.

Now hunting a fifth career Grand Slam victory after claiming a second consecutive US Open title last September, Sabalenka will face Kazakhstan's No. 5 Elena Rybakina in Saturday's final, after the 2022 Wimbledon champ downed No. 6 Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6(7) in Thursday's first match.

"It got very tight. I stayed there," the 26-year-old said after defeating the last-standing US star. "I was fighting for each point."

Notably, Saturday's final will also be a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open championship clash in which Sabalenka staged a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory.

Even more, though Sabalenka holds the all-time edge with an 8-6 career record against Rybakina, the Kazakhstani star has won six of the pair's last 10 meetings — including a dominant 6-3, 7-6(0) upset victory to take the 2025 WTA Finals title in November.

How to watch the 2026 Australian Open final

The 2026 Australian Open final between No. 1 Sabalenka and No. 5 Rybakina kicks off at 3:30 AM ET on Saturday, airing live on ESPN.

Unrivaled 3×3 is taking over Philadelphia on Friday, when the Miami-based league brings pro women's basketball back to the City of Brotherly Love the first time since 1998.

As the league's its first-ever tour stop, Friday's one-off doubleheader — dubbed "Philly is Unrivaled" — is already shaping up to be a success, with Unrivaled selling out the 21,000-seat Xfinity Mobile Arena with tickets averaging $165 each on the secondary market — nearly double the price to see the NBA's Sixers at the same venue.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

"I'm just excited for the love from the city. People can really see this as a basketball city. One of the best cities in the world," said Philadelphia product and Rose BC star Kahleah Copper, as her hometown gears up to launch its own WNBA expansion team in 2030.

Friday's Unrivaled event promises a star-studded bill, with Paige Bueckers's Breeze BC first taking on Philly's own Natasha Cloud and the Phantom before Copper and the Rose square off against Marina Mabrey's Lunar Owls.

How to watch the "Philly is Unrivaled" doubleheader

Unrivaled tips off from Philadelphia on Friday when Breeze BC takes on Phantom BC at 7:30 PM ET, before Rose BC faces the Lunar Owls at 8:45 PM ET.

Both "Philly is Unrivaled" clashes will air live on TNT.

Riding high near the top of the SEC standings, No. 15 Tennessee will face an age-old rival on Sunday, when the Lady Vols visit the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season's last-standing undefeated Division I team, No. 1 UConn.

Tennessee previously led the SEC title race with a 6-0 conference record until a 77-62 upset loss to unranked Mississippi State on Thursday sent the Vols' tumbling to third on the conference table.

While claiming nearly double the rebounds as Tennessee, the Bulldog defense kept Tennessee's field goal rate under 32%, paving the way for senior forward Kharyssa Richardson to lead the charge to the Mississippi State victory with 21 points on the night.

"They outworked us, they out-toughed us, start to finish," Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell said postgame.

For Big East basketball leaders UConn, Sunday's matchup against Tennessee likely stands as the Huskies' final ranked test before kicking off the postseason — and their national title defense.

However, UConn is currently managing a lengthy injury report, with six players sidelined from their dominant Wednesday win over unranked Xavier.

Even so, the Huskies' depth never wavered, as sophomore guard Allie Ziebell sunk a program record-tying 10 three-pointers to secure the 97-39 victory on a career-high 34 points.

How to watch Tennessee vs. UConn this weekend

The top-ranked Huskies will host the No. 15 Vols at 12 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on FOX.