The Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces remain in a tier of their own at the top of the WNBA standings with one month left in the regular season. The Seattle Storm continue to knock on the door, currently just two games back of the first-place Sky and playing their best basketball of the season.

The Aces made a splash this week, signing Kelsey Plum to a contract extension that will keep her with the team through 2024. In the middle of a dominant season, the All-Star Game MVP was on track to be one of the most sought-after free agents on the market this offseason. With Plum re-signed, the Aces will return their entire core for the 2023 season, showing their commitment to the current team under head coach Becky Hammon.

The Minnesota Lynx made a strong push the last two weeks, but have since dropped two of their last four games to remain in 11th place at 10-17. Following a tough travel swing, the Lynx have five days to rest and regroup before they host the Connecticut Sun in a back-to-back series this weekend. Minnesota’s playoff hopes are still very much alive as four teams are currently log-jammed in the standings, fighting for the eighth and final spot with nine games left to play.

D.C. gets stingy

In their first 21 games of the season the Mystics allowed their opponents 76.1 points per game on 43 percent shooting from the field. In their last six, Washington has flipped the script, allowing a league-best 72 points per game on 41 percent shooting.

Despite inconsistencies with the rotation and the occasional rest days for Elena Delle Donne, the Mystics have put themselves in a perfect position to make a playoff run. Currently fifth in the standings at 16-11, Washington sits just four games back of the top seed.

This Mystics team has parallels to last year’s Chicago Sky, who started the season on a losing streak and peaked at the right time to win their first WNBA championship. If the Mystics can continue to rely on their defensive tenacity, stay healthy and keep Delle Donne on the floor, they have enough offensive firepower to make anything happen at the end of August.

Connecticut gets reinforcements

On Monday, the Sun added Bria Hartley to their roster for the remainder of the season.

The ninth-year guard was traded from the Phoenix Mercury to the Indiana Fever in a three-team deal with the Chicago Sky in February that also included Diamond DeShields and Julie Allemand. Hartley averaged 8.7 minutes and 2.5 points in just 10 games for the Fever before she was waived last Friday.

Her divorce agreement with Indiana for $175,911 made her an affordable pickup for the Sun, who were dealt a tough blow at the beginning of the season when they lost starting guard Jasmine Thomas to an ACL injury. Without Thomas, Connecticut’s backcourt has lacked depth and experience on both ends of the floor, and the Sun have struggled with turnovers and defense at the guard position.

In 2020, Hartley had one of the best seasons of her career while playing at full strength for the Mercury, averaging 14.6 points, 4.5 assists and shooting 39 percent from the 3-point line in 25 minutes per game. If the former UConn standout can rediscover even just a portion of that form this season, the Sun’s bench will be even more dangerous down the stretch.

Storm hit their stride

After going 11-7 to start the season, Seattle is 6-1 since June 29 and is riding a four-game win streak into Wednesday’s game against the Sky.

The most glaring difference between the Storm’s first 18 games and last seven is their offensive production. While they aren’t shooting any better from the 3-point line, their overall field-goal percentage has increased along with their pace of play. The Storm have done a much better job of not settling for jumpers, and instead being aggressive and getting to the free-throw line more consistently.

Defensively, Seattle is also giving up fewer points to opponents, averaging 72 points conceded in the last seven games. Take a look at some of the Storm’s key statistics during the two stretches.

First 18 games vs. last seven

PPG: 78.7 — 86.0
FG%: 42.0 –46.6
TO per game: 13.3 — 14.6
RPG: 32.0 — 36.0
SPG: 8.5 — 9.6
FT attempts: 14.1 — 18.9
Defensive rating: 96.0 — 87.7
Pace: 95.47 — 99.09
Opp. PPG: 76.9 — 72.3

This is a big week for the Storm as they look to extend their winning streak on the road against Chicago on Wednesday and Phoenix on Friday. They return home Sunday to play the Atlanta Dream.

Week 11 Power Rankings

1. Chicago Sky (19-6) —
2. Las Vegas Aces (18-7) —
3. Seattle Storm (17-8) +1
4. Washington Mystics (16-11) +1
5. Connecticut Sun (16-9) -2
6. Atlanta Dream (11-14) —
7. Dallas Wings (11-14) +4
8. Phoenix Mercury (11-16) +2
9. Minnesota Lynx (10-17) -1
10. Los Angeles Sparks (10-14) -3
11. New York Liberty (9-15) -2
12. Indiana Fever (5-22) —

Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.

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.