For the third straight year, Jessica Pegula is into the Australian Open quarterfinals.

The 28-year-old American won in straight sets Sunday over Barbora Krejčíková. The No. 3 seed next will face off against Victoria Azarenka at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday in hopes of making her first semifinal at the Melbourne major.

All eyes will be on Pegula, as she is the lone American woman – and the highest seed – left in the women’s singles draw.

So what is Pegula’s path to the title? Just Women’s Sports breaks it down.

Quarterfinal: Victoria Azarenka

A former world No. 1, Azarenka has made the final at the Australian Open twice before in 2008 and 2011, but the 33-year-old has not made a major final since 2019. This year’s quarterfinal appearance marks her best run at the Australian Open since 2016 and her first appearance past the fourth round in a major since the 2020 US Open.

Azarenka and Pegula have faced off five times prior to this. Their most recent meeting came at the 2022 Guadalajara Open, which Pegula won in straight sets. She went on to win the title at the October tournament.

"I absolutely adore her." 🥰

Rocking the sunglasses, @vika7 looks ahead to her quarterfinal against good friend @JLPegula. 😎#AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/igwmLY29Y6

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2023

Semifinal: Winner of Elena Rybakina vs. Jelena Ostapenko

The good news is that Pegula won’t have to go up against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinal after Swiatek lost her round of 16 matchup. Instead, she’ll face off against either Rybakina or Ostapenko.

Rybakina won Wimbledon last year and is fresh off taking out Swiatek in a dominant, straight-set win. But Pegula has beaten Rybakina in both of their previous matchups, including a win at the 2022 Guadalajara Open.

Ostapenko, meanwhile, is a former French Open champion who is on a career-best run at the Australian Open. She ousted No. 7 seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round but has lost twice to Pegula in her career. She won their most recent meeting, though, at the Qatar Open in 2021.

Final: No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka

The highest seed left in the draw besides Pegula is No. 5 Sabalenka, who took out Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in the fourth round. The 24-year-old Belarusian has beaten Pegula four times, most recently at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth in November.

Other possible opponents for Pegula in the championship match include Madga Linette, who took out No. 4 seed Caroline Garcia, as well as Donna Vekic and former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova.

The road to the College Cup begins this weekend, as the 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament kicks off with a stacked first-round field on Friday.

The strength of the ACC again leads the charge with three of the 64-team bracket's four top seeds hailing from the conference.

Snagging the overall No. 1 seed is Stanford, with the Cardinal outlasting fellow NCAA top-seed Notre Dame in a penalty shootout to claim their first-ever ACC tournament title last weekend.

Joining the Cardinal and Fighting Irish in the remaining No. 1 spots are the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers and the SEC-leading Vanderbilt Commodores.

Meanwhile, the 2025 tournament's No. 2 seeds — Michigan State, TCU, Duke, and Georgetown — are gearing up to play spoiler, with other underdogs also lurking throughout the bracket.

Already eyeing future upsets are four-time national champions and No. 3-seed Florida State, No. 4-seed and Big Ten champion Washington, and undefeated mid-major dark horse Memphis, who enters the 2025 field as a No. 7 seed.

The ACC's on-pitch dominance also sees defending champion North Carolina in an unfamiliar position, entering the 2025 NCAA tournament unseeded after the 22-time title-winners finished seventh in the conference behind a 12-6 overall and 6-4 ACC season record.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament

The 2025 NCAA women's soccer tournament kicks off with 32 first-round matches across Friday and Saturday, all on ESPN+.

The action begins with unseeded Ohio State taking on No. 8-seed Georgia at 3 PM ET, live on ESPN+.

Two USWNT legends are seeing their legacies cemented, as the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that retired forwards Tobin Heath and Heather O'Reilly are first-ballot inductees as members of the Class of 2026.

Both Heath and O'Reilly retired as World Cup champions and Olympic medalists, winning their 2008 and 2012 Olympic golds as well as their 2015 World Cup title as teammates.

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The USWNT icons led all voting on the Hall of Fame's Player Ballot of 20 finalists, which only allots two to three athletes per annual class for induction.

O'Reilly snagged 47 of the 48-person selection committee's votes, with Heath earning 45 nods for inclusion.

Fellow former USWNT star Sam Mewis finished fifth on the ballot with 32 votes in her first year of eligibility, while longtime NWSL and USWNT player Amy Rodriguez came in seventh with 28 votes.

Longtime Seattle Reign defender Stephanie Cox — a 2008 Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT — also snagged votes, ranking 15th on the Class of 2026 Player Ballot.

Though they fell short of making the cut, a trio of former USWNT stars also earned votes on the 10-finalist Veteran Ballot, with longtime midfielder-turned-broadcaster Aly Wagner as well as legendary '99ers Tiffany Roberts and Lorrie Fair all snagging tallies.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame will induct Heath and O'Reilly as part of its six-person Class of 2026 in a ceremony at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on May 1st.

Orlando Pride captain and Brazil legend Marta is back in the spotlight, topping the 2025 shortlist for the second-annual FIFA Marta Award — the women's goal-of-the-year prize established in her honor in 2024.

The 39-year-old attacking midfielder took home the inaugural trophy at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony last December, earning the title for a stellar long-range shot that helped lift Brazil over Jamaica 4-0 in a June 2024 friendly.

Marta's 2025 nomination, however, comes from an iconic goal in club play, with the FIFA Award spotlighting the Orlando game-winner against Kansas City in the 2024 NWSL semifinals — a goal that saw the Pride star force four Current players to the ground with her footwork.

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Marta has steep competition for this year's trophy, however, with 10 other goal nominees including a viral scorpion kick by former Tigres UANL star Lizbeth Ovalle, Seattle Reign defender Jordyn Bugg's long-range missile against the North Carolina Courage, forward Ally Sentnor's first-ever USWNT goal at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, and more.

How to vote for the 2025 FIFA Marta Award

Holding 50% of the vote, fans can view and rank their top three goals of 2025 until voting closes on December 3rd.

Voting for the second-ever Marta Award winner is now open at FIFA.com.

South Carolina and USC are bringing fireworks to the 2025/26 NCAA basketball court this weekend, as the No. 2 Gamecocks take on the No. 8 Trojans in "The Real SC" showdown on Saturday.

Both standout programs enter the matchup undefeated in early-season play, with the Trojans touting a Top-10 win after narrowly edging out No. 10 NC State 69-68 last weekend.

"You don't know exactly what you have until you're put in these situations, which is why we schedule them," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about the upcoming clash. "And I think it's a chance for us to redefine our identity a little bit."

South Carolina's depth will likely test the new-look Trojans, as USC aims to solidify their identity with star JuJu Watkins sidelined with injury for the season.

That said, freshman Jazzy Davidson is giving the Trojans new life, with the No. 1 high school recruit co-leading the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game.

South Carolina, however, has seen early dividends from familiar faces, as sophomore Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring at 18.3 points per game, with high-profile transfer Ta'Niya Latson close behind with a 16.3 point average.

How to watch USC vs. South Carolina in the "The Real SC" NCAA game

No. 8 USC will welcome No. 2 South Carolina to LA's Crypto.com Arena for the inaugural "Real SC" game on Saturday.

The clash will tip off at 9 PM ET, with live coverage airing on FOX.