The U.S. Women’s Bowling Open kicks off Wednesday with a historic top prize and a teenage star ready to compete for it.

Jillian Martin and the rest of the U.S. Open field will vie for the $100,000 award, the first six-figure first-place prize in the history of professional women’s bowling. Twenty-four bowlers will advance to round-robin match play, and those who make it to the championship round will compete for the title on CBS Sports Network on Aug. 31.

Martin, a 17-year-old from Stow, Ohio, is entering the U.S. Open with confidence after a history-making year on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour

After finishing as a runner-up at the PWBA ITRC Classic and in third place at the PWBA Hall of Fame Classic in January, Martin broke into the winner’s circle. Two weeks ago, she became the youngest bowler ever to win a PWBA Tour event when she captured the 2021 PWBA BowlTV Classic.

“I’ve obviously worked toward different goals, but winning the BowlTV Classic and becoming the youngest to win a professional women’s tournament has been the biggest one out of all of them,” Martin told Just Women’s Sports. “To just be able to go up there and do what I do and end up coming out with success has been amazing.”

Martin’s rise to the top of the sport has come quickly, giving her little time to process it all. She’s been able to lean on veteran bowlers like Rocio Restrepo, who lives near her in Ohio, as well as her family and support systems at Storm and I Am Bowling, where she is a staff member.

“I felt like I had a lot of people behind me in that moment,” she said of winning the BowlTV Classic on Aug. 10.

That group includes Martin’s great uncle, who first introduced her to the sport and taught her “how to legitimately bowl,” as she puts it. He helped her understand the complexity of the rules, and she fell in love with the challenge of strategizing to win.

Having a bowling alley close to her family’s home in Stow helped. But until she decided to enter the 2019 U.S. Open on a whim and realized she could compete with the best the sport has to offer, Martin hadn’t considered turning bowling into a career.

“It was one of those things that I had a lot of fun out here and I had a lot of fun competing, so I just wanted to see where that took me,” she said.

The moment 17-year-old Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, realized she'd just become the youngest bowler in history to win a PWBA Tour event!

Martin, the top seed for the finals, defeated England's Verity Crawley, 221-188, in the title match of the 2021 PWBA BowlTV Classic. pic.twitter.com/wBnTLhfFec

— PWBA Tour (@PWBATour) August 11, 2021

As Martin enters the U.S. Open this week, she’s focused on playing to her strengths, getting a read on the lanes and remaining confident in her game. The high school senior takes her role as an ambassador for the sport seriously, especially as her celebrity rises. But she also doesn’t want to forget to have fun.

“I like to share my story and just kind of get the word out about bowling in general, too,” she said. “I think it’s really important that other people can learn about our sport and understand what it has to offer.

“I think it’s a really key thing just to grow the sport of bowling, and I love every minute of it.”

Nike is sending Team USA to Italy in style, with the sportswear giant's ACG (All Conditions Gear) brand releasing the designs for a special 2026 Winter Olympics collection this week.

Branded with Nike ACG badges alongside Team USA patches, this year's collection builds off a traditional red, white, and navy color scheme to outfit the country's Olympic and Paralympic athletes, as well as fans, ahead of the 2026 Games' February 6th opening ceremony in Milan.

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The designs include a long-sleeved T-shirt displaying an animated, winter sports-bound bald eagle and a zipped fleece sherpa and Therma-Fit skirt, both emblazoned with a bald eagle soaring over mountains.

Additionally, the collection boasts multiple T-shirts, long-sleeved sweat-wicking shirts, Polartec® jackets, and accessories including a baseball cap and winter beanie.

Nike is just one of many major brands outfitting Team USA for this year's competition, with the athletic corporation joining J.Crew in inviting fans to gear up for the Games after the fashion retailer dropped its own Winter Olympics capsule collection earlier this month.

How to purchase items from the Nike ACG x Team USA collection

The Nike ACG x Team USA line will hit shelves on Friday, January 23rd, with fans able to snag pieces prior to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The collection will be available for purchase via nike.com.

Stars of the 2025 Euro stole the EA FC 26 spotlight this week, as the video game giant's fan-voted 2026 Team of the Year recognized some of international soccer's top achievers on Thursday.

Champions England fielded four honorees as forward Alessia Russo joined a trio of Lioness defenders — Leah Williamson, Millie Bright, and Team of the Year captain Lucy Bronze — on the 11-player list.

"Being named the first-ever Women's EA Sports FC TOTY Captain is an honour," Bronze said in a statement. "2025 was an amazing year — winning the Euros again and picking up my first BWSL with Chelsea — so much of that success is thanks to our fans, and it's great to see them recognize my efforts with this award."

The rest of the EA FC 26 Team of the Year also favored European titans, as Euro runners-up and Nations League winners Spain also saw a quartet of players make the roster. La Roja fully owned the Team of Year midfield as stars Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey, and Alexia Putellas joined forward Clàudia Pina on Thursday's lineup.

Rounding out the squad were three other European club standouts as EA FC 26 also tapped Chliean goalkeeper Christiane Endler (OL Lyonnes), French defender Selma Bacha (OL Lyonnes), and Polish forward Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona).

The first Grand Slam of 2026 has arrived, as the main draw of the Australian Open hits the court on Saturday evening, promising some early-round fireworks.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka enters as the tournament favorite, though the rest of the WTA Top 10 promises to give her a run for her money — as No. 2 Iga Świątek chases the only major tournament title still eluding her.

Meanwhile, No. 9 Madison Keys will attempt to defend her 2025 crown, as fellow US products No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula also locked down top seeds.

Another US superstar will return this weekend, with 45-year-old Venus Williams following up her impressive 2025 performances by accepting a wild-card entry to her first Australian Open in five years.

"Even though I've been on tour for a long time, this is also still my first experience as [reigning champion]," Keys said. "I'm really just trying to soak in all of the really cool fun parts."

How to watch the 2026 Australian Open

The 2026 Australian Open begins at 7 PM ET on Saturday, with Williams as well as top-seed Sabalenka and world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini set to face their first opponents on the first day of the Slam's main draw.

The second day of first-round matches will see the rest of the WTA elite in action, as No. 2 Świątek, No. 3 Gauff, No. 4 Anisimova, No. 6 Pegula, and No. 9 Keys — as well as No. 5 Elena Rybakina, No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, and No. 10 Belinda Bencic — will hit the hardcourt in Melbourne starting at 7 PM ET on Sunday.

All matches in the 2026 Australian Open — from the first round through the women's final on Saturday, January 31st — will air live across ESPN platforms.

Monday's NCAA basketball action will put two of the nation's top guards to the test, as No. 10 TCU faces No. 14 Ohio State in Newark, New Jersey's Coretta Scott King Classic — part of a stacked MLK Day slate.

Buckeye sophomore Jaloni Cambridge is on a tear in this season, averaging 21.8 points per game — good for No. 10 in the country — and tallying 102 points, 20 rebounds, and 20 assists across Ohio State's last three games.

At the same time, TCU has seen similar stylings from Notre Dame transfer Olivia Miles, with the senior putting up a career-high 19.2 points per game while sitting at No. 9 in the nation behind her 7.3 assists average for the Horned Frogs.

Even more, Miles is lapping her collegiate cohort in triple doubles on the season, posting four of the elite stat-sheet performances while all other NCAA players have a maximum of one.

Both teams are meeting expectations head-on this season, impressing following 2025 NCAA tournament exits that spurred significant offseason roster changes.

Ohio State star forward Cotie McMahon transferred to Ole Miss after the Buckeyes' second-round ousting, while TCU graduated standout starting guard Hailey Van Lith and center Sedona Prince.

With Miles and Cambridge leading the charge, however, both squads are flourishing: TCU faltered just once in their 2025/26 campaign so far — a January 3rd overtime loss to unranked Utah — while Ohio State's two season losses came at the hands of titans No. 1 UConn and No. 3 UCLA.

"Ultimately, [TCU forward] Marta [Suarez] and Miles are two of the best players in college basketball," Horned Frogs head coach Mark Campbell said after Sunday's win over Arizona State. "But for our team to reach our full potential, we need these other players to show great growth. And I think we have."

How to watch TCU vs. Ohio State basketball on Monday

The No. 10 Horned Frogs will take on the No. 14 Buckeyes at 12 PM ET on Monday, airing live on FOX.