OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey is embracing the NWSL preseason with veteran players Megan Rapinoe, Jess Fishlock and Lauren Barnes, because she can’t be sure how many she’ll have left with all three of them after this one.

Rapinoe, 36, said after the Olympics last year that she needed to “take some time to think” about retirement. Last month, she signed a one-year extension with the Reign, raising questions about whether this could be her last year (fiancé and Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird has announced this WNBA season as her farewell tour).

For Barnes, 32, and Fishlock, 35, the question appears further off as they and Rapinoe enter their 10th season with OL Reign. In January, Barnes signed a one-year contract extension and Fishlock a two-year, both of which have options for an extra year. 

The three original franchise players understand what it means to play for the Reign and, during a preseason with many new faces, Harvey can lean on them to set the tone.

“I think that’s their biggest legacy,” the coach said. “This club continues to stick with those standards on and off the field, within the player group, of what’s expected, and these have been setting it for 10 years. They created it, then they set it and then they impart that onto the new ones coming in.”

On This Day in Reign History: Reign Drafts Lauren Barnes

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For Harvey, who also started at the club (then Seattle Reign FC) in 2013, “it’s hard to imagine the club without them,” she said. All three have been named to the NWSL Best XI during their careers, with 2021 NWSL MVP Fishlock earning the honor five times.

“We are 100 percent the product of our environment,” said Barnes, the NWSL’s 2016 Defender of the Year. “I am every single person who’s ever been part of this club — players, staff, playing one minute, to not playing at all, to playing every single minute.”

Barnes leads a steady backline alongside U.S. women’s national team defenders Alana Cook and Sofia Huerta. Kristen McNabb, who started 15 of 21 games for Reign last season, was selected by San Diego Wave FC in the 2022 expansion draft.

“We always hear about outsiders looking in and that they want to be part of the Reign, and I just want to continue that legacy as much as I possibly can and have these younger ones take it over after as the old ones move on eventually,” Barnes said.

That legacy is a conversation Harvey plans to have with Barnes, Rapinoe and Fishlock, but “not yet,” as she exclaimed during Tuesday’s media call.

The group still has an NWSL championship title to win after claiming the NWSL Shield twice, in 2014 and 2015, and finishing as runners-up those same years.

Since falling to the Washington Spirit — the eventual NWSL champions — in last year’s semifinals, the Reign have undergone one of the biggest roster turnovers in their history, signing nine new players in recent weeks.  The upcoming NWSL Challenge Cup will give them a chance to find their chemistry in competitive game settings before the regular season begins in May.

“There’s things around who Lu’s playing with … or whatever it might look like, where we have to find answers on some of the new players that we have,” Harvey said.

With Rapinoe up top, Fishlock in the midfield and Barnes on defense, Harvey has a strong core to build around. The Reign will enter the year with a healthy balance of veterans, younger players and those coming from other teams who are hungry for their shot. The mix creates a team that wants to win now, but also has depth and longevity.

🗣️ 2022 Challenge Cup schedule is here! Join us as we kick off the 10th season at Lumen Field.

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— OL Reign (@OLReign) February 7, 2022

The Reign get an early test, kicking off the Challenge Cup on March 18 against the Portland Thorns.

“It’s the game of our lifetime,” Barnes said of the Reign-Thorns rivalry. “It doesn’t even matter what place you’re in in the league. It’s like, that’s the championship game.

“Being able to pass that history down, that rivalry down to the new girls coming in and people overseas and stuff has been really fun to watch. I’ve had a couple girls come off those games and be like, ‘Best game I ever played.’ And we’re talking about girls who have been to World Cups.”

The game will also serve as OL Reign’s 2022 home debut at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash., home to the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and MLS’ Seattle Sounders. While hosting games at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma for three years, the Reign played their first match at Lumen last August against Portland, winning 2-1 in front of an NWSL-record 27,278 fans.

The move to Lumen marks the beginning of a new era for the Reign, and Barnes, Rapinoe and Fishlock are ready to lead the way.

“The club’s going in an exciting direction in regards to playing at Lumen, which is a huge step for us and I think the three of them,” Harvey said. “I was really excited for the three of them to have that opportunity because they deserve it.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The grass court chaos of Wimbledon didn't disappoint this week, as the unpredictable surface claimed more than one surprise victim in the 2025 Grand Slam's first round.

A full 10 of the London tournament's 32 seeded players fell in the competition's first round, including four of the WTA's Top 10: World No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Qinwen Zheng, and No. 9 Paula Badosa.

"I should just play no tournaments, get no wins, then roll into Wimbledon, and maybe I'll have better results," US star Pegula joked after her two-set Tuesday loss to Italy's No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto, referencing her recent wins.

Gauff's short Wimbledon outing also represented a new challenge for the 21-year-old standout, as the top-ranked US tennis player struggled to bounce back after winning the 2025 French Open last month.

"I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards," Gauff told ESPN. "So I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it."

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The upsets continued as Wimbledon entered its second round on Wednesday morning, claiming several more seeded players like world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini and No. 15 Diana Shnaider, though both No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded fan favorite Naomi Osaka cruised into the Slam's third round on two-set wins.

No. 8 Madison Keys now leads the US contingent, with fellow US contender No. 12 Amanda Anisimova joining the 2025 Australian Open champion in snagging their own two-set, second-round victories on Wednesday.

How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon Championships

Second-round play at the 2025 Wimbledon women's singles tournament continues on Thursday, as seven US players — including No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 28 Sofia Kenin — look to advance to the competition's third round.

Live continuous coverage of the London Grand Slam airs on ESPN.

The world No. 1 USWNT will close out their summer international break against a familiar foe on Wednesday night, facing North American rival No. 8 Canada for the first time this year.

"It's never friendly, you know? It's always like a final," US midfielder Sam Coffey told media earlier this week. "We all know each other super well."

"I'm really excited to be a part of it again for our younger, newer players," she continued. "I think it's going to be a huge learning opportunity on what representing this crest means."

The Northern neighbors are the USWNT's most frequent opponent, with the US entering the pair's 67th meeting with a 53-4-9 all-time record against Canada.

Wednesday's matchup will also mark Canada's first US clash under new head coach Casey Stoney, who joined the team in January following her abrupt June 2024 dismissal by the NWSL's San Diego Wave FC.

As for US boss Emma Hayes, she'll be looking for yet another refreshed set of starters on Wednesday after swapping out all 11 players between the team's two friendlies against Ireland last week.

"It's a testament to players and staff alike that we can rotate to different groups like we did last game, and everybody's understanding [the tactics] to varying degrees," Hayes said on Tuesday.

With months to go before the next USWNT camp in October, Wednesday's showdown serves as the last chance for bubble players to prove their worth, all while the team aims to cap the summer window with a big win over their longtime rivals.

How to watch the USWNT vs. Canada on Wednesday

The USWNT will cap their three-friendly summer break against Canada at 7:30 PM ET in Washington, DC.

Live coverage of the clash will air on TNT.

The Indiana Fever lifted their first trophy since 2012 on Tuesday night, winning the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup with a 74-59 upset victory over reigning Cup champs Minnesota — all while injured star guard Caitlin Clark watched from the sidelines.

To snag the win, Indiana leaned on balanced scoring, with forward Natasha Howard's 16-point, 12-rebound double-double leading the Fever's five double-digit shooters.

At the same time, the Fever employed a shutdown defense, limiting the Lynx to their lowest point total of the season.

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Beyond the $500,000 payout, Tuesday's win gives the 8-8 Fever a momentum boost as the team continues contending with both high-profile departures and the limited availability of their floor general.

"We have a resilient group, you know?" Indiana head coach Stephanie White said after the game. "They're tough, mentally and physically, they pull for one another. I'm just really proud."

"It felt good to get a win under gut-check circumstances," echoed guard Kelsey Mitchell. "To have so much going on and still stay consistently for each other, it was beautiful. It felt really amazing."

As for the league-leading Lynx, the Commissioner's Cup loss won't impact Minnesota's regular-season WNBA standings — and they’ll hope to build on the learnings from last night's ego blow.

Minnesota also has a bit of history one their side, as the last two Commissioner's Cup runners-up went on to win the WNBA Championship in the same year.

"We have to take this game to heart and learn from the mistakes we made, the way we showed up, the way we prepared, and make sure we don't do it again," said Lynx center Alanna Smith.

How to watch the Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx this week

Neither 2025 Commissioner's Cup contender will have much time to reflect on Tuesday's game, as both Indiana and Minnesota will dive back into regular-season WNBA play on Thursday.

The Fever will host the Las Vegas Aces at 7 PM ET, airing on Prime, before the Washington Mystics visit the Lynx at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham turned heads on Tuesday, criticizing the latest WNBA expansion plans in light of ongoing WNBPA CBA negotiations.

Cunningham drew ire from some fans after expressing skepticism about the WNBA awarding expansion teams to Detroit and Cleveland over other possible cities, while also suggesting that the league might be growing too quickly.

"You want to listen to your players, too. Where do they want to play?" she told reporters ahead of Indiana's Commissioner's Cup win. "I'm not so sure what the thought process is there, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you're not expanding our league too fast."

"It's kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don't know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]."

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Elsewhere, Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally also voiced her expansion concerns on Tuesday, calling on the WNBA to keep player support at the forefront when adding expansion teams.

"We really have to put an emphasis on the players that are in our league right now," she told reporters. "Maybe focus on the teams that find excuses continuously to lack investment in their players before we focus on adding more to the grain of people that can't really be sustained."