The 2022 US Open will almost certainly be Serena Williams’ last, with the 23-time Grand Slam champion announcing her plans to retire in a Vogue cover story in early August.

With the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s final outing looming, the tennis world has grown reflective.

As an ambassador to the sport and one of the best to ever do it, Williams has earned the respect and admiration of her peers.

Naomi Osaka expressed her thanks to Williams in a press conference ahead of the US Open, telling reporters, “I wouldn’t be here without Serena, Venus and her whole family.”

“She is the biggest force in the sport,” declared Osaka.

"I wouldn't be here without Serena and her whole family. She is the biggest force in the sport." 🐐

Naomi Osaka with a touching tribute for Serena Williams ahead of the US Open ❤️️#BBCTennis pic.twitter.com/8Y9PtuDmYt

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 28, 2022

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek also praised the tennis icon, posting a picture of the duo on her Twitter account.

“Congratulations on your amazing journey and legendary career (Serena Williams). Huge respect for everything that you have done for our sport,” she captioned the photo.

🤩So...this is the highlight of my day.
Congratulations on your amazing journey and legendary career @serenawilliams. Huge respect for everything that you have done for our sport. pic.twitter.com/GoDRmnCO4D

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) August 28, 2022

Tennis legend Billie Jean King paid tribute to Williams in a New York Times op-ed, calling the news of her retirement “particularly hard” because of what she represents for the sport.

“She’s the GOAT, the greatest of all time — or at least the greatest of her time, since every generation gets better,” King said. “Serena has changed how tennis is played.”

Greatest of all @TIME.

📸: @TIME pic.twitter.com/draEH1Nmop

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 29, 2022

Coco Gauff, who many compare to Williams as a fellow teenage phenom, spoke on what the star has meant to her in a Washington Post story.

“Sometimes being a woman, a Black woman in the world, you kind of settle for less,” Gauff said. “I feel like Serena taught me that, from watching her. She never settled for less. … As a person, I’m growing into being an adult and learning how to handle things now with the media and tennis and everything. I’m trying to learn to not settle for less.”

It isn’t just the tennis world praising Serena, South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley also made her thoughts on Williams’ impact known in the same Washington Post piece.

“Serena’s iconic to Black women,” said Staley. “She’s doing it her way, and there’s no more comfortable way of doing it. We all want that. We all want to be in a space in our professions where we’re able to be us. Because everybody ain’t able. And every Black woman certainly isn’t able.”

All eyes will be on Williams when she takes the court on Monday night in her first-round US Open matchup against Danka Kovinić.

The Tour de France Femmes confirmed its course for 2026 this week, setting up next year's event as the longest iteration of the race in the women's tour history.

The 2026 course will run in nine stages starting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 1st and continuing through the finish line in Nice, France, on August 9th.

Cyclists will cover a total of 1,175 kilometers, with 18,795 meters of climbing.

The course will feature three flat stages and three hilly stages as well as two mountain stages and one individual time trial, with riders tackling Mont Ventoux — an iconic climb from the men's event — for the first time.

Though 2026 will only by the fifth edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes, the race will make its debut in a standalone time slot one full week after the men’s race ends, with recent record viewership fueling the move to separate the races rather than continue the previous tactic of scheduling the two events back-to-back.

"We no longer need men for the Tour de France Femmes to exist,"  said race director Marion Rousse at Thursday's course unveiling. "There's no need to have the men's race as a platform to launch the women's race. Now people are waiting to see us."

"People have embraced us," Rousse continued. "The new dates, separate to the men, prove it."

This weekend's slate of international soccer features more than one blockbuster matchup, as some of the summer's top performers, including England and Brazil, begin the long process of preparing for the 2027 World Cup.

Reigning UEFA Women's Euro champions England will be hosting 2025 Copa América Femenina winners Brazil at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday, when the Lionesses officially kick off their four-game Homecoming Series to close out 2025 play.

The match between world No. 4 England and No. 7 Brazil will serve as the first of the series of friendlies that will span the final two international breaks of the year, with the Lionesses closing out the opening pair of games against No. 15 Australia on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, while England fans will be enjoying the team's victory lap after their second-straight Euro title, other top UEFA competition are honing in on 2025 Nations League play.

Behind a long-range goal from winger Klara Bühl, No. 5 Germany snagged a narrow 1-0 victory over No. 6 France on Friday morning, taking the lead in the pair's two-leg semifinal.

The second Nations League semifinal round kicks off at 2 PM ET on Friday, when No. 1 Spain faces No. 3 Sweden live on Prime.

How to watch England vs. Brazil this weekend

England takes on Brazil at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage streaming on Prime.

The Wings have found their next sideline leader, as multiple reports on Thursday linked longtime University of South Florida (USF) head coach Jose Fernandez to the open position in Dallas.

Fernandez is still finalizing his contract with the WNBA team, with the 53-year-old exiting USF having led the Bulls for 25 years, making 10 NCAA tournament appearances along the way.

Calling his impact "profound," USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins acknowledged that Fernandez is leaving for a WNBA position in a Thursday statement.

"While this is a bittersweet moment for our program, it is a well-deserved opportunity for Jose," said Higgins. "We are incredibly proud of him."

Replacing Chris Koclanes after one year, Fernandez will become the fifth Dallas head coach in seven seasons, with the Wings trying to build a title-contending roster around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.

Fernandez will also be the third WNBA hiring out of the college ranks in the last two years, joining Atlanta Dream boss Karl Smesko (FGCU) and LA Sparks manager Lynne Roberts (Utah).

Hoping to improve on a 13th-place 2025 finish — and make the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2023 — Dallas could claim a second straight No. 1 draftee next year, with the Wings entering 2026 with the highest odds to snag the top pick in the league's draft lottery.

The WNBA league office and the Players Association (WNBPA) exchanged escalating public statements this week, as both sides dispute terms surrounding a key issue in the ongoing CBA negotiations: revenue sharing.

"When the players opted out [of their CBA] a year ago, they made it clear they wanted a salary system that values their labor and allows them to grow with the business they are very clearly driving," WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told ESPN in a statement this week, citing the vast disparity in revenue sharing percentages between the WNBA and the NBA.

Jackson continued by claiming that the WNBA intends to "run out the clock" and double down on a model that "intentionally undervalues the players."

Days ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said publicly that "[Revenue] share isn't the right way to look at it," pushing instead for salary increases in "absolute numbers."

WNBA leadership, however, denied that their current offer to players omits all revenue sharing, with the league calling the WNBPA's claim "incorrect and surprising," while indicating that an uncapped revenue sharing model "directly tied to the league's performance" is on the table.

"It is frustrating and counterproductive for the union to be making misrepresentations about our proposals while also accusing the league of engaging in delay," the WNBA's statement continued. "That is simply not true."

With both parties not seeing eye to eye, a resolution before the October 31st CBA deadline appears unlikely, though a formal request for an extension on negotiations is not currently in the cards.