We’ve now seen every NWSL team play at least twice this Challenge Cup, which is all the time I need to start making extreme generalizations based on limited information. This may be a preseason tournament with incomplete rosters, but whoever said hot takes needed data to back them? 

On that note, here’s five:

1. The North Carolina Courage are going to be fine

Losing Sam Mewis, Abby Dahlkemper, Crystal Dunn and Jaelene Daniels in a single offseason would rightfully make anyone nervous. But Jess McDonald has looked like her old self, Merritt Mathias is back (see: THAT goal) and Debinha is still Debinha. 

🤯 MATHIAS LIKES HER CHIPS WITH SOME DIP 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Xy0nlyQuix

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) April 10, 2021

The team has reason to feel pretty okay based on their two performances (despite being on the wrong end of that Gotham FC thriller). And I know… the center back situation has to be resolved. But Abby Erceg will return and take care of at least half of that problem, and if someone else doesn’t rise to the occasion, expect Paul Riley to go out and sign a new face.

2. Numbers Don’t Lie: East > West… Or is it West > East?

Each division has played 6 games thus far. The East division has scored 19 goals. The West division has scored 8, with 5 coming from Portland. (Then again, you could also say teams in the East have given up 19 goals while the West has only conceded 8.) 

On the whole, defenses have looked shakier and less consistent in the East, while the offenses have also looked more potent. The opposite holds true for the West, with defenses highlighting a number of 0-0 draws, as every team (minus Portland) struggles to find the back of the net. 

As teams continue to return players from international duty, expect to see some of those problems solve themselves. Additionally, for some sides, this Challenge Cup might be the perfect opportunity to see if any last minute or mid-season signings are needed.

3. Speaking of Numbers…

I don’t want to say I called it (I did), but Orlando got their first win in 609 days! I also lightly suggested that they should put Ali Krieger at CB (which they did), so I’m certainly up on my high horse here.

A giant Ashlyn Harris performance, a controversial no-goal, and a Alex Morgan/Sydney Leroux connection were the difference makers against the Spirit.

We have no words.@Ashlyn_Harris is out of this world.#ORLvWAS | https://t.co/0LtSAUsqkW | #CC21 pic.twitter.com/zu9l9idr5d

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) April 22, 2021

Winning this early in the season is MASSIVE for Orlando. I’ve played for the Pride, and I know how heavy not winning weighs on each part of the organization. If they go and win their next one and set the tone for the season, they just might be a playoff team.

4. Racing Louisville FC is in for a rude awakening

Louisville got a best case scenario introduction to the league, facing multiple sides missing their international players, whose leaky defensive performances showed they were still getting settled. Heck, from a fan perspective, you really couldn’t have asked for a better entrance than a stoppage time goal!

#NWSLAfterDark STRIKES AGAIN 🤪#LOUvORL | https://t.co/0LtSAUK1Jw | #CC21 pic.twitter.com/8r6Z4V2YaO

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) April 11, 2021

But life for the expansion club is about to get a lot more difficult, starting with their game against North Carolina on Monday. Long term, the foundation looks strong. No. 1 draft Emily Fox has impressed, and they certainly are not a bad team. But Christy Holly needs both more time and more pieces (hello, Gemma Bonner!). And the pace of the regular season will make his job tough.

5. Portland should (and probably will) win the NWSL Championship

No team came in moving the ball better and looking as clean, even without their international players. And then those international players came back, and Lindsey Horan proved she is still an absolute animal on free kicks.

OH MY @LindseyHoran pic.twitter.com/gF4vwUU25A

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) April 22, 2021

The Thorns have turned in consistent and dominant performances in each of their three games. They’ve already clinched the West. We haven’t even reached the regular season, so this feels dramatic to say: but it’s looking like most trophies this year will be theirs to lose. 

Disagree? Fight me on Twitter, or hit us up at the JWS handle.

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."