All Scores

A guide to the Just Women’s Sports podcast (so far)

The Just Women’s Sports podcast has featured plenty of stars since its July 2020 debut, with host Kelley O’Hara of the USWNT talking to some of the world’s biggest athletes about the secrets behind their success.

Season four of the Just Women’s Sports podcast launches this week, making now a good time to catch up on the highlights from the first 32 episodes. While every episode has its share of behind-the-scenes moments and unexpected revelations, below is a guide to some of the most compelling moments on the Just Women’s Sports podcast so far:

Best behind the scenes scoop: Nneka Ogwumike talks WNBA bubble

Nneka Ogwumike stopped by the Just Women’s Sports podcast back in December 2020, giving listeners a behind-the-scenes look into how the WNBA bubble came to fruition. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t easy.

As the WNBA Players Association President, Ogwumike was a part of every conversation. Only months after signing a historic CBA, Ogwumike had to help re-configure a season on the fly.

“It was a hot mess,” she tells O’Hara, “and I mean that in the most respectful way.”

As the country was still adapting to its new normal amidst Covid, “No one knew what they were doing,” Ogwumike remembers. The WNBA star says trying to forecast the trajectory of the pandemic while also planning for a safe season was one of the most challenging things she has ever been a part of.

“Professionally speaking, that’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Ogwumike concedes. “We were able to piece it together however we could.”

The players had two objectives going into the bubble: the first was to be compensated fairly, and the second was to harness their platform for social advocacy work in the wake of both George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s murders.

“Going in, a non-negotiable for us was amplifying our voices,” Ogwumike says. “We knew we wanted to dedicate the season to Breonna Taylor.”

Ogwumike said conversations with Michelle Obama, Tamika Palmer, Stacey Abrams and Rev. Warnock allowed the players to focus on their mission while still playing basketball. The season ended up being one of the most successful of the quarantine era among all sports, with the WNBA being heralded for its display of unity and purpose.

“Us being able to do all that on the fly while playing games was remarkable, and I am really proud of everybody.”

Biggest Game-changing moment: Allyson Felix’s fight for athlete moms

Motherhood in sport is starting to be more widely discussed, acknowledged, and understood, thanks in large part to the likes of Allyson Felix.

Felix made waves in 2018 when she took her fight for maternity coverage with then sponsor, Nike, public. The move shifted how motherhood and pregnancy are adapted and accounted for in sports.

The track star stopped by the JWS podcast in October 2020 to talk about her preeclampsia diagnosis and giving birth to daughter Camryn one month early via emergency C-section.

“I knew statistics about Black women giving birth and having far greater complications,” said Felix, “I just never saw myself in that position.”

“My mind wasn’t prepared for everything that I went through”

Her daughter, Camryn was in the NICU for the first month of her life; Felix remembers being by her side 24/7 during that period. According to Felix, getting back on the track left her mind, and all that mattered was her daughter’s survival.

During her pregnancy, Felix was also re-negotiating her contract with Nike. Her then-sponsor was proposing a significant, 70% pay cut. But what ultimately inspired Felix to speak out was Nike’s refusal to provide her with maternity coverage. If she couldn’t have it written into her contract as one of the world’s most decorated track athletes, who could?

“The piece that I wasn’t willing to budge on was around maternal protection in contracts,” said Felix. “It wasn’t enough for them just for them to put it in for me — this needed to happen for everyone.”

Felix eventually left Nike for the company’s failure to include protections for mothers and moved to Athleta, where she says she now has a seat at the table. Supporting her role as a mother, advocate and athlete, Felix calls her partnership with Athleta an “authentic fit.”

Sweetest friendship story: Nastia Liukin on competing and re-uniting with Shawn Johnson East

Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson captured national attention during the 2008 Summer Olympics as two of the most promising gymnasts the U.S. had seen in years. Both teens were at the top of their game, but there could only be one all-around champion. Liukin came out on top, capturing individual gold in the sport’s most coveted event, spurring a media storm that pitted the two teammates against each other.

“We went 1, 2 and that was the first the U.S. had ever done that,” Liukin explained to O’Hara. To make matters worse, after capturing gold and silver, Liukin and Johnson still had to compete against each other in individual events and were bunking together in the Olympic village.

“We were fine being roommates — we were actually really good friends just that happened to have the same exact goal.” That all changed after Liukin took all-around gold in Beijing.

“We tried really hard — I would say we tried our best, we supported each other through the rest of the competition.”

However, after the athletes came back to America, the media circus that followed whipped up a rivalry between the two gymnasts that included sponsors, fan speculation, and management woes.

“It felt like the world just started pitting us against each other in every single aspect — it was 10 times worse than leading up to the Olympics.”

The two didn’t speak for eight years after the Games, with the stalemate finally ending in serendipitous fashion. Liukin remembers being in New York speaking with a New York Times reporter when he asked if she would be invited to Johnson’s upcoming wedding to Andrew East. Liukin stalled. Then, in a strange twist of fate, Liukin got a message on her phone as the interviewer briefly left the room — it was from Johnson. The two set a time to reunite, and the rest is history.

“I still remember this moment so clearly,” said Liukin, “she walked in and we both started crying.”

Liukin ended up attending Johnson’s wedding and is now a godmother to her former teammate’s child.

Most inspiring comeback story: Mal Pugh on being cut from the USWNT

Mallory Pugh’s December 2020 episode of the JWS podcast is particularly timely as the star striker formally re-enters the USWNT conversation for the team’s fall friendlies. After being left off the Tokyo Olympic roster, the 23-year-old was invited to join the U.S. camp for the squad’s international series against Paraguay.

Pugh’s meteoric rise to soccer stardom was cemented at the 2016 Olympics, when she became the youngest player in U.S. history to score at the Olympics at 18 years old. Since then, the phenom has struggled to live up to the child prodigy label bestowed on her in her early career.

The most significant hurdle came in 2020, when Pugh was left off Vlatko Andonovski’s Olympic qualifying lineup, the first time the striker had ever been excluded from a USWNT roster.

“It was pretty rough, but I am a strong, strong believer of everything happens for a reason,” Pugh told O’Hara of the ordeal. Pugh went on to say that she felt she needed the setback, calling it “the thing that’s going to light a fire.”

“I just had this deep sense like I knew I was going to be okay,” she said, adding, “I wasn’t like, ‘Oh my gosh this is the end.’ In fact, I was like, ‘No. This is the beginning.’”

Pugh’s positive outlook seems to have paid off, entering back into the USWNT fold for the Midwest fall series and ahead of the 2023 World Cup cycle.

Check out these episodes and more on the Just Women’s Sports podcast, and be sure to subscribe today!

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.