The United States Women’s National has not yet officially moved on from coach Vlatko Andonovski, but all signs point to the program making a move after its disappointing World Cup performance.

Brandi Chastain, the legendary USWNT forward and defender, in an appearance on the The 91st acknowledged to hosts Midge Purce and Katie Nolan that she is “not ready” but would “love to lead this national team some time in the future.”

“I’ve been asking to participate with our youth national teams for a while and have not gotten any traction,” she said. “I’m an A-licensed coach, I’ve been a volunteer at Santa Clara University probably for about 25 years, I coach youth soccer, I’ve been on the national team for 192 caps.”

Andonovski was hired in 2019 to replace Jill Ellis, who led the USWNT to back-to-back World Cups in 2015 and 2019. In his first major test, the team finished third at the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo. Andonovski’s team was then knocked out in the Round of 16 at this year’s World Cup, triggering speculation about his dismissal.

Chastain refrained from naming any potential replacements but described what she believes the program needs in a leader.

“We have to have someone who is a risk taker, and also can hold their ground in this respectful way with the players,” Chastain said. “This is about respect, and this is about the game, and this is about putting together a gameplan and putting players in positions to be successful.”

Chastain recalled how former USWNT coach Tony DiCicco called on Chastain to play left back instead of forward in her later years on the USWNT.

“I had been away already from the national team and I knew what that felt like, and I wanted to be back in that mix,” Chastain said. “I figured he wouldn’t put me in a position that he didn’t feel I could be successful in, or I wouldn’t be able to contribute. So I took a chance.

“I think those are the kinds of things we need to do. We need to look at ourselves and be creative. We need to take risks.”

Dallas star Paige Bueckers all but slammed the door on the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year race on Wednesday, tying basketball legend Cynthia Cooper's 1997 single-game rookie scoring record by dropping a career-high 44 points in the No. 11 Wings' narrow 81-80 loss to the No. 9 LA Sparks.

Despite the Sparks officially eliminating the Wings from playoff contention, Bueckers's efficiency was on full display, tallying the highest single-game performance by any player in the league this season while shooting over 80% from the field.

"People have [seen] the struggles — the injuries, the ups and downs," Bueckers said afterwards. "For people to continue to follow me and still believe in me, it really means a lot."

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The 2025 No. 1 overall draftee leads a rookie class thriving in the pros, with the No. 10 Washington Mystics' Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen and the No. 13 Connecticut Sun's Saniya Rivers hot on Bueckers's heels.

On the WNBA stat sheet, Bueckers currently sits fifth overall in points per game and ninth in assists per game, while Iriafen is fourth in rebounds per game and Citron — who recently set a new Mystics rookie scoring record with 537 career points — is fifth overall in clutch points.

Despite the Sun's struggles, Rivers has excelled defensively, becoming the fastest-ever WNBA player to record 30 career blocks by doing so in just 31 games.

Ultimately, while Sparks guard Kelsey Plum's game-winning buzzer-beater ended Bueckers's postseason dreams on Wednesday night, the rookie's heroics continue to shine with the WNBA's end-of-season awards fast approaching.

Coming off Tuesday's 85-75 momentum-grabbing win over the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, the No. 2 New York Liberty will shoot to maintain late-season consistency against the now-eliminated No. 12 Chicago Sky in Thursday's WNBA slate.

Tied with the No. 3 Atlanta Dream at 22-13 on the year, the Liberty could benefit from the lopsided Thursday matchup, potentially adding space above Atlanta in the WNBA standings considering the Dream face an uphill battle against a motivated Lynx side.

"We're focused on the next nine games," New York head coach Sandy Brondello said following Tuesday's victory. "It's all about focusing on us and getting as high a position as we can in the standings."

The reigning champs still have work to do, however, with recent weeks seeing the Liberty post the second-worst 10-game record for any team above the playoff line — complete with three losses to their 2024 WNBA Finals rival Minnesota.

As for Chicago, the Sky are now focused on the future, bolstered by star forward Angel Reese's return from injury as they continue to build under first-year coach Tyler Marsh's system.

"I want to hoop," Reese said earlier this week. "I'm just happy to be out here to play the game I love."

How to watch Chicago Sky vs. New York Liberty in Thursday's WNBA slate

The No. 2 Liberty will host the No. 12 Sky at 7 PM ET on Thursday, tipping off live on Prime.

As the regular season winds down, the WNBA announced this year's postseason schedule on Wednesday, with the 2025 Playoffs officially tipping off on September 14th.

The latest possible finish for the 2025 WNBA Finals is October 17th, with three rounds of play standing between the eight-team postseason field and this year's championship trophy.

Notably, the WNBA is instituting two main changes to its previous Playoffs format in the 2025 schedule.

The postseason's first round — a best-of-three series — will shift from the WNBA's home-home-away format, in which the higher seeds could sweep at home, to a one-one-one structure.

With this change, the league is guaranteeing that every playoff team will host at least one home game.

Additionally, while the best-of-five semifinals will remain the same with its two-two-one hosting structure, the 2025 WNBA Finals will be the first to expand to a best-of-seven series, feeding fans' growing appetite for additional postseason clashes and offering upwards of four title-deciding matchups.

This new Finals format will see the higher seed host Games 1, 2, 5, and 7, giving each team a possible two opportunities to clinch the 2025 championship in front of a home crowd.

All games in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs will air on ESPN platforms, with matchups across ESPN2, ESPN, and ABC.

Currently, the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx are the only team to clinch their 2025 postseason berth.

On the other hand, the No. 11 Dallas Wings, No. 12 Chicago Sky, and No. 13 Connecticut Sun were all recently eliminated from playoff contention.

Just days ahead of taking the 2025 US Open court, US tennis star Coco Gauff has reportedly parted ways with coach Matthew Daly, after he helped guide the world No. 3 to her first French Open title earlier this year.

Gauff originally hired Daly, a grip specialist, following a disappointing 2024 US Open run, ultimately finishing out the season by adding 2024 China Open and 2024 WTA Finals hardware to her trophy case.

However, despite her breakthrough performance at this year's Roland Garros, the 21-year-old has struggled with her serve this season, most recently registering 42 double faults across her three matches at the 2025 Canadian Open and 16 in her 2025 Cincinnati Open quarterfinal clash.

In Daly's absence, Gauff will still be working with longtime coach JC Faurel while also adding Gavin MacMillan to her 2025 US Open team — a biomechanics specialist who No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has credited for helping her find consistency with her serve.

"I'm very much a perfectionist type of person," Gauff recently told reporters. "So it's really nothing satisfying until you're holding the big trophy, to be honest."

Gauff's next shot at a big trophy begins on Sunday, when the main draw of the 2025 US Open — the last Grand Slam of the year — hits courts in Queens, NY.

The 2023 US Open champion will face Australia's No. 84 Ajla Tomljanović in her first-round match.