LAS VEGAS — A few days before the All-Star Game, in a poetic sort of foreshadowing, Courtney Vandersloot decided to watch highlights of Brittney Griner dunking.

The 6-foot-9 Phoenix Mercury center has been known for the skill since her college days at Baylor, and Griner and Vandersloot have now both been in the league for a long time — a decade for Griner and 12 years for Vandersloot. They’ve played together overseas and against each other in the WNBA. Seeing Griner dunk brought back happy memories for the Liberty guard.

Last season, Vandersloot and the rest of the WNBA weren’t sure if they would see Griner again at all, let alone dunking on a basketball court.

But on July 9, she threw one down against the Sparks for her first of the season. And on Saturday, there she was again, dunking twice in the All-Star Game and adding a new highlight to the videos Vandersloot was watching.

Brittney Griner was back where she belonged.

BG IS BACKKKK 🔨

Brittney Griner with the early slam on ABC! | @ATT #WNBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/2IFGgLMGPh

— WNBA (@WNBA) July 16, 2023

“Just to see her smile again, she just lights up the WNBA community,” DeWanna Bonner said before the game. “I’m super excited that she gets to be back here and experience this.”

When Griner was announced, the Las Vegas crowd erupted into booming cheers. This time last year, she was still wrongfully detained in a Russian prison. Her presence was felt as the WNBA’s 2022 All-Stars honored Griner by all coming out in the second half wearing her No. 42 jersey.

But on Saturday, there was only one Griner jersey on the floor. The only one the WNBA needed.

It was a powerful, heartfelt moment. But that’s not why Griner was in Las Vegas. The Mercury center made her ninth All-Star appearance because, against all odds, she’s in the midst of an incredible season.

When Griner returned home, she promised to play basketball in 2023 but said it would take her time to get her footing once again. In reality, that hasn’t been the case.

In her first game of the season, Griner recorded 18 points, six rebounds, four blocks and two assists, and since then, she’s continued to stuff the stat sheet. The Mercury are struggling, currently second-to-last in the league standings with a 4-15 record, but Griner is not. She’s averaging 19.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

Seeing Griner smiling, joking with teammates, interacting with fans and even eating bacon and snow cones on the sidelines during All-Star weekend served as a reminder of what was missing when she was gone. Brittney Griner the person is truly something special.

THE @ATT #WNBAAllStar Game missed @brittneygriner so much but she’s BACKKKK 💪

Welcoming BG to the floor for Team Stewart pic.twitter.com/kcnXA9tunw

— WNBA (@WNBA) July 16, 2023

So is Brittney Griner the basketball player. Seeing her with a ball in her hand, wearing an All-Star jersey was just as impactful. And Griner has been impacting the game for years, dating back to her days at Baylor.

“She’s one of the best to ever do it,” Vandersloot said. “She’s unstoppable, unguardable. It’s incredible what she’s been able to do.”

In the All-Star Game, Griner put up 18 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

From the sidelines, Stanford star and fellow post player Cameron Brink marveled at Griner’s skills. Brink grew up watching Griner, gleaning whatever she could from the center’s game.

“She’s iconic,” Brink said. “If she drops-steps, you better take charge or something, because you’re not stopping her. She has great body control, a great spin move. She just has a great package of footwork.”

Griner has served as inspiration for a generation of post players who have come behind her, many of whom are in the league now.

Ezi Magbegor still remembers the first time she had to guard Griner when Australia faced the United States in the 2018 FIBA World Cup. Now, the two are peers in the WNBA.

Despite being 6-9 and dominant in the paint, Griner doesn’t just rely on her size, something the 6-4 Magbegor admires.

“She’s not one-dimensional,” the Storm forward said. “She can shoot, and she moves up and down the floor really well. Her presence on the court defensively and offensively is felt, and that is something we all look up to. She’s brought a lot to the game.”

Griner has been consistent on the court from her time at Baylor — where she won an NCAA Championship and was named National Player of the Year in 2012 — to her WNBA career. Since the Mercury selected her with the top overall pick in 2013, Griner has won a WNBA Championship, been named an All-Star seven times and earned a spot on six All-WNBA Teams and seven All-WNBA Defensive Teams.

During her career, Griner has never averaged fewer than 12.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game — the numbers she put up during her rookie campaign.

With that kind of dominance, it comes as no surprise that after Saturday’s All-Star Game, Griner was asked what it would be like to play as an All-Star in Phoenix, the host site of the 2024 game.

There was no qualifying statement of “if you’re selected,” because Griner having another All-Star season feels like a foregone conclusion.

That’s what happens when, as Vandersloot said, you’re one of the best to ever do it.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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."

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.