As we approach the midway point of the WNBA regular season, the Chicago Sky have risen to the top spot in our power rankings. Sitting one game back of the Las Vegas Aces in the standings, the Sky made up ground last week while the Aces lost two consecutive games for the first time this season, including to Chicago.

Also this week, all eyes were on the Valley as Tina Charles and the Phoenix Mercury mutually agreed to part ways in an unusual midseason contract divorce. The Mercury responded to the adversity of losing a key starter halfway through the season with an 83-72 win over the Dallas Wings the same day and an 83-71 win over the Indiana Fever on Monday night.

While the Washington Mystics remain inconsistent, their 87-86 road victory over the Aces was their best win of the season. At 12-9 and No. 5 in the standings, they’ve positioned themselves to remain in striking distance despite missing their top scorer for eight games so far. When Elena Delle Donne is on the floor, leading their offense at 15.6 points per game, the Mystics have as good a shot of contending for and in the playoffs as any team.

CP3 and the Chicago Sky roll

After a tough loss to the last-place Indiana Fever, the Sky bounced back last week, finding a rhythm and confidence with their production on the floor and setting some new records in the process. Chicago has now won three in a row, most notably a comeback 104-95 win over the top-seeded Aces and a 82-59 win over the Los Angeles Sparks.

In that game in Los Angeles last Thursday, Candace Parker finished with 10 points, 10 assists and 14 rebounds. The two-time WNBA champion became the first player in league history to record three triple-doubles, the first to record multiple triple-doubles in the same season and the second to record a triple-double in just three quarters.

Alongside Parker, Courtney Vandersloot has elevated her play and production in the last three games, averaging 19.3 points compared to just 11.2 points through the first 15 games of the season. Vandersloot continues to be one of the league’s best facilitators, but recently she has become more aggressive with her own shot selection and at hunting opportunities to take two additional shots per game. Her percentages have increased significantly as a result, with the guard shooting an impressive 65.7 percent from the field and 57 percent from 3-point range.

The increased production earned her Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday for the seventh time of her career. Take a look at Vandersloot’s numbers from the last three games compared to the first part of the season:

First 15 games vs. last three games

PPG: 11.2 — 19.3
APG: 7 — 5
RPG: 4.2 — 3.6
FG %: 43.3 — 65.7
3-point %: 34.2 — 57.1
Shot attempts: 9.5 — 11.6
3-point attempts: 2.3 — 4.6

On Sunday night, Vandersloot played the hero when she hit a buzzer-beating 3 to lift the Sky over the Minnesota Lynx 88-85. The sideline out-of-bounds play the Sky ran to win the game epitomizes the creativity and confidence Vandersloot is playing with right now.

SLOOT CALLS GAME 🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/e4DJSkDDSv

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 27, 2022

In the play outlined above, we see Vandersloot and Emma Meesseman come together to set an elevator screen for Rebekah Gardner to run through (think of it like the two closing doors of an elevator). Allie Quigley inbounds the ball to Gardner, and at the same time, Messeeman screens for Vandersloot, who rolls off the action and quickly gets the ball back.

On the backside of this action, Quigley baits the defense and causes Kayla McBride to hesitate, while Parker sets an effective back screen to open up Quigley, who’s cutting to the corner. While the ball never finds that side of the floor, the backside action is important because it helps occupy the Lynx’s defense. The play did not directly result in the open shot Vandersloot took to win the game, but the complexities of the action combined with the Sky’s constant movement and screening positioning kept the Lynx scrambling and allowed Chicago to create an open look.

Nneka Ogwumike takes over in LA

While the Sparks haven’t exactly overwhelmed anyone with their 7-11 record and 10th place in the standings, Nneka Ogwumike has been a bright spot for a team that still has a lot to figure out.

Ogwumike is putting up some of the best numbers of her career, leading the Sparks in scoring at 18.2 points per game and rebounding at 7.4 per game. Her scoring average is the third-best mark of her 11-year career, and her 57.8 shooting percentage from the field is the second-best.

The Sparks have found ways to get Ogwumike 15-20 touches in the paint per game, and from there, the former MVP has done what she does best — run the floor, take advantage of positioning and get to her sweet spots in the paint to be a highly efficient and productive scorer. In the Sparks’ biggest win of the season over the Seattle Storm last week, Ogwumike also had arguably her best game, finishing with 24 points on 12-for-18 from the floor.

Aces lose two in a row

A two-game skid shouldn’t set off any alarm bells, especially when the losses come against two other potential contenders. Before last week, the Aces had an 8-1 record at home. Then, they dropped two in a row in Las Vegas — a 104-95 overtime loss to the Sky and a 87-86 loss to the Mystics.

In the Sky game, the Aces rode a 24-4 run to a 62-51 halftime lead, scoring 41 points in the first quarter alone. The Sky clawed back by erasing a 28-point deficit, setting a new record for the largest comeback in league history. The Aces’ shooters turned cold and the team scored just 11 points in the third quarter, while Chicago seized the opportunity to go on an 18-0 run.

The Mystics have been the most potent defensive team in the WNBA this season, allowing a league-low 76 points per game. While Las Vegas has led the league in scoring all season, offensive production was not necessarily the issue in the overtime loss. The Aces struggled to stop Washington’s duo of Delle Donne and Alysha Clark, who combined for 39 points. The Aces have relied on their offense all season, but when they go cold for long stretches, they have to find a way to get consistent defensive stops and tip the scales back in their favor.

Las Vegas got back into the win column with a 79-73 victory over the Sparks on Monday night. While they tapped into their depth with the return of Riquna Williams and more minutes for Iliana Rupert, consistent contributors A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum combined for 54 of their points.

They’ll have have an opportunity to prove themselves even further in a tough swing of road games, one against the Storm and a back-to-back series against the Lynx.

Week 8 Power Rankings

1. Chicago Sky (13-5) +1
2. Las Vegas Aces (14-4) -1
3. Connecticut Sun (13-6) —
4. Seattle Storm (11-7) —
5. Washington Mystics (12-9) —
6. New York Liberty (8-10) +3
7. Atlanta Dream (8-10) -1
8. Dallas Wings (9-10) —
9. Los Angeles Sparks (7-11) +1
10. Minnesota Lynx (5-14) +2
11. Phoenix Mercury (8-12) -4
12. Indiana Fever (5-15) -1

Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.

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.