Elena Delle Donne was driving in her car in September when a familiar, unwelcome sensation gave her pause. Pain shot down her leg, radiating and taking her back to eight months earlier, when she’d undergone surgery because a disc in her back was pushing on a nerve.

Up until then, Delle Donne had been feeling better. She had the operation in January 2020 and took the year to rehabilitate and strengthen. After finishing the 2019 WNBA Finals with three herniated discs — playing through the pain to win her first championship with the Washington Mystics — the two-time MVP was getting closer to making a full return.

She tried to continue with her physical therapy after the car incident, but the herniation was back and bigger this time.

“I knew the pain from before,” Delle Donne said over Zoom from her home workshop. “I was just hoping, along with the rest of my team, that through therapy I could get rid of it. But unfortunately it wouldn’t go away, and there are some things you can’t fix through rest, therapy and strengthening. I needed to go back for surgery.”

Delle Donne, 31, scheduled surgery to repair the herniated disc in early December. At that point, as she prepared for her second back operation in a year, she and her wife Amanda had an idea for a new project.

Since the 2019 Finals, Delle Donne had mostly been out of the public eye. She didn’t travel to Bradenton, Fla. last year to play in the WNBA bubble because of her chronic Lyme disease. She stayed within her pod through the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting with her physical therapist virtually and passing the time with board games, woodworking and at-home dance parties. It was Amanda who first suggested they document their lives from that point on, taking people behind the scenes of Delle Donne’s recovery and giving themselves a way to chronicle this bizarre but memorable year.

“Beyond the Game” will premiere Monday, April 19th, with new episodes dropping every Monday thereafter. 

“This series certainly goes through right after surgery, when I’m a little loopy, through all the different progressions and ways that I’ve tried to get back, like swimming,” Delle Donne said.

“There’s just a lot of silliness through it all, but I think people will really enjoy it.”

Delle Donne isn’t sure whether she’ll be ready for the first day of training camp on April 25 — she has her good days and bad days with the back. But she’s spending hours in the gym every day getting stronger, with the goal of playing in the Mystics’ regular season opener against the Chicago Sky on May 15.

It’s also not only her back she has to worry about. Delle Donne has been living and playing basketball with chronic Lyme for over 10 years now. She brought awareness to the condition last summer when she opted out of the bubble season and called out the WNBA for denying her a medical exemption and forcing her to decide between playing and forfeiting her paycheck (the Mystics ultimately paid out her full salary for the season).

Delle Donne revealed then that she takes 64 pills a day to manage the disease, and the side effects still linger.

“With the recovery of my back, there are days where I can tell that the Lyme stuff is what’s making it difficult to recover because it adds so much inflammation to my body,” she said. “It makes it confusing when you’re trying to figure out like, ‘OK, why is my back so inflamed now? Was it the workout yesterday? Is it something with Lyme?’ It’s just kind of a constant thing.”

The year and a half away from basketball has given Delle Donne an appreciation for her health and her loved ones. She’s found comfort in being home and taking time to pause, reflect and enjoy what she has.

The separation has also made her crave competition again. The Mystics return just five players from their 2019 championship team and yet boast arguably more talent now than they did then. Tina Charles will suit up for Washington for the first time after signing in free agency last year and sitting out of the bubble season with a medical exemption. Starting guard Natasha Cloud also returns, and Myisha Hines-Allen will look to build on her breakout 2020 campaign. Alysha Clark signed with the Mystics in February, but will miss the season with a foot injury.

And Delle Donne, after all, is just 19 months removed from her historic MVP season, when she became the first WNBA player to join the 50-40-90 club. After a year and a half spent staying in touch with teammates over Zoom and text messages, she’s counting down to the reunion with her team and basketball.

“I’m just trying to keep life simple now and keep my eyes on what is in front of me,” Delle Donne said. “And at this moment, it’s continuing to strengthen, get better and get myself back on the court for my teammates.”

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.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

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.