Editor’s note: This is the first in a five-part series previewing the top five girls basketball players in the Class of 2023. The series counts down to No. 1 and aligns with the start of the 2022-23 high school season. Click here to see the latest rankings from the Class of 2023. Counting down: No. 5 Hannah Hidalgo | No. 4 Aalyah Del Rosario | No. 3 Jadyn Donovan | No. 2 Juju Watkins | No. 1 Mikaylah Williams.

Hannah Hidalgo is one of the most focused players in the nation.

At just 5-foot-7, the point guard has relied on her grit, tenacity and experience to develop into a unique leader for the Paul VI girls’ basketball team.

The senior from Merchantville, N.J. has averaged 21.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 5.4 steals per game over the course of her high school career, including three years as a varsity starter. Following her junior season, Hidalgo was named both the Courier Post South Jersey Player of the Year and the Olympic Conference Player of the Year.

After a loss in the 2022 South Jersey Non-Public A title game, Hidalgo and her teammates have high expectations for the season ahead.

“I’m locked in because of last season,” Hidalgo said. “We’re trying to win a state championship, so I’m locked in, my teammates are locked in. And I’m just excited for what’s to come.”

Coach’s analysis

At Paul VI, Hidalgo is coached by her father, Orlando, who’s seen a tremendous amount of growth in his daughter both on and off the court.

“Hannah brings so much to the game, so much to the team,” Orlando said. “Her freshman year, she wasn’t as vocal. But she knew that she had to be a team leader later on, and the past few years she’s been the team captain.”

The Paul VI star has transformed from a quiet freshman to a senior who can command the room. She’s the first person in the gym, leading everybody through stretches and starting running drills with her team before the coaching staff even steps foot in the gym.

“The team understands how competitive she is and that she’s not going to say something that she’s not going to do,” Orlando said. “Her leadership, her competitiveness brings the best out of all the players. And that’s pretty special for me, as a dad and a coach, to see her lead the team. She’s taken to leadership very well, and we’re proud of her.”

While Hidalgo’s character development has helped set her apart, she has also refined her skills on the court. Since her freshman season in 2019, Paul VI has gone 61-9.

“She’s a player that works out every time after practice,” Orlando said. “After practice, she stays for about a half hour or so and works on her shooting or her handling. Her first two years, that’s something she didn’t do. She wants to be great, so she spends extra time doing the little things.”

Hidalgo also sets an example in the classroom, taking pride in her schoolwork as an honor roll student.

Catching up

Hidalgo has had quite the summer, loading up on opportunities to face top competition around the world. One of those opportunities took her to Debrecen, Hungary, where she played with the United States U17 national team. Hidalgo and her U.S. teammates dominated the international competition, going on an undefeated run to win gold.

Hidalgo averaged 7.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.6 steals across seven games.

“It was a great experience playing with the best girls in the country,” she said. “I really built good connections. They pushed you, and everyone got better.”

She then took her skills to the Under Armour Next Elite 24 game and the SLAM Summer Classic.

Hannah Hidalgo was showtime in the UA Next Elite 24! @HannahHidalgo @UANextGHoops pic.twitter.com/DdclGlFdSE

— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) August 13, 2022

Hidalgo also recently signed a one-year deal with sports agency Seven1 to take advantage of name, image and likeness opportunities. She has yet to make a college decision, but in early August, she announced on Instagram that she had narrowed her choices down to six: UCF, Duke, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Stanford.

Caroline Makauskas is a contributing writer for Just Women’s Sports. She also covers a variety of sports on her TikTok @cmakauskas. Follow her on Twitter @cmakauskas.

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.