Sophia Smith made history when she was selected No. 1 in the 2020 NWSL Draft by Portland Thorns FC. She is the first teenager to be ever be selected in the NWSL Draft. Smith left Stanford University with two years of eligibility remaining after leading the Cardinal to the 2019 NCAA Championship, where she was named the College Cup’s Most Outstanding Player.

FIRST OFF, CONGRATULATIONS. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD WHEN YOUR NAME WAS CALLED ON DRAFT DAY?

There were a lot of emotions going through my head. It was kind of surreal, and I was both excited and nervous. It was an amazing moment, and to have my parents there was awesome. Honestly, what I was thinking about most was that I was just nervous about the speech I had to give. After that, everything kind of hit me.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST CONSIDER LEAVING SCHOOL EARLY FOR THE DRAFT?

It’s something I’ve thought about for a while. It’s been an option since I got to Stanford, and it just became more realistic toward the end of this season.

WHAT MADE THIS MOMENT THE RIGHT TIME FOR YOU TO TRANSITION TO THE PRO GAME? DID WINNING A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HELP SEAL THAT DECISION?

It obviously helped coming off the season that we had. But in terms of timing, I just felt like I was ready. Not just physically, not just in terms of my skills with the game, but also emotionally and socially. I had a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities, which made me believe that I could fit into a professional environment now. It’s a decision I thought a lot about, and I had a lot of conversations with my parents and the people close to me. It’s going to be a very different lifestyle than here at school, and I’ll miss my friends, but I feel like I’m ready. I know it’ll be hard, but I’m really excited for it. It’s ultimately about getting better and doing anything I can to be the best soccer player that I can be, and I think being around older, more experienced women playing soccer will be very beneficial. Being in a professional environment and being integrated with professional players will help me get a lot better a lot quicker.

HOW MUCH DID PORTLAND HAVING THE NUMBER ONE PICK PLAY INTO YOUR DECISION? DID YOU TALK TO MANY TEAMS BEFORE THE DRAFT?

There were discussions here and there with numerous different people, but it was ultimately me just following my heart. I don’t think it was as much about what team I was going to. Obviously, it’s awesome that it happened to be Portland, and I’m really excited to be a part of that organization. But I think regardless of the team, it was still the best decision for me. How it all comes together, and how it’s determined who gets what pick, is beyond me. I didn’t have a say in any of that, so I’m just really excited and feel lucky that it happened to be Portland. But regardless of the team, it was just something I was ready to do.

LAST YEAR, YOU BROKE YOUR LEG EARLY IN THE SEASON. THIS YEAR, YOU SCORE A HAT TRICK IN THE SEMIFINAL, WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, AND GET DRAFTED NO. 1. CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT THAT JOURNEY HAS BEEN LIKE?

Breaking my leg was obviously not ideal. That was the first major injury that I’ve had, and, emotionally, I wasn’t sure how to handle it. It didn’t help that I was a freshman, and it was my first year at college. But I had a lot of people close to me who helped me get through it. And the resources here at Stanford in terms of rehab, and the doctors, and the people who did my surgery — the recovery really couldn’t have gone any better than it did. The biggest thing was just trying to stay positive through it, rather than letting it defeat me. It wasn’t an easy path back, and there were a lot of days when I was in pain, but I did a good job of staying positive and doing what I needed to do to get back. The biggest motivation was that I missed playing so much, and going to every practice and watching my teammates play just made me want to get back as soon as possible.

But then this season started, and I was a little bit frustrated, because I didn’t feel like I was 100% myself. I had thought that once my ankle and my leg felt good everything else would just fall into place. But that’s not how it goes. And it took a lot of games to get everything back together and feel normal again. Honestly, I don’t think I felt completely like myself until the Final Four. I didn’t expect it would take that long. It was hard, but I learned a lot from it about not taking things for granted.

I IMAGINE IT WAS FRUSTRATING TO NOT FEEL LIKE YOURSELF UNTIL THE END OF THE SEASON. HOW DID YOU REMAIN SO POSITIVE?

The biggest thing was just knowing what I was capable of. I know that a lot of times you can come back from an injury and just not be able to do the same things that you could do before. But I believed in myself. One thing that my dad always says is don’t let anyone take your confidence away. After a game where you don’t play well, it’s easy to lose confidence. Even the people around you might lose confidence in you. But the biggest thing for me was just to remain confident in myself and my abilities. I had to keep that with me, regardless of what happened on any given day.

WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET HEADING TO PORTLAND?

I’m really excited. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with Mark [Parsons, Thorns Coach] about the team and about where he sees me fitting in. I’m really excited for his plans, and I think the team has a lot of potential to be even better than they have been in the past. There’s a lot of really good players on that team who I look up to, and I’m really excited to play and train with them everyday. I think it’s going to be really good.

ANYONE IN PARTICULAR THAT YOU’RE REALLY PUMPED TO PLAY WITH?

Oh yeah. Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan, Christine Sinclair. But I also think there’s a lot of good players on that team who don’t get as much attention because of those big name players, and I’m really looking forward to playing with all of them.

YOU PLAYED AGAINST MORGAN WEAVER WHEN SHE WAS AT WASHINGTON STATE. NOW SHE’S HEADING TO PORTLAND AS WELL AFTER BEING DRAFTED NO. 2. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT PLAYING WITH HER?

I know her a little bit from a few camps, but I’m really excited to play with her. She’s a really good player. She works really hard and has a good understanding of the game. I like her a lot. She also seems like a really nice, fun person and friend, so I’m excited that we’re both going to be in Portland together.

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.