One month into the WNBA season, every team has played at least 10 games. The Las Vegas Aces, Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky have established themselves as the top three teams in the league, while others are still building chemistry and consistency.

The Phoenix Mercury finally moved back into the win column after a seven-game losing streak, their first since 2012. In their win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, they played one of their most complete games of the season with balanced scoring, good defense and teamwork on offense.

The Seattle Storm suffered a two-game skid at the tail end of their eight-game homestand behind a tough shooting night against Dallas and a Connecticut comeback win on Sunday. The Storm, now 5-5, have been dealing with rotational inconsistencies as more players miss games due to COVID-19 protocols.

Here are my biggest takeaways from the past week in the WNBA.

Connecticut Sun grinding out wins

Connecticut went on the road last week and won three games in four days during a tough West Coast swing against the Aces, Mercury and Storm. The Sun dropped their first game of the week to the Las Vegas Aces without head coach Curt Miller on the sidelines, but then bounced back to hand the Aces just their second loss of the season.

By 4:15 a.m. the next morning, the Sun were en route to the airport to catch the first flight from Las Vegas to Phoenix to take on the Mercury later that night. Facing a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter, Connecticut stormed back in unbelievable fashion to hand the Mercury their seventh consecutive loss.

On Sunday, the Sun ended their road swing up in Seattle, where they outscored Seattle 32-19 in the fourth quarter to overcome a 13-point first-half deficit and win 93-86.

At 9-3, Connecticut sits in second place in the league standings behind Las Vegas. While their wins haven’t all been pretty, the team is digging deep and finding ways to claw back into games by getting defensive stops. The Sun have displayed a toughness and belief in each other that are lifting them to results despite difficult circumstances.

While Alyssa Thomas continues to serve as the Sun’s anchor, reigning MVP Jonquel Jones elevated her play last week, going from averaging 13 to 23 points per game and shooting 68 percent from the field in their last three contests. Brionna Jones, with her consistency on offense and defensive work on the glass, is the X-Factor for the Sun, having finished with a season-high 21 points against the Storm. The Jones-to-Jones connection has proved to be a serious matchup problem for opponents.

Jonquel Jones’ impact extends beyond her ability to score and rebound the basketball. Jones finished with a career-high six assists against Seattle, showcasing her elite vision and pinpoint passing ability.

Here is an underneath, out-of-bounds play the Sun executed well to give them a nine-point lead over Seattle late in the game. In this set, Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones screen to a cutting DeWanna Bonner. Brionna Jones then screens for Jonquel as she cuts to the ball. The Storm have difficulty communicating on their switches, resulting in an open Jones-to-Jones layup.

The play is a great example of how well the Sun share the basketball and execute late to win games.

A SEASON-HIGH 19 POINTS FOR BRIONNA JONES @_bjones18 #CTSun pic.twitter.com/IuuPV2cdJp

— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) June 5, 2022

Kelsey Plum in early MVP conversation

The Aces have three legitimate MVP-caliber candidates on their roster based on what we have seen so far from A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum. In my last column, I analyzed the efficient and confident play of Young. This week, I turn my attention to Plum.

The sixth-year guard scored a career-high 32 points in the Aces’ win over the Wings on Sunday, playing all 40 minutes and elevating her play while Young was sidelined with an ankle injury. Plum currently leads the Aces and is second in the league with 20 points per game, she’s third in the league with six assists per game, and she leads the potent Aces offense in 3-point shooting efficiency, averaging 45 percent on the season.

So that's how you feel, KP?! @Kelseyplum10 dropped a 32 piece at The House 🤯

32 PTS // 5 AST // 53% #WNBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/d7dyeC3rSq

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) June 6, 2022

What’s even more impressive is her stamina. With the ball in her hands most of the time, she initiates Las Vegas’ offense at a fast pace and does not seem to run out of gas, playing 77 minutes in the last two games over a four-day stretch.

Plum, 27, is hitting her stride and seems to be realizing her full potential. What felt like a breakout 2021 campaign for Plum after she recovered from an Achilles injury was simply a warmup for this season, as she is posting the best numbers of her career in nearly every statistical category.

2019 vs. 2021 vs. 2022 Stats

Minutes: 25.5 — 25.5 — 33.3
Scoring: 8.6 — 14.8 — 19.8
FG %: 36.5 — 43.7 — 44.8
3-point %: 35.7 — 38.6 — 46.0
Assists: 3.0 — 3.6 — 6.0
Rebounds: 2.8 — 2.5 — 3.5

Plum is the perfect fit for coach Becky Hammon’s high-paced style of play, which emphasizes more possessions, shot attempts and the green light to take virtually any 3-point look that comes available.

Not only is Plum efficiently putting up big-time scoring numbers, but she’s also shown an improved ability to create for her teammates. She’s currently fourth in the league with six assists per game behind Courtney Vandersloot, Natasha Cloud and Sue Bird — not bad company for a guard who averaged 3.6 assists per game last season.

Plum is pushing in transition with her head up, able to hit teammates running the floor, like to Dearica Hamby on this play.

KP ➡️ Big Guard!!!@Kelseyplum10 // @dearicamarie pic.twitter.com/zl0fQsZy0f

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) June 5, 2022

She is attacking off the dribble and getting herself into the paint, where she is forcing two to three defenders to collapse on her and kicking it out to open teammates, like in the example below.

They're really like that 🔥@kstokes41 // @Kelseyplum10 pic.twitter.com/weVsFvwmrk

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) June 5, 2022

Sabrina Ionescu thrives as Liberty take steps forward

While their late-game comeback against the Minnesota Lynx fell short on Sunday, the Liberty picked up wins over the Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics and showed they can be competitive.

Sabrina Ionescu has begun to hit her stride, as her scoring has increased from 12.6 points per game at the start of the season to 23 points per game in the Liberty’s last three contests. The 5-foot-11 guard has had the chance to play off the ball more in recent games, allowing her to expend less energy and flow more naturally on offense. With more time on the floor, she’s getting herself to the free-throw line and hunting perimeter shots with more frequency than she was at the start of the season.

Just over two weeks ago, the Liberty signed Crystal Dangerfield to a hardship contract after DiDi Richards and Jocelyn Willoughby were ruled out indefinitely with injuries. Dangerfield, a true point guard and primary ball-handler, takes some of the load off of Ionescu, and it’s clearly helping.

While the Liberty remain last in the league in scoring at 72.8 points per game, they increased their output to 79.3 points per game in their last three outings — largely because of Ionescu’s production. Going forward, New York will need to find more consistent second and third scoring options. With third-leading scorer Betnijah Laney out for the next eight weeks while recovering from knee surgery, New York will rely on Natasha Howard, Sami Whitcomb and potentially Han Xu for more production.

Week 5 Power Rankings

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

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.

Women's tennis got a boost on Wednesday, as the WTA announced it would institute rankings pauses for players who step away from competition to undergo fertility protection treatments like egg or embryo freezing.

Players returning from a procedure can opt to receive a Special Entry Ranking, calculated using their 12-week average ranking starting from eight weeks before taking leave.

Players can use that unique ranking to enter up to three tournaments at the WTA 500, 250, or 125 levels before the governing body will again institute traditional calculations.

The protection extends to any player ranked among the world's top 750 who spends more than 10 weeks out of competition.

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These latest rankings protection further secures the careers of tennis pro parents, who first earned special rankings in the 2019 WTA season after Serena Willams and Victoria Azarenka saw their seedings plummet simply from stepping away from competition to give birth.

The move also comes three months after the WTA agreed to grant players paid maternity leave for the very first time.

"I'm incredibly proud of our sport in recognizing the importance of fertility treatments for female athletes," said 2017 US Open champ and longtime reproductive health support advocate Sloane Stephens. "For any woman, the conversation of family life versus a career is nuanced and complex."

"It's truly ground-breaking and will empower this generation, and future generations of players, to continue with the sport they love without having to compromise."

Last week's landmark $2.8 billion House v. NCAA settlement is back in the headlines, as eight women's college sports athletes filed an appeal on Wednesday claiming that the approved NIL back-payment plan violates Title IX, the federal law banning gender discrimination in schools.

On June 6th, a federal judge approved a settlement between the NCAA and former student-athletes, with the college sports governing body agreeing to have schools directly distribute billions of dollars in back pay to players barred from financially benefitting off their name, image, and likeness since 2016.

Wednesday's appeal to that back-pay plan calls out alleged payment inequities written into the settlement ruling, which could see up to 90% of the $2.8 billion distributed to former NCAA men's sports athletes.

"The calculation of past damages is based on an error that ignores Title IX and deprives female athletes of $1.1 billion," said Ashlyn Hare, one of the lawyers representing the appellants. "Paying out the money as proposed would be a massive error that would cause irreparable harm to women's sports."

"If Nike wants to [pay male athletes more], that is their choice. If the school, or a conference acting on the school's behalf tries to do that, they are violating the law," John Clune, another lawyer on the team, clarified.

"They can either pay the athletes proportionately, or they can return all of their federal funds," said Clune. "But they can't do both."

With the USWNT back in action for the next set of summer friendlies later this month, head coach Emma Hayes filled ESPN in on her roster strategy earlier this week.

Hayes will rest all Europe-based US players during the upcoming international window, instead relying on domestic talent following a jam-packed year for the team's European stars.

"We don't necessarily decide the international calendar, but this is one where we think it's in the best interest of the players," Hayes said, noting both past demands and the increasingly busy road to the 2027 World Cup.

With player welfare and recovery top-of-mind, the lone exception to Hayes's European omissions is Chelsea FC defender Naomi Girma, who made her 2025 USWNT debut on May 31st.

The US manager is seeking more minutes for the star center back after Girma spent much of the year recovering from a calf injury.

Hayes also revealed some key updates on other injured players, with fans eager to see midfielder Rose Lavelle and forward Trinity Rodman return to the USWNT fold.

After a lengthy recovery from ankle surgery, Lavelle — who made her first NWSL appearance of 2025 in Gotham FC's 2-1 loss to Kansas City last Saturday — could return to international play this month.

Rodman remains slightly further out from returning to the USWNT roster, with Hayes saying she expects the Spirit forward to begin seeing club minutes sometime next month.

The USWNT core is coming together, with Stateside players looking to seize the chance to prove their worth as club soccer approaches its summer hiatus.

The NWSL is locking in its summer calendar, as teams across the league announce special July friendlies ahead of the regular-season break for major global tournaments.

Without a planned league-wide tournament like 2024's NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, its up to individual clubs to fill their schedules until NWSL play resumes in August.

While there might not be a trophy at the end, the gap does provide an opportunity for some fresh friendly competition beyond the confines of the league.

The North Carolina Courage will welcome Liga MX titans and Concacaf W Champions Cup contenders Tigres UANL back to the States for a one-off exhibition match on July 9th.

Then on July 12th, Kansas City will kick off its Teal Rising Cup, a four-team friendly tournament pitting the NWSL's Current and Chicago Stars against Brazil's Série A1 clubs Corinthians and Palmeiras.

Late July will see both the Seattle Reign and Bay FC square off against Japan's WE League champions the Urawa Red Diamonds, with Bay tacking on an additional July 19th friendly against Angel City.

The USL Super League is also getting in on the summer interleague action, with the NWSL's Angel City facing the Carolina Ascent on July 26th after Racing Louisville hosts crosstown USL squad Lexington SC on July 13th — giving fans a glimpse at how the two US systems stack up against one another.

As teams juggle lineups in the wake of summer international departures, these July friendlies may feature decidedly different rosters than regular-season play — though hungry NWSL fans likely won't mind.