Lauren Barnes is a defender who plays for both Reign FC in the NWSL and Melbourne City in Australia’s W-League. While sports leagues around the world were shutting down due to the coronavirus, the W-League marched ahead, holding its grand final behind closed doors on March 21st (for context, the NBA shut down on March 11th). Melbourne City topped Sydney FC 1-0 to win the game, but as Barnes explains below, it was difficult to get caught up in any celebrations, as she had to catch what might have been the last flight home. 

You’ve had a crazy last few weeks. Basically every sport was shut down, but you guys were playing in the W-League final. Can you walk us through what that was like?

At the time coronavirus hadn’t really hit Australia that bad, so most people there were just living normally. Even in the week leading up to the final, everything was still open. You could easily go to a café, and there would be 25 to 50 people there. It was crazy to me. Obviously, I had family in the U.S., where everyday things were slowly shutting down and all the sports were being cancelled or postponed. So for me, it was just like, this is crazy that we’re even playing, especially because the virus was spiking so fast around the world. I just couldn’t believe it. As a team, we tried to keep our focus on soccer, but that’s pretty hard when there’s a pandemic going on. It was tough, and it was something none of us had ever experienced, or hopefully will ever experience again.

And what was the actual game like? 

I was so drained going into that final. It felt so weird. I was worried about home, and I was worried about Australia, because every other place started off okay, and then there was this rapid domino effect of everything shutting down. I was expecting the same thing to happen in Australia. Obviously, when you’re in the game and you have the adrenaline everything’s fine, but I remember the final whistle blowing and just feeling relief. There were just so many emotions surrounding that game that had nothing to do with soccer. And when it was over, I just felt like this huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Was that because you could just focus on getting home at that point?

Yeah. And because leading up to the game, it was like, don’t touch anything, make sure you’re washing your hands, and disinfect this, and disinfect that. Oh and also focus on your role with the team and make sure you’re ready to perform. I mean, every minute you had to think about so many different things. So once it was over, I could relax a bit and get home and just focus on what’s going on in the world.

Coronavirus came a bit late to Australia, but when did you realize that it was a serious issue? 

I think I always took it seriously because of the situation in the states. Coronavirus might have been slow to hit Australia, but a couple days before the final, things were picking up. It was clear that this was real, that countries were shutting down, that Australia was heading toward a lockdown. We were all watching the news. Flights were being cancelled for the international girls, and I had to move mine up to the day after the final to make sure I got out.

Did players or coaches ever openly question whether the final should happen? 

Credit to [Melbourne] City, but I do think they tried everything possible to make sure we were safe. Managers and coaches were always telling us to reach out if there was anything we needed. The locker room was kept clean, and we had a bunch of rules we had to follow. I felt safe, but at the end of the day, you’ve seen how fast this virus spreads. So I knew in the back of my head that this was something we might not have been really prepared for, no matter how prepared we felt.

People in the US couldn’t believe we were still playing, but it wasn’t a big worry in Australia. There was definitely a disconnect though, because you would go through handshakes and not be allowed to touch each other. But then you’d go play a competitive contact sport, where you’re scoring goals and celebrating with your teammates, and you’re in huddles, and you’re touching other players. I mean, we were doing all this stuff to prevent the spread, but you can’t prevent it if you’re actually playing a game. That was just hard for me to fathom. It didn’t make sense. And it definitely affected people, especially the internationals who didn’t know if they were going to be able to get home.

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.