The Billie Jean King Cup Finals kick off in Prague, Czech Republic, on Nov. 1, running through Nov. 6 at the O2 Arena.
Here’s everything you need to know about the one-of-a-kind team tennis event:
The Billie Jean King Cup’s history:
The Billie Jean King Cup, formally known as the Fed Cup, was established in 1963 and rebranded to bear the tennis legend’s name in 2020. The tournament is considered the pinnacle of women’s international team tennis, with Team USA having taken home a record 18 titles.
Format:
Twelve teams will compete in the Billie Jean King Cup, with the countries divided into four groups of three. Each team will play the two other countries in their group — two singles match, one doubles match — during the round-robin leg of the competition, with the winner of each group advancing to the semifinals. The competition then takes on a classic bracket-style format, with the winner of each semifinal match advancing to the final, where the world champion will be decided.
Group A: France, Russian Tennis Federation, Canada
Group B: Australia, Belarus, Belgium
Group C: USA, Spain, Slovakia
Group D: Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland
Total prize pot:
$18 million, with the purse divided between players and their federations.
Who to watch:
Kathy Rinaldi will captain the US team, which consists of Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe, and Caroline Dolehide.
Pegula enters the Billie Jean King Cup after making a quarter-final run at Indian Wells, placing her in the Top 25 world rankings. Collins is also having a solid season, ranked 31st in the world, with the 27-year-old having advanced to the quarterfinals at the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic in September.
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Unrivaled Teams Enter the Playoff Race as Postseason Basketball Looms
The Unrivaled postseason tips off on March 16th. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketballtips off another round of doubleheaders tonight, as the offseason league paves a path toward its first-ever postseason with an Unrivaled playoffs push.
Unrivaled is entering its fifth week of play, with three weeks remaining in the regular season. And as just four of the league’s six teams will advance to the March 16th Unrivaled playoffs, notching late wins could make all the difference for squads shooting for a postseason boost.
After slow starts, the Mist and Phantom BC currently sit one game beneath playoffs contention — but they’ll both have an opportunity to make up ground this weekend.
In the event of any final regular-season ties, Unrivaled will subsequently determine playoff seeding first by head-to-head records, followed by point differentials.
Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier won the in-season 1v1 contest. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Offseason league announces end-of-season awards
The league also announced plans for its end-of-season awards, which will include MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and both first and second-team honors.
A combination of media, Unrivaled coaches and players, and a fan vote will decide the winners.
Voters can now nominate three Unrivaled MVPs online, ranking them in order of preference. Voting closes on Tuesday, March 11th at 3 PM ET, with the winners announced shortly thereafter.
The Mist are tied for last place in the Unrivaled standings. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)
How to watch Unrivaled 3×3 playoffs push this Weekend
The Mist take on fourth-place Vinyl BC tonight at 8:15 PM ET, live on TNT, before Phantom BC squares off against Vinyl BC on Saturday at 7 PM ET, with live coverage on TruTV.
JWS Staff
Feb 21, 2025
Macario, Sentnor Impress in USWNT SheBelieves Cup Win Over Colombia
The USWNT topped Colombia 2-0 in Thursday night’s 2025 SheBelieves Cup opener. (Omar Vega/Getty Images)
The USWNT hit the ground running on Thursday, taking down Colombia 2-0 to kick off the 2025 SheBelieves Cup with a bang.
Catarina Macario opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with her first international goal in almost three years, before 21-year-old Ally Sentnor put the game out of reach at the 60-minute mark with her first-ever international tally.
"Everybody is super happy, super proud, and I'm sure everybody back at Chelsea is too," US head coach Emma Hayes said of Macario’s strike, as the forward continues her long return from injury.
Hayes’s decision to feature less experienced players in the match paid off, with the winning side bolstered by numerous first caps, starts, and a screamer of a goal for the world No. 1 team.
In just her third cap and first start for the senior national team, Sentnor's efforts earned her praise from Hayes, who called the young attacker's performance "tenacious on both sides of the wall."
Also excelling in her first USWNT start was 17-year-old Lily Yohannes, who lofted the ball forward in pursuit of Macario’s opening goal and stood out as the most creative passer within a US midfield that completed over 500 passes.
"She's really switched on and someone who understands the importance of doing everything for the team and for that I really admire her," Hayes said after the match.
Hayes also continued her efforts to mint new USWNT players with a trio of first caps in Thursday's match. While forward Michelle Cooper and defender Gisele Thompson snagged their first USWNT minutes as late substitutes, center-back Tara McKeown grabbed a starting spot, then capitalized on the opportunity by registering an assist to set up Sentnor's jaw-dropping goal.
Hayes has emphasized the need for the USWNT to develop its future, but Thursday’s performance showed that the future might be closer than originally expected — especially considering the big names missing from this window’s USWNT roster.
Sonnett is the only USWNT athlete to play in all 10 SheBelieves Cups. (Omar Vega/Getty Images)
Sonnett celebrates 100th USWNT cap
Alongside all the noteworthy firsts, the USWNT also had the chance to celebrate its veteran leadership on Thursday.
Prior to the match, the team honored Emily Sonnett for her 100th cap before the versatile defender captained the squad as a starting center-back on the night.
Notably, Sonnett's USWNT tenure includes competing in all 10 iterations of the SheBelieves Cup — more than any other player.
he USWNT last faced Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Brad Smith/ISI/Getty Images).
USWNT to face Australia in second SheBelieves match
Now sitting in second in the SheBelieves Cup standings, the USWNT trails only Japan due to goal differential after the Nadeshiko toppled Australia 4-0 on Thursday afternoon.
The struggling Matildas, who failed to register a single shot on goal against Japan, must now face the seven-time SheBelieves champion USWNT in Arizona on Sunday — a team Australia has only defeated once in the pair's 35 all-time meetings.
The last time the teams met, the US defeated the Matildas 2-1 in the final group stage match of the 2024 Olympics to advance to the quarterfinals.
This time out, expect heavy roster rotation from Hayes's squad as players look to stay healthy for their club seasons, with some still ramping up to full fitness before the 2025 NWSL season.
How to watch the USWNT vs. Australia in the SheBelieves Cup
The USWNT kicks off against Australia in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup at 5 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage on TBS, Max, and Peacock.
JWS Staff
Feb 21, 2025
NCAA Teams Scramble for Seeding as College Basketball Season Winds Down
Notre Dame holds a two-game lead in the ACC basketball regular-season title race. (Michael Miller/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
The 2024/25 NCAA basketball season is down to its 10 final days of competition, with conference tournament seeding hanging in the balance as top teams try to build up some March Madness momentum.
Proving that nothing is guaranteed, two teams suffered upset losses on Thursday night.
In the ACC, No. 11 Duke fell to unranked Louisville 70-62. Though senior guard Jayda Curry led both the Cardinals and the game with 24 points, Louisville's victory came largely from the free throw line, where the Cards snagged 22 points but the Blue Devils only banked four.
The Big Ten followed suit, when unranked Indiana downed No. 8 Ohio State 71-61. Fueled by double-digit performances from four different Hoosiers, Indiana took an early lead and never relented, outshooting and out-rebounding the Buckeyes to hand them their fourth loss on the season.
To stay in the SEC title conversation, LSU likely must win their final three games. (Georgia Jones/LSU/University Images via Getty Images)
NCAA conference titles take center court in decisive weekend matchups
While some teams are stumbling at the finish line, others have a shot at clinching conference hardware this weekend.
With a two-win lead on the ACC table, No. 1 Notre Dame has the chance to lock down the conference's regular-season title on Sunday, when the Irish will take on second-place No. 13 NC State.
The consequential clash has earned Raleigh a visit from ESPN’s College Gameday, with the pre-game show slated to build upon last weekend’s success in South Carolina with another high-stakes matchup.
Meanwhile in the SEC, No. 7 LSU’s season is also on the line. Unlike the Irish, however, the Tigers are simply trying to keep their dwindling conference title hopes alive, facing a must-win game against No. 14 Kentucky on Sunday.
To claim the SEC’s No. 1 seed, LSU would also need both No. 2 Texas and No. 6 South Carolina to stumble in their regular-season home stretch.
Beyond conference titles, the regular season’s wind-down can provide insights into how far teams can run into the postseason, as any upsets this week could spell busted brackets — or unexpected surges — come March.
How to watch Sunday's Top 15 NCAA basketball games
No. 1 Notre Dame will tip off the ranked Sunday action against No. 13 NC State at 12 PM ET, with live coverage of the ACC titans airing on ESPN.
Then at 4 PM ET, No. 7 LSU will try to steal a road win over No. 14 Kentucky, with ESPN also airing the decisive SEC meeting.
Dee Lab
Feb 20, 2025
Venus Williams Mounts a Comeback with Indian Wells Wild Card Entry
Williams has not played a WTA event since the 2024 Miami Open.(Michele Eve Sandberg/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
On Wednesday, US tennis icon Venus Williams was awarded a wild card spot to play in next month’s BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, with the 44-year-old signing onto participate in her first WTA competition in a almost a year.
Williams has not featured in a tour event since the 2024 Miami Open, exiting that tournament in her March 19th opening match after dropping two straight sets to Diana Shnaider.
Venus Williams continues her storied tennis career
Often stating her desire to play professional tennis for as long as she can, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion has never officially announced her retirement.
"Serena ruined it for me," Williams joked during an October 2024 TV interview, referencing her sister’s 2022 retirement. "Because as soon as she retired, everybody thought I retired."
Williams, who turned pro over 30 years ago, boasts a resume with 49 singles trophies and five Olympic medals. Her combined 21 Grand Slam titles includes five Wimbledon singles championships, two US Open singles trophies, and 14 doubles titles alongside her younger sister.
While she has more major singles titles than any other active woman on tour, Williams hasn't added to her tally since winning the Taiwan Open in February 2016.
Having drastically decreased her competition schedule over the last few seasons, Williams has competed in just nine events over the past two years.
"At this point, it’s about picking and choosing places I want to be," she said.
Venus and Serena Willams boycotted the Indian Wells event for 14 years. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
A roller coaster history with Indian Wells
Given her stated intention to specifically choose her competition appearances, it's somewhat interesting that Williams set her sights on the Indian Wells tournament.
While she first competed at the event in 1994, both Williams and her sister boycotted the tournament for 14 years following Serena's experience during the 2001 final. Though she ultimately won the title, then-19-year-old Serena experienced booing and racist abuse during the match — an ordeal the younger Williams sister called "very traumatizing."
Serena ultimately returned to the competition in 2015, with Venus doing the same in 2016.
With 10 Indian Wells appearances on her resume, including three trips to the competition's semifinals, this year's tournament marks the second-straight year that Williams will play as a wild card entry. At the 2024 edition, she fell 6-2, 3-6, 0-6 to Nao Hibino in the first round.
How to watch the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells tennis tournament
The 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells runs from March 2nd through 16th.
With her wild card berth, Williams will begin play when the main draw starts on March 5th.