CHICAGO — When Rhyne Howard was in middle school, she won her junior high cross country championships. It’s a fact that her mom, Rhvonja “RJ” Avery, loves to tell anyone who will listen.

It makes Howard cringe, albeit lovingly, with a combination of embarrassment and annoyance that only a mom can evoke. So, Avery keeps it up. It’s fun to get a bit of a rise out of her low-key daughter, but Avery also tells people about the victory because it’s a good way to explain Howard.

You see, she didn’t like cross country. But she still pushed herself to be the best because Rhyne Howard doesn’t know how to be anything else.

“She hated cross country,” Avery said. “Hated it. I said, ‘You don’t have to win. Just do it for conditioning and endurance.’ But she’s a competitor and she would always come out first.”

With that same kind of determination, Howard has also made an instant impact in her first WNBA season.

In March, Howard was preparing for the NCAA Tournament, but the looming WNBA Draft was never far from the Kentucky star’s mind. Making it in the league had always been her goal. She wanted it even before she was a middle-school cross country star.

That was five months ago.

Since then, Howard has been drafted No. 1 overall, made a statement with 33 points in her fourth WNBA game, and become the first rookie with 17 points in the first quarter of a game, all while averaging 15.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals for the sixth-place Atlanta Dream.

On Sunday, she added WNBA All-Star to her ever-growing list of accomplishments. Howard finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists for Team Wilson in a 134-112 victory at Wintrust Arena.

And though the All-Star Game was light-hearted, Howard’s performance was indicative of her rookie season thus far.

The Dream star lined up a corner 3-pointer to start the second quarter, which received a bow-and-arrow celebration from Candace Parker on the bench. She followed it up with a one-footed runner in the lane.

The Rooks first All-Star bucket of many 🤩👌#WNBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/eX2yPrunkF

— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) July 10, 2022

Perhaps Howard’s most impressive play came with a minute left in the third quarter. She caught the ball a few steps inside the 3-point line, dribbled beyond the arc and locked eyes with her defender before rising up for a quick-release 3.

“Rhyne is a beast,” Parker said after the game. “Becky (Hammon) and I were talking about Rhyne Howard and how she’s just different. Like the way she moves, the way she pulls up. I know there’s little things maybe the fans don’t see, but us players see, like the spin she puts on the ball when she’s laying it up. She’s different.”

Howard has long been a natural and dynamic scorer. Her abilities were apparent during her four years at Kentucky, where she was a two-time All-American and SEC Player of the Year while leading the Wildcats to their first SEC championship in 40 years as a senior.

Howard’s game isn’t the only thing that made a seamless transition to the WNBA. Avery was in the stands on Sunday, just like she was at nearly every Kentucky game. She’s already made it to most of Howard’s contests with the Dream as well, despite saying in March that she would likely be cutting back once Howard was a pro.

“She’s capping,” Howard said, with a youthful smile spreading across her face. “She comes to every game. I don’t understand why she would say that.”

Do it like it's your B-day @howard_rhyne 🌟🌟🌟#WNBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/3TJL5YnVUD

— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) July 10, 2022

Howard’s WNBA success hasn’t changed much about her lifestyle. Those who followed her at Kentucky know the guard is generally shy and media appearances and interviews have never been her thing. But on Friday, as Howard walked the Orange Carpet and spoke with countless reporters, she appeared comfortable.

WNBA stardom means she can’t avoid press, so Howard is trying to embrace it.

“It’s going to have to happen so I’m just making it easier on myself,” she said.

The way Howard is playing just two months into her WNBA season — infusing life into the Dream after three straight losing seasons and holding her own alongside legends on WNBA All-Star weekend — the spotlight is only going to grow brighter.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

Wimbledon is leveling up, as the annual London-based Grand Slam announced Thursday that it's increasing its purse by 7% across the board in 2025, pushing the total prize money to £53.5 million ($72.59 million) ahead of tennis tournament's June 30th kick-off.

Both the 2025 women's and men's singles champions will earn winner's checks in the amount of £3 million ($4.07 million) — an 11.1% increase over the amount won by 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková.

With increases across all Slam events, from singles and doubles to wheelchair competitions, even athletes who stumble early will see a raise over last year's competition.

For example, singles players ousted in this year's first round will take home 10% more than in 2024, earning deposits of £66,000 ($89,530).

The 2025 total purse now doubles the prize money offered by the tournament a decade ago, and makes Wimbledon the biggest potential payday across all four of the sport's Grand Slams.

"We're immensely proud of the fact that, if you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year," said All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club chair Deborah Jevans. "And we have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players."

Teen swimmer Summer McIntosh made a major splash at the 2025 Canadian Swimming Trials, shattering three world records in just five days of competition in Victoria, BC.

First on Saturday, the Toronto swimmer shaved 1.2 seconds off the Australian Ariarne Titmus's 400-meter freestyle mark to set a new world record time of 3:54.18.

Then on Monday, McIntosh took down a decade-old record in the 200-meter individual medley (IM), becoming the first woman swimmer to complete the race in less than 2:06.00.

Just two days later, the 18-year-old McIntosh broke her own 400-meter IM world record, besting her 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials time by 0.73 seconds with a 4:23.65 race Wednesday.

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With her unstoppable week-long performance, McIntosh became the first swimmer to set three new world records in different individual events at one meet since US legend Michael Phelps's historic run at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Going into tonight, I knew I could do something really special because this has probably been the best meet of my career," McIntosh told reporters after Wednesday's race.

That said, the young star is already eyeing new times — and new records.

"Overall, [I'm] happy with the time, but I know I can go faster," said McIntosh following her 400-meter IM performance. "The faster I swim, the happier I am."

The NWSL Championship is on its way back West, with the league announcing on Friday morning that the 2025 title match will kick off from PayPal Park in San Jose, California.

Hosted at the home pitch of 2024 expansion team Bay FC, the game will take place on Saturday, November 22nd.

In addition to the championship match, the 2025 NWSL season's final weekend will include a variety of supporting events like Fan Fest and the annual Skills Challenge competition.

"We're thrilled to bring the NWSL Championship back to the West Coast and to a region with as rich a history in women's soccer as the Bay Area," said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a league statement.

Citing a long list of former USWNT stars with local ties, including Julie Foudy, Kelley O'Hara, and Alex Morgan, Bay FC co-founder Brandi Chastain — a US legend herself — called the Bay Area "the place women's soccer calls home."

"Our community's fabric is woven with the greatest the game has to offer," explained Chastain.

"This community's passion for the game, combined with the excitement surrounding one of our newest teams in Bay FC, makes it the perfect setting to celebrate the league's top talent and crown our next champion," said Berman.

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How to attend and watch the 2025 NWSL Championship

Like last year, the 2025 NWSL Championship will air in primetime, with CBS set to broadcast the match live at 8 PM ET on November 22nd.

Tickets to the game will be available for purchase beginning in August, though interested fans can sign up for presale access online now.

The NWSL and WNBA Players Associations teamed up to release a joint statement on Thursday, with the unions expressing their solidarity with "all people seeking safety, dignity, and opportunity" after the recent ICE raids and ensuing protests in Los Angeles.

The move comes after Angel City published their own social media post addressing the ICE raids last Saturday, with the Los Angeles NWSL club noting "We know that our city is stronger because of its diversity and the people and families who shape it, love it, and call it home."

ACFC also directed immigrants in need of assistance in the wake of the ICE raids to two community organizations: the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights and the LA County Office of Immigrant Affairs.

Calling the WNBA Players Association "leaders in this space," NWSL Players Association executive director Meghann Burke told The Athletic that the basketball union initiated their joint statement.

"It's important to stand together as workers' unions," she noted.

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NWSL and WNBA unions speak to families impacted by ICE raids

"It's not lost on us that this country and the world are in turmoil right now," wrote the NWSLPA and WNBPA. "Across the country, families are facing fear, hardship, and uncertainty tied to immigration."

The athlete unions then crystallized their position, saying, "We stand with all people seeking safety, dignity, and opportunity, no matter where they come from or where they hope to go."

"Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect," they continued. "We know not every situation is simple. But offering compassion should never be up for debate."