PHOENIX — Skylar Diggins-Smith was done talking.

The day before Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, Diggins-Smith sat behind the basket where she would hit the layup to seal the Phoenix Mercury’s 91-86 overtime win over the Chicago Sky, which evened the series 1-1, and fidgeted in her chair. For every question she fielded from reporters, Diggins-Smith had one thing on her mind: The Mercury gave Game 1 away, and she would do everything in her power to make sure it didn’t happen again.

“This is not the goal for me. The championship is the goal,” she said Tuesday. “I’m irritated, I’m excited, I’m nervous. I’m ready for the Game 2, that’s all I gotta say. I’m irritated I gotta be out here answering questions because I just want to focus on the game.”

Diggins-Smith kept that focus through the first 18 minutes of Game 2 on Sunday, when she went just 1-for-6 from the field and was visibly frustrated with her play.

During a Mercury timeout with 2:04 left in the first quarter, Diggins-Smith stood apart from the huddle and stared off into the distance, motionless. Kia Nurse, resigned to the bench for the series after tearing her ACL in Game 5 of the semifinals, walked over and appeared to try to console her. Diggins-Smith just kept staring straight ahead, as if she were visualizing what was to come.

First, that meant her passing. The veteran guard found Brianna Turner twice in the second quarter, the second time with a lob pass for an alley-oop that gave the Mercury their first lead of the game, 38-36.

“Skylar would probably say, ‘I’ve missed too many shots,’” said Mercury head coach Sandy Brondello, “but I thought with her ability to facilitate and just give us some easy baskets … we put [Diana Taurasi] in being more of a screener and put the ball more in Sky’s hand, and she made some pretty good decisions.”

Diggins-Smith finished the game with a playoff career-high 12 assists, jumpstarting Phoenix’s offense with her patience and play-calling from the point and her distribution on the run. The mark also set a Mercury franchise record for assists in a Finals game.

And when it came to crunch time, the 31-year-old turned her fiery words into action, driving into the paint for two layups in overtime that were the difference for the Mercury.

That final play by @SkyDigg4 to seal the deal. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dEiqBMAF1v

— Phoenix Mercury - X (@PhoenixMercury) October 14, 2021

Thanks to Diggins-Smith’s 13 points, as well as Taurasi’s 20 and Griner’s game-high 29, Phoenix now heads to Chicago with more of a cushion. Starting with Game 3 on Friday night in front of a sold-out Chicago arena, the Mercury can take the series with two wins on the road or win at least one and head back home for a decisive Game 5.

“I was just trying to make something happen,” Diggins-Smith said. “I felt really good about how I was able to get a head of steam, get downhill, get in a lane, create opportunities for my team. It didn’t fall for me, but I was just trying to do other things … and find that edge, that rhythm within the game.”

Taurasi, who also came on late to drain two critical 3-pointers in overtime, called Diggins-Smith’s performance “probably one of the best games I’ve ever seen her play.”

“I’ve been around this game a long time, and there’s not too many people that compete the way Skylar competes every single day,” Taurasi said. “We’ve gotten to work out for two offseasons. Every day is the same. Every day is Game 5 for her. I’ve said this before, that’s kind of ignited my passion for the game a little bit to see someone do that every single day.”

Brondello has been in this position before, having won a WNBA championship in 2014 in her first season as Mercury head coach. Diggins-Smith is playing in her first Finals series, having spent seven years in Tulsa and Dallas before signing with the Mercury last offseason.

Brondello and Taurasi, a three-time WNBA champion, know what a championship-level mentality looks like, and they see that to the fullest extent in Diggins-Smith.

“She had some shots, shots she knows she can make. She’ll be reliving that all night tonight, but I thought she had a really good game,” Brondello said. “Players like this are special — they have this fire in their belly, the will to win. And they’re all locked in.”

Hannah Withiam is the Managing Editor at Just Women’s Sports. She previously served as an editor at The Athletic and a reporter at the New York Post. Follow her on Twitter @HannahWithiam.

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.