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Suni Lee starts comeback tour toward USA’s Paris Olympics team

Suni Lee trains on Friday for the Core Hydration Classic this weekend. (Jon Durr/USA TODAY Sports)

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sunisa Lee walked out to the floor for podium training for the Core Hydration Classic on Friday carrying a giant backpack. Before she could take too many steps towards the competition areas, she was greeted by Jordan Chiles, her 2021 Olympic teammate, with a giant hug. Chiles’ infectious enthusiasm was apparent as she ran up to Lee, who is taking baby steps back to the sport where she won Olympic all-around gold in Tokyo.

“[It felt] so good. Jordan is one of the closest people to me. So to see her back out here and to just be back out and competing with her is so fun,” Lee said during training for the U.S. Classic, where many Team USA hopefuls are competing a year before the 2024 Olympics. That group includes Simone Biles, who is returning to the mat for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics, where she sat out of multiple events while dealing with the “twisties.”

The last time casual Olympic fans saw Lee, she was celebrating a breakout performance in 2021. She won gold in the all-around, helped the U.S team win silver and took bronze on the uneven bars. Like Biles and Nastia Liukin, Lee competed on “Dancing with the Stars,” where she finished fifth.

From there, Lee headed to Auburn to compete for the Tigers, as part of the first crop of Olympic athletes who were able to take advantage of NIL rules that allowed her to earn money after the Olympics and still compete in college.

Lee excelled in her first season at Auburn, drawing record crowds to their meets in 2022. She won an NCAA title on balance beam and took second in the all-around. NCAA gymnastics tends to focus more on the team outcomes. And between conference events and dual meets, collegiate gymnasts just compete more, which

“[NCAAs] definitely helped my consistency and a lot of like the mental side, because I feel like today I was coming in and I was really happy,” Lee said. “But when I got back up on the podium, and I was like worked up at first and then I was pretty calm, like recalling back to college, every single day, doing the same elements. And I’ve done this so many times.”

But throughout the 2023 season, Lee missed competitions due to a kidney condition. She announced that the ‘23 season would be her final one in college due to health issues, but she wasn’t moving on from her goal of getting back to the Olympics.

This weekend in Chicago, Lee is working to get back to elite form, even as she deals with a kidney condition that can hamper her training.

“My main goal was to just come here and compete,” Lee said. “I’m not worrying about winning or placing or anything. I just wanted to get back out here. I’m not doing full difficulty at all. I’m not competing floor [exercise].”

During podium training on Friday, Lee looked steady as she trained her balance beam, vault and uneven bars routines. The routines were on the easier side of what she can accomplish, but going viral for her latest skill isn’t the point. Showing the gymnastics world that she is progressing is.

As Lee works with doctors to control her kidney condition, she has to deal with a scaled-back training schedule. Lee told the Olympic Channel that she sometimes wakes up with fingers so swollen that she can’t put on the grips she needs to wear for the uneven bars.

“I am still kind of in and out of the gym. I don’t train as much as I used to. And I definitely don’t take as much time as I like, but whenever I’m having a really good day, I try and take advantage of that and do as much as I can,” Lee said. “Other days, I just work more basics, turns or dance elements because those are important, too.”

When her kidney condition started affecting her in January, Lee was on the exact path she wanted to be on to make it to Paris for the Olympics. Getting healthy enough to try out some of those new skills is part of why she is still pushing for Paris.

“I feel like there’s just a lot more in me. Before all of the diagnoses and all of that stuff, I was doing really good. I feel like I was coming up with new combinations, new skills, like it would have been really cool,” she said. “But that’s definitely what inspired me because I already know that I can do it. So if I just get myself back to that pace, I’ll be right on to the Olympics hopefully.”

Competing at the Classic is the first step that Lee, Chiles, Biles and all of the 2024 Olympic hopefuls will take. This event will qualify gymnasts to the U.S. Championships in San Jose in late August. From there, the top gymnasts will head to a selection camp where the world championship team will be chosen for the event in Belgium in early October.

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Simone Biles returns to competition this weekend for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics. (Jon Durr/USA TODAY Sports)

For Lee, competing at the Classic is not just a step toward the Olympics, but that step she needs to take to show herself she can compete again, even if she’s not earning the highest scores.

“I’m not gonna be the perfectionist that I was before. It’s just gonna be really hard because, like, a lot of people have that pressure. But, and I think this time, it’s more like I’m coming back, but I also have the [Olympic] title. That kind of gets me a little bit worked up, but ever since I’ve gotten here, I’m just calming myself down. And I’m like, ‘Don’t put any pressure on yourself because we know that you’re not ready.’

“And like, I know what I’m capable of doing right now and it’s not gonna be like what I’m going to do. So I’m just giving myself time.”

Maggie Hendricks is a contributing writer for Just Women’s Sports. She also covers women’s sports for Bally Sports. Follow her on Twitter @maggiehendricks.

Team USA Holds Off Brazil to Win 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Championship

The USA Basketball team and coaching staff pose with a 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Champions sign after winning gold.
A young USA squad held off Brazil to claim the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup title on Sunday. (USA Basketball)

USA Basketball lifted the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup trophy on Sunday, taking down defending champions Brazil 92-84 to top the tournament's podium for the fifth time.

Pitting a roster of NCAA talent against Brazil pros like Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Team USA battled back from a seven-point third-quarter deficit, then dominated the fourth quarter to send Brazil home with silver medals.

"What a performance by our team," said USA head coach Kara Lawson following the title win. "We knew it was going to be just a tough, physical game."

With 27 points in Sunday's championship game, guard Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt) set a USA AmeriCup scoring record en route to earning tournament MVP honors.

"This is my first time playing with USA Basketball, and to be able to cap it off with a win, a gold medal, and to play alongside such great players and great coaches, I couldn't ask for anything better," said Blakes.

After adding 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in her 21 minutes off the bench on Sunday, guard Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) joined Blakes in representing the USA on the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup All-Star roster.

Booking a spot on the tournament's All-Star second team was US guard Olivia Miles (TCU), whose 50 assists throughout the competition shattered the modern era's previous single-event record of 46.

Along with their gold medals, Sunday's win also gives the US automatic entry into the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Germany, where they'll look to snag a 12th overall and fifth consecutive world championship.

WNBA Standings Frontrunners Phoenix, Atlanta Right the Ship with Monday Wins

Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner celebrates a turnover during a 2025 WNBA game.
Brittney Griner's Atlanta Dream bounced back with a win over the Golden State Valkyries on Monday. (Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

Two WNBA championship contenders found their way back into the win column on Monday, when the No. 2 Phoenix Mercury and No. 4 Atlanta Dream each notched emphatic victories following disappointing weekend results.

Phoenix tasted revenge by blasting No. 11 Dallas 102-72, with guard Sami Whitcomb's game-leading 36 points and 2025 All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas's triple-double (15 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds) sending the Wings' rookie core packing.

After last Thursday's surprise upset, Dallas's injury-shortened lineup couldn't keep pace in a rematch with the deeper, more experienced Mercury.

The No. 6 Golden State Valkyries also showed their limits on Monday, dropping their sixth road game of the season in a 90-81 loss to the Dream.

Energized by a 24-point performance from 2025 All-Star starter Allisha Gray, Atlanta capitalized on the Valks' fourth-quarter collapse, outscoring the 2025 expansion side 15-2 to book the win.

"I'm telling the refs, 'This is a hard game for us,'" Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said afterwards. "I get it — home cooking. But to me, I thought for sure that [Valkyries players] were going up just as aggressive as their players, and we just did not get the whistle."

With All-Star Weekend fast approaching, regular-season Cinderella stories are beginning to break away from the true powerhouses, as teams keep chasing Minnesota at the top of the WNBA standings.

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week

While Atlanta will be resting until Friday, Phoenix is back in action on Wednesday, when the Mercury will host the league-leading Lynx at 3:30 PM ET.

Live coverage of the game will air on WNBA League Pass.

OL Lyonnes Boosts Midfield with USWNT Stars Lily Yohannes, Korbin Albert

USWNT midfielders Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert pose in the new 2025 US jerseys.
USWNT stars Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert will suit up for OL Lyonnes in the fall. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

Eight-time UEFA Champions League winners OL Lyonnes will have even more US flair next season, with the French football titan announcing the signings of USWNT stars Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert over the last week.

Joining the newly rebranded Lyon side from Dutch club Ajax on a reported €450,000 ($527,000) transfer fee, Yohannes's new contract runs through 2028.

Albert also signed a three-year deal on Friday, solidifying her transfer from Première Ligue rivals PSG — the club that the 21-year-old has played for since her early exit from Notre Dame in 2023.

Yohannes and Albert will join USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps in the OL Lyonnes midfield, with US billionaire and multi-team owner Michele Kang (Washington Spirit, London City Lionesses) overseeing the operation.

Backed by her global women's sports organization Kynisca, Kang reportedly beat WSL giants Chelsea FC to the punch in signing 18-year-old Yohannes on Monday.

OL Lyonnes has been stocking up after failing to make it past the 2024/25 Champions League semifinals, adding PSG striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Chelsea FC fullback Ashley Lawrence, Barcelona defender Ingrid Engen, and Vfl Wolfsburg attacker Jule Brand to a roster now led by former Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez.

While international tournaments play out across the world this summer, the club carousel continues to spin as heavyweight teams vie for the sport's top talent.

NWSL Stars Score Big in WAFCON Openers

Zambia players, including NWSL stars Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, pose during a training session before 2025 WAFCON.

The NWSL is already making a splash at this year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), with three of the league's top scorers stealing the spotlight following the 2025 tournament's July 5th kick-off.

Zambia forwards Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride) and Racheal Kundananji (Bay FC) both found the back of the net in their national team's group-stage debut against host country Morocco, helping the Copper Queens earn an opening point in the 2-2 Saturday draw.

Banda struck first, notching the tournament's first goal with one of her signature long-range strikes in the first minute of the match, before Kundananji answered Morocco's 12th-minute penalty equalizer with a Banda-assisted 27th minute goal of her own.

Notably, the NWSL is powering Zambia's entire front line, as Banda's Pride teammates, Grace Chanda and Prisca Chilufya, joined the scorers in leading the Copper Queens' Saturday attack.

Then on Sunday, Kundananji's Bay FC teammate Asisat Oshoala wrote her name on the 2025 WAFCON scoresheet, registering Nigeria's first tournament goal by heading the ball past Tunisia goalkeeper Salima Jobrani in the fourth minute of the match.

With Houston Dash defender Michelle Alozie helping hold down their back line, the Super Falcons opened their WAFCON account with a 3-0 win.

How to watch NWSL stars at 2025 WAFCON

WAFCON action revs back up when the second matches of group play kick off on Wednesday, as the 12 2025 tournament teams all chase defending champions South Africa.

Zambia will hunt their first tournament victory against Senegal at 12 PM ET on Wednesday, before Nigeria looks to maintain their winning ways against Botswana at 3 PM ET on Thursday.

All 2025 WAFCON matches will air live on beIN Sports.

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