The 2022 Winter Olympics kick off Friday in Beijing, welcoming athletes from across the world to compete in the two-week event. Team USA features veteran athletes and a group of newcomers poised to top the podium at the Winter Games.

Here are the 10 Team USA athletes to watch in Beijing:

1. Chloe Kim

Chloe Kim heads into the 2022 Winter Games as one of Team USA’s most prominent stars after a standout performance in PyeongChang. The 21-year-old is in prime position to defend her gold medal in the halfpipe after capturing a series of titles in the lead-up to Beijing, including the 2021 X Games and 2021 World Championships. Kim’s arsenal includes two 1080s — a routine that is likely to clinch the American a spot on the podium.

2. Mariah Bell

For Mariah Bell, age is but a number, with the 25-year-old set to become the oldest U.S. Olympic women’s singles skater since 1928. She set a similar mark in January when she became the oldest woman to win U.S. nationals since 1927. Bell is undergoing something of a career renaissance, which she credits to Adam Rippon, who joined her coaching team in the 2019-22 preseason. Eight years after her senior international debut, Bell will finally get her shot to prove herself on the Olympic stage in Beijing.

3. Jamie Anderson

Jamie Anderson has the potential to make history in Beijing as the first snowboarder, male or female, to win five Olympic medals. The 31-year-old already has two gold medals in slopestyle and a silver in big air, and she will compete in both events in her third Olympic appearance. Anderson swept both events at the 2021 X Games, setting herself up for success in Beijing.

4. Mikaela Shiffrin

Mikaela Shiffrin has been a force to be reckoned with on the slops since she made her Olympic debut as a teenager, racking up two gold medals and one silver across two Winter Games. In Beijing, the Colorado native is the favorite to top the podium in slalom and giant slalom and is a threat in the three other alpine ski races. Already one of the most decorated American skiers of all time, Shiffrin will look to add to her impressive medal haul this month.

5. Maame Biney

Maame Biney will look to follow up on her breakout appearance at the 2018 Olympics, when she became the first Black woman to compete on a U.S. Olympic speed-skating short track team. In Beijing, Biney will aim to improve upon her 2018 14th-place finish in the 500m, the 22-year old’s best event.

6. Hilary Knight

Hilary Knight is one of the most well-known athletes entering the Beijing Games, after leading the U.S. women’s hockey team in three previous Olympic appearances. In her fourth Winter Games, Knight will look to defend Team USA’s gold medal from 2018 and clinch her fourth Olympic medal overall.

7. Elana Meyers Taylor

Elana Meyers Taylor is back for her fourth Olympic Games and poised to stand atop the podium once more. The champion American bobsledder has two silver medals and one bronze across three Winter Olympics. After placing first in the monobob and two-woman standings at the 2021-22 World Cup series, Meyers Taylor is a medal contender heading into the two events in Beijing and will look to claim the gold that has so far eluded her.

8. Kaillie Humphries

Kaillie Humphries is a decorated bobsledder, having won back-to-back gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Games and a bronze in PyeongChang for Team Canada. The 36-year-old opted to represent Team USA after the 2018 Olympics, citing abuse she had endured on the Canadian bobsled team for the switch. For Team USA, Humphries has clinched two straight two-woman bobsled titles in 2020 and 2021 and a monobob championship in 2021, making her a favorite in both events in Beijing.

9. Jessie Diggins

Jessie Diggins skied to one of the most thrilling photo finishes of the 2018 Winter Olympics, capturing Team USA’s first-ever Olympic cross-country gold alongside Kikkan Randall. The 30-year-old Olympic champion returns to the Winter Games in hopes of following up her breakout performance with more hardware in 2022.

10. Erin Jackson

Erin Jackson is on a hot streak heading into Beijing, after setting a new American record of 36.80 seconds in the 500m at Salt Lake City’s World Cup stop in December. The 2022 Winter Games will be Jackson’s second Olympics after she compete in PyeongChang with only four months of speed-skating experience. With a first-place finish in the 500m in Beijing, the 29-year-old would become the first American woman to win gold in the event since Bonnie Blair in 1994.

Naomi Osaka advanced to the third round of the 2026 Australian Open with a three-set victory over Sorana Cirstea on Thursday.

But the hard-fought win was overshadowed by a heated exchange at the net and a subsequent public apology from the former Japanese fan favorite.

After Osaka defeated the unseeded 35-year-old 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 at Margaret Court Arena, the two shared a tense handshake before Cirstea reportedly called Osaka out for her on-court conduct. The issue apparently centered on Osaka’s habit of shouting "Come on!" to celebrate points, specifically between Cirstea’s first and second serves — a move the Romanian considered both a distraction and a breach of sportsmanship.

In her immediate postmatch interview, Osaka dismissed Cirstea's complaints.

"Apparently a lot of 'come-ons' that she was angry about, but whatever," Osaka said. "I think this was her last Australian Open, so, okay, sorry she was mad about it."

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However, during her subsequent press conference, Osaka apologized for her dismissive tone.

"I'm a little confused. I guess that emotions were very high for her," Osaka said. " I also want to apologize. I think the first couple of things that I said on the court were disrespectful. I don't like disrespecting people. That's not what I do."

Osaka went on to clarify that her vocal outbursts are self-motivating and not an attempt to rattle her opponent.

Cirstea, who recently announced that the 2026 season will be her last on the WTA Tour, later downplayed the incident. She called it a "five-second exchange between two players," insisting that "there was no drama."

Osaka, the No. 16 seed, will next face unseeded Australian Maddison Inglis in the third round on Friday.

How to watch Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open this week

No. 16 Naomi Osaka takes the court against Australia's Maddison Inglis this Friday (time TBA), live on ESPN.

While competing at the 2026 Australian Open this week, US tennis star Coco Gauff is giving back to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with the world No. 3 WTA player announcing a $150,000 donation to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to fund HBCU tennis scholarships on Tuesday.

"Education has the power to change lives, and I hope this gift will help students achieve their dreams," said Gauff in a Tuesday statement.

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Even more, this week's donation marks the two-time Grand Slam champion's second UNCF contribution in as many years, with her $100,000 pledge in 2025 bringing Gauff's total gift to $250,000.

"I feel like HBCU tennis a lot of times doesn't get the funding that they need," Gauff said after advancing to Thursday night's Australian Open third round. "I would always try to uplift marginalized communities and support where I can."

One of the youngest major donors in organization's 80-year history, the 21-year-old star's Coco Gauff Scholarship Program has already sponsored multiple HBCU tennis athletes.

"My family has a deep-rooted history with HBCUs," Gauff wrote in a 2025 press release. "As a young Black athlete, I understand how impactful it is to see people who look like me thriving in both sports and education…. My hope is that this scholarship gives more young Black players the confidence to chase their dreams, knowing they have a strong community behind them and a bright future ahead."

PWHL players made their voices heard this week, as The Athletic published the results of the third-year league's first-ever anonymous player poll on Wednesday, surveying athletes on everything from the best trash-talkers to which nation's team will win Olympic gold at next month's 2026 Winter Games.

Leading the poll's individual accolades is 34-year-old Team Canada and Montréal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin, dubbed the PWHL's best player by 80% of respondents.

Poulin's Team USA counterpart, Seattle Torrent forward Hilary Knight, snagged second as each standout prepares for a fifth career Olympic run.

As for who will win gold in Italy, all but one player predicted a Canada vs. USA Olympic Final, with a 50/50 split on the eventual victor.

Athletes also answered overarching questions about the growing league in the player poll, with Detroit earning the most nods as a PWHL expansion city — though Denver and Chicago also scored double-digit votes.

As for the future face of the league, current New York Sirens forward and 2024 PWHL No. 1 draftee Sarah Fillier narrowly edged out current University of Wisconsin senior and Team USA Olympic defender Caroline Harvey in the players' poll.

Toronto Sceptres forward Emma Maltais beat out Montréal's Abby Roque by one vote for the title of top PWHL trash-talker, though most players tapped her for quantity over quality — an assessment Maltais herself agrees with.

"I'm not trash-talking," clarified the 26-year-old Canadian. "I'm just yapping."

WNBA star Angel Reese is lighting up the silver screen, with the Chicago Sky forward racking up multiple film and TV credits during the league's offseason.

On Tuesday, Netflix revealed that Reese will play a character called "Trainer Barbie" in the second season of the streamer's hit show, The Hunting Wives.

Already a fan of the series, Reese's told Hunting Wives creator Rebecca Cutter to "just let me know if you need me for season 2" on X last summer — a conversation that helped spark the basketball star's casting.

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Tuesday's news follows last week's announcement that Reese and Las Vegas Aces star center A'ja Wilson will each voice a role in the upcoming animated film GOAT, produced by the NBA's Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry.

When the film hits theaters on February 13th, fans will see Reese as Propp, a polar bear, while Wilson plays a reptile called Kouyate.

Reese first opened her acting portfolio by playing herself in a cameo in the October 2025 Netflix film A House of Dynamite, with Hunting Wives marking the 23-year-old's first foray into a scripted series.

The eight-episode second season of the Netflix show is currently in production, though a premiere date is still unknown.