A month ago, the Tennessee women’s basketball team entered the season ranked No. 5 in the country. With key returners in Jordan Horston and Tamari Key and highly-touted transfers in Rickea Jackson and Jasmine Powell, the ceiling seemed high for the Vols in coach Kellie Harper’s fourth season.

Just weeks later, that ceiling appears to be crashing down. Tennessee dropped to No. 23 in the latest iteration of the AP Poll, with a 2-4 record. And with its most recent loss to unranked Gonzaga, the Vols are likely to fall out of the rankings completely.

The Vols had one of the toughest schedules in basketball to start the season. They opened their nonconference slate by traveling to Ohio State (now the No. 4 team in the country), and followed that up at home with another tough Big Ten opponent in Indiana (now No. 6).

Tennessee has lost to Ohio State, Indiana, UCLA and Gonzaga, and has gotten its two wins against UMass and Rutgers.

The Vols are playing the kind of schedule designed to test a team, one in which a few losses are expected. But Harper certainly didn’t expect a 2-4 record, nor did she anticipate losing to two unranked teams – even if UCLA has since moved into the top 25, and Gonzaga is getting votes.

But Harper hopes this difficult stretch will pay off in the postseason.

“I still think that the best thing for this team is to play teams that are going to punch us in the mouth. I really think that is the best thing for us,” Harper said following the loss to Indiana on Nov. 14. “I would rather win, but I don’t want any false ideas of who we are. I know exactly who we are, and exactly where we need to go.”

But after two more losses, it seems this Tennessee team doesn’t know where it’s going.

Heartbreaker.#GoLadyVols pic.twitter.com/Y7WofhCMNW

— Lady Vols Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) November 21, 2022

The talent is clearly there.

Key holds the Tennessee block record after surpassing Candace Parker last season when she was a junior. Horston is considered a WNBA prospect and nearly averaged a double-double last season with 16.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

Jackson was the top scorer at Mississippi State during her three seasons, consistently proving herself as the team’s best player. And even in the loss to Ohio State, no one could stop Powell from getting to the basket when she got down hill.

It sounds like a dream lineup. And yet the Vols can’t find any kind of rhythm.

After the team’s fourth loss, a gut-wrenching 73-72 defeat at the hands of Gonzaga in the Bahamas on Monday, the Vols felt the weight of their 2-4 record.

“They’re hurting right now,” Harper said.

Tennessee’s problems start with what appears to be a lack of leadership. Following the Gonzaga game, Harper was asked who the team’s vocal leader is. Harper paused and seemed to wrack her brain before saying, “Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston are well-respected on the court.”

But well-respected player and on-court leader aren’t exactly synonyms.

And the issues don’t stop there. Two of Tennessee’s biggest problems are the two things that hurt teams the most: defense and turnovers. If you don’t defend, it’s hard to win. And if you don’t take care of the ball, it’s hard to win. If you don’t do either, winning becomes nearly impossible.

The Vols are giving up 73 points per game, which ranks 270 out of 361 in the NCAA. On offense they are averaging a whopping 18.5 turnovers per game (246th in the league), and they even had more turnovers (29) than shots (28) against Ohio State to open the season.

“I do think (the players) understand what we need to do and how we need to play,” Harper told reporters Monday.

Whether that belief is accurate or not, the Vols don’t have a lot of wiggle room in their schedule to figure themselves out. They play No. 11 Virginia Tech on Dec. 4 and then No. 2 Stanford on Dec. 18 before heading into SEC play. Sandwiched in between those top-25 opponents are Chattanooga, Wright State and UCF, which are all must-wins for the struggling Vols.

Harper wanted to play a schedule to prepare her team for the postseason, but right now – though it’s early and a lot can change – the Vols don’t look like a postseason team.

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.