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France’s Tessa Worley enters Beijing Olympics with winning perspective

Tessa Worley has been in peak form in the months leading up to the Beijing Olympics. (Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)

Two-time Olympian Tessa Worley, France’s best hope for a medal in women’s alpine skiing, is ready for this year’s Winter Games in China despite the uncertainty that surrounds the new course in Xiaohaituo.

Normally, there is at least one event held at newly constructed alpine venues before the Olympic events officially begin. The trial runs are beneficial for both the athletes and the race organizers and officiating teams, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its associated travel restrictions precluded such a possibility. That’s why the 32-year-old champion is preparing for big races as she always does, adhering to a recipe that’s enabled her to compete at the summit of her sport and inspire others.

“I’m looking forward to being really relaxed about it, trying to be able to not be disturbed by everything new that’s going to come to us,” Worley says. “There’s a lot of stuff that’s unknown.”

For more than 15 years, Worley has carved out a career as one of the world’s elite alpine racers. A member of the French national team since 2005, she had her first elite-level giant slalom victory at age 19, when she clocked 2:12.86 at the November 2008 International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup in Aspen, Colo.

Since then, she’s proved her mettle year after year, notably in her best event: giant slalom. Worley is a two-time GS world champion (2013, 2017), and in 2017 won the FIS World Cup GS season title, edging out American Mikaela Shiffrin (second place) and Italian Sofia Goggia (third place) for the crown. Worley has yet to add an Olympic medal to her collection, but that doesn’t take away from her greatness, according to French Olympic alpine skiing medalist and Eurosport expert Flo Masnada.

“To be on the podium where she wins every year, that’s a giant,” Masnada said of Worley. “The French often have the reputation of having good skiers, but it isn’t enough to win lap times or to go fast. What makes the difference at the highest level is the mental aspect. You must go for the extremes, you must push yourself, you must want it a little more than the others. That’s what makes the difference.”

Worley’s recipe for success, while founded on exceptional physical and technical skills, is also heavily predicated on mental outlook and resiliency.

“It’s about believing in yourself,” Worley said. “That’s not always easy, especially if you’re not as physically prepared. But when I have difficulties, it makes me hungrier to get better and try to perform. This is something that motivates me.”

Part of Worley’s motivation stems from the fact that skiing runs through her veins. Born Oct. 4, 1989 in the eastern French city of Annemasse, which hugs the Swiss border, Worley spent the bulk of her early childhood halfway around the world, first in her father’s native Australia, and then New Zealand, where her parents were ski instructors. Having been on skis since she was a toddler, Worley competed in her first race as a 5-year old at Mt. Lyford. But by the late 1990s, the family relocated back to her mother’s homeland, where Worley has since been based at Le Grand Bornand.

She credits her mixed cultural heritage and upbringing in New Zealand with helping to fine-tune her competitive spirit.

“I have this little part of me that’s Australia, that’s New Zealand, and from France, of course,” she says of the Anglo-Saxon cultural outlook toward playing sports, which is ingrained as a serious endeavor in Australian, New Zealand, American, Canadian and British societies more so than in their French counterpart. “I’ve experienced great things in sport trying to perform. I think I’m lucky to have a bit of both spirits.”

Masnada, a bronze medalist at the 1992 and 1998 Olympics, notes how important Worley’s multi-cultural background is for her career. “It is reflected in her skiing, in her mentality,” Masnada says. “She is in the moment [when she races], it’s very intense, she’s really into it. I think that’s one of the explanations.”

If Worley looks wildly intense during the race, she is actually enjoying the run, confident in her preparations and letting her skis go downhill and between the gates. In France, there can be an overwhelming pressure to obtain results, and this can take away the pleasure while negatively impacting results. Worley has learned to look beyond it.

“It’s more about enjoying yourself and not all about the results,” she says. “Sometimes you’re not able to perform at the best level because of the pressure.”

That mentality has served Worley well in the past few years, both when pushing through the COVID-19 season last year and coming back from injury. Halfway through the 2019-20 season, Worley had surgery on her right knee and missed a month of racing. She returned to the FIS circuit in mid-February 2020, notching two competitions before bad weather and the pandemic truncated the season.

But it was years earlier that a separate knee injury set Worley on a new course. A crash in December 2013 and subsequent surgery sidelined the star and prevented her from trying to convert a world championship title into an Olympic medal at Sochi in 2014. “I had a difficult time coming back after my first really big injury,” Worley says.

The physical recovery was the easier part. Worley understood that her body needed six-to-seven months to regain its elite-level functionality. The mental aspect, however, was much more difficult. It took her nearly two years to get back into peak mental form. “Once I got past this, I think I got better. I got stronger,” she says.

Indeed, three years after the big injury, she won another title, showing that it isn’t just Worley’s tenacity that sets her apart — it’s also her dedication to chasing perfection and fine-tuning the little details that give her an edge.

“I like to perfect my technical abilities,” Worley says. “I like to train and repeat and try to find the perfect line or the perfect turn around the gates. I prefer being between the gates and trying to go as fast as I can to freeskiing.”

“[Tessa] is an example in her way of preparing for races, that she leaves nothing to chance,” Masnada says. “She will push the team.”

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(Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)

For Olympic teammate Romane Miradoli, Worley provides a model to emulate. “She is not satisfied and is always super motivated, always chasing perfection, even if we know it doesn’t exist,” Miradoli says. “She never balks.”

After all, having a teammate who can help you better understand how to reach and sustain a career at the summit is a tremendous advantage. “It’s a real plus and a real chance,” Miradoli says.

Worley heads into the Beijing Games clocking some of her best times (and as one of Team France’s flag bearers). She won the World Cup giant slalom race in Lienz, Austria on Dec. 28 with a time of 2:03.88 over two runs. It was her first victory since last January at Kronplatz, Italy (2:11.38), and both results were Worley’s first World Cup victories since 2018. Most recently, she snagged second place at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia (2:16.75) on Jan. 8, and third place at Kronplatz on Jan. 25 with a time of 2:04.15.

Worley has also elevated her Super-G performances this year, finishing fifth and sixth in the Jan. 16 (1:11.35) and Jan. 23 (1:21.52) FIS World Cup races, respectively. The last time she topped a Super-G podium was in December 2019 at the St Moritz European Cup, with a time of 1:20.82. Yet, it’s the giant slalom that gives Worley her best chance of medaling at the 2022 Games.

“I’m at a period of my career where, if I go to the Olympics, I just really want to enjoy the moment,” Worley says. “I really want to win.”

Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff is a global sports writer and contributor at Just Women’s Sports. Historian and author of “The Making of Les Bleus: Sport in France, 1958-2010,” she lectures and teaches sports diplomacy classes and contributes to various outlets. Follow her on Twitter @Lempika7.

Phoenix Mercury, Golden State Valkyries Ride Upset Wins into the WNBA Weekend

Phoenix Mercury players including Satou Sabally huddle during a 2025 WNBA game against the New York Liberty.
Phoenix rose to No. 3 in the WNBA standings with Thursday's win over New York. (Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

Two key upsets headlined Thursday's WNBA bill, sending the Phoenix Mercury soaring into third place in the league standings while the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries continued to outwit opponents.

The red-hot Mercury snagged their fourth straight win by taking down the No. 2 New York Liberty 89-81 on Thursday night, overcoming an 35-point performance from two-time MVP Breanna Stewart with five double-digit Phoenix scorers.

Meanwhile out West, the Valkyries stifled a surging No. 7 Fever, downing Indiana 88-77 in part by holding star guard Caitlin Clark to just 3-for-14 from the field — and 0-for-7 from behind the arc.

"We were being disruptive, we know that she doesn't like physicality, we know that she wants to get to that left step-back," Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said about the Valkyries' strategy to effectively contain Clark.

Though the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx and 2024 WNBA champions New York still hold court atop the table, Thursday's actions proves that other squads are making some unexpected in-roads.

Putting together an impressive road record are the Mercury, who will ride a 4-2 away record into their Saturday matchup against the No. 11 Chicago Sky — the last stop on a four-game road trip that's been perfect for Phoenix thus far.

Already flipping the script on expectations is Golden State, with the 2025 expansion team rising despite relying on a hodgepodge roster as several players compete at EuroBasket 2025. The Valkyries will aim to keep their winning momentum in their Sunday clash with the No. 12 Connecticut Sun.

How to watch the Mercury, Valkyries this weekend

Both of Thursday's victors will be back in action this weekend, with Phoenix facing Chicago at 1 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on ABC.

Then on Sunday, Golden State will host Connecticut at 8:30 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

Las Vegas Aces Aim to Stop Skid Ahead of Tough WNBA Weekend Matchups

Las Vegas's A'ja Wilson tries to defend a lay-up from Seattle's Gabby Williams during a 2025 WNBA game.
The Las Vegas Aces will face both Seattle and Indiana this weekend. (Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images)

In another weekend full of WNBA action, all eyes are on Las Vegas, as the No. 8 Aces will try to curb a two-game losing streak against two formidable opponents.

A successful weekend for Las Vegas could hinge on three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson's potential return from injury, with the star forward recently upgraded to "questionable" after landing in concussion protocol last week.

Overall, the margin for error has narrowed in the middle of the WNBA pack, as talented teams continue to translate quality performances into consistency.

  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 8 Las Vegas Aces, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Aces will try to end their free fall in Friday's head-to-head battle with a Seattle side that can beat anybody at their best.
  • No. 7 Indiana Fever vs. No. 8 Las Vegas Aces, Sunday at 3 PM ET (ESPN): Las Vegas next faces a Fever team still smarting from Thursday's away loss to the Golden State Valkyries, with both teams narrowly clinging to positions above the playoff line.
  • No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 5 Seattle Storm, Sunday at 7 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The Liberty have a comfortable hold on second place, but with two losses in their last three games, New York is flirting with danger entering their Sunday game with Seattle — particularly if star big Jonquel Jones is out after suffering a knock to the ankle on Thursday.

Ultimately, there's no rest for the weary in the WNBA, as a series of difficult matchups can see a single error quickly slide into a losing streak.

NWSL Kicks Off Final Gameday Slate Ahead of Summer Break

The San Diego Wave celebrate a goal by María Sánchez during a 2025 NWSL match.
The San Diego Wave will take on 2024 runners-up Washington on Sunday. (Marcus Ingram/Getty Images)

The final NWSL weekend heading into the league's six-week summer break has arrived, giving teams one more chance to prove themselves before regular-season play pauses to make way for major international tournaments.

With a five-point gap separating No. 1 Kansas City from No. 2 Orlando in the NWSL standings, the Current will enter the break as the 2025 Shield frontrunners regardless of this weekend's results.

Despite Kansas City's grip atop the table, there's still plenty of room for movement both above and below the postseason cutoff line, as clubs across the NWSL look to wrap their midseason finales on a high note:

  • No. 1 Kansas City Current vs. No. 10 Angel City FC, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): Angel City has a shot at launching themselves above the cutoff line on Friday, but they'll have to snap the Current's five-game winning streak to make it happen.
  • No. 8 Gotham FC vs. No. 9 Bay FC, Saturday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): Gotham and Bay FC enter the weekend tied on points while staring at each other from on opposite sides of the playoff line — meaning a Saturday win for either club could set the tone for the rest of the 2025 season.
  • No. 3 San Diego Wave FC vs. No. 4 Washington Spirit, Sunday at 10 PM ET (CBS Sports): The weekend's only top-table clash could see San Diego sprint back into second place — unless Washington leapfrogs the upstart Wave to claim the third-place spot.

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Ups Purse to $12 Million, Ties LPGA Tour Record

Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul hits a shot during the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
Thai golfer Jeeno Thitikul is in the lead after one round at the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

The LPGA Tour has turned its attention to Texas, with the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship — the third major of the pro golf season — teeing off in Frisco to a flurry of first-round action on Thursday.

All of the sport's Top 100 athletes are participating in this week's event, including No. 1 Nelly Korda, who sits in a 14th-place tie with an even-par first-round performance, and surging US dark horse No. 50 Lexi Thompson, who tied for 10th in her Thursday return from a brief retirement.

However, leading the pack heading into Friday's second round is Thailand's world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, who finished the first day of competition atop the leaderboard with a score of 4-under-par.

Australia's No. 24 Minjee Lee also posted a strong start, capping Thursday at 3-under to sit in second place.

While the sport's best chase victory on the links, the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship is already making history off the green.

Not only is it the first-ever women's major to tee off at Frisco's Fields Ranch East, the tournament also increased its purse to $12 million on Tuesday — nearly tripling the $4.5 million prize pool from just four years ago and tying the US Women's Open for the LPGA Tour's highest payout in the process.

How to watch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

The third LPGA Grand Slam of 2025 continues through Sunday.

Friday's second round will air live on the Golf Channel, while coverage of Saturday and Sunday's final rounds will air across NBC and Peacock.

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