Before the Portland Thorns took the field for the second half against the Houston Dash on Sunday, Christine Sinclair did something she doesn’t normally do.

Ahead 1-0 and 45 minutes away from clinching the red and black’s second-ever NWSL Shield, the captain gathered her team into a huddle and talked to them with an intensity not often seen from the quiet, humble leader.

She only does it once or twice a year.

“That’s her,” Thorns head coach Mark Parsons said after the game. “She knows the moment where she needs to share the wisdom.”

The Thorns went on to hold their lead in the second half, secure the win, and claim the 2021 Shield as the NWSL club with the most points in the regular season.

“There’s no other leader like Sinc,” said Parsons. “She’s the best of the best on the pitch; she’s the best of the best off the pitch. She leads by example by having the highest standards in every moment in everything she does.”

The NWSL Shield adds to a memorable year for Sinclair, who also captained the Canadian national team to their first-ever Olympic gold, and the Thorns to both the Challenge Cup and International Champions Cup titles.

Christine Sinclair just keeps winning
👏 @sincy12
NWSL Shield 2016 🏆 2021 🏆
NWSL Championship 2013 🏆 2017 🏆
NWSL Fall Series 2020 🏆
NWSL Challenge Cup 2021 🏆
International Champions Cup 2021 🏆
WPS Championship 2010 🏆 2011 🏆
WPS Season 2010 🏆 2011 🏆
USL W-League 2006 🏆 pic.twitter.com/SZfJDLn1fi

— Canada Soccer's Women's National Team (@CANWNT) October 18, 2021

Portland hasn’t lost a title since the 2020 Challenge Cup. In last year’s Fall Series, Sinclair scored six goals, including a hat trick against OL Reign, throughout the final three matches to lead the Thorns to first place.

Parsons summed it up in the simplest, most accurate way: “Sinc wins trophies.”

On a personal level, the Burnaby, B.C. native has also been nominated for the 2021 Ballon d’Or. Since the award was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19, it’ll be the first one handed out since her historic 185th goal that made her international soccer’s all-time leading scorer.

She’s also top of her league. There are no official all-time stats for the NWSL, but according to a CBC article, Sinclair had 61 goals at the end of the 2021 Challenge Cup, while Lynn Williams had 59, and with Sinclair’s five regular-season goals and Williams’ seven, the two are tied at 66, making them the active players with the most all-time league goals. (Chelsea’s Sam Kerr still holds the NWSL record, with 88).

It makes sense why Sinclair would prefer a quieter leadership style. Her talent speaks volumes on its own.

“She’s not the type of ‘rah-rah’ leader you would expect captains to be,” said Thorns teammate and goalkeeper Bella Bixby. “She leads by example, and she leads with just a presence that we respond really well to when she’s around.”

“I think she’s someone we all look to in terms of how to manage the game and just locking it down for us.”

But humility is also just naturally who Sinclair is. She’s never been drawn to the media or sponsorships, always turns reporters’ questions about her into answers about the team, and repeatedly says that for her it’s never been about the records, it’s about being a good teammate.

“When I talk about players that I’ve learned from as a coach and as a person, I often think of many, but no one like Sinc,” said Parsons.

“She always puts everyone else first, and as a result we have not just the best player, but the best leader on our club and we’re proud of it.”

All this isn’t to say Sinclair doesn’t have her moments of being human. She’s been caught swearing in frustration at a game or getting upset with teammates. On Sunday, she was subbed out in the 75th minute, fuming and ignoring high fives on her way to the bench after playing through a nasty hit to the ankles from Dash midfielder and Canadian teammate Sophie Schmidt.

Schmidt has been playing with Sinclair the longest of anyone on the current national team. They’ll return to Canada this week, along with the rest of the Canadian squad, to start the Celebration Tour for the Olympic gold, beginning Oct. 23 in Ottawa, Ont.

It’s celebration time! Canada…see you soon! pic.twitter.com/lGkCUdohD8

— Christine Sinclair (@sincy12) October 18, 2021

Sinclair hasn’t made any indications of retiring as the Canadians head into preparations for the 2023 FIFA World Cup. She’ll have just turned 40 by the time the tournament begins.

She certainly doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

On Sunday, Parsons was impressed with her counter pressing and the way she set up the attack.

“She’s looking as good, as effective and as intense even in our fourth game in 10 days,” he said. “In the first half she was counter pressing and setting attacks up. It was just like her first game of the four games in 10 days.”

After one more regular season game on Oct. 30 against the North Carolina Courage, the Thorns will move onto the Nov. 14 semifinals where they have clinched home-field advantage.

Being backed by Sinclair’s leadership provides a sense of composure for Portland as they look to finish strong on a dominant season.

“[She’s] often there for me,” said Parsons. “Oftentimes I lean on her for support, if I ask her about the right thing that can help the team at the right time. She’s always, always set me up to help the team in the best way I can.”

Jessa Braun is an editorial intern at Just Women’s Sports. She is also the Head of North American Content for the Women’s Sports Alliance. You can follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

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.