As the calendar turns to a new year, now is as good a time as any to look back at some of Just Women’s Sports’ best conversations of 2021.

Snacks, the Just Women’s Sports Podcast and Tea with A & Phee all welcomed some of the best athletes in sports to spill some secrets, relive their most iconic moments and share never-before-heard stories with the JWS fam.

Feed your ears during some holiday downtime with our 10 favorite podcast episodes from 2021:

10. Tea with A & Phee: Dawn Staley

When Dawn Staley stopped by the Tea with A & Phee podcast in August, the Team USA and South Carolina coach did not disappoint. Getting honest with Napheesa Collier and A’ja Wilson about NIL, interviewing for the Portland Trail Blazers job and her favorite Olympic memories, Staley spilled the tea with incredible candor and humor.

9. Snacks: Megan Rapinoe

Snacks kicked off their second season with guest Megan Rapinoe in an episode to remember. The USWNT star reminisced about the first time she met teammates Mewis and Williams, handed out some sage fashion advice and revealed Sue Bird’s famous breakfast sandwich recipe. The veteran forward also talked about how she learned to harness her voice as an activist and stand up for what she believes in.

8. Just Women’s Sports: Sasha Banks

At 29 years old, Sasha Banks is one of the most accomplished and decorated athletes in the WWE. She stopped by the JWS podcast in June, telling Kelley O’Hara what it was like coming up in a male-dominated field. “I just wanted to prove to the guys every single night that women can wrestle,” said Banks.

7. Tea with A & Phee: Jrue and Lauren Holiday

Power couple Jrue and Lauren Holiday swapped stories from their respective careers, with Jrue recounting his NBA championship and Olympic run, and Lauren sharing memories from her days with the USWNT. The duo also told Collier and Wilson what it’s like living in a household of elite athletes, including just how competitive things can get on and off the court.

6. Just Women’s Sports: Tina Charles

Tina Charles is a basketball legend, with three gold medals to her name and 11 seasons in the WNBA under her belt. The 33-year-old relives some of her favorite memories from her renowned career with O’Hara, telling the JWS host about winning her first gold in London, playing abroad and building a legacy that transcends sports.

5. Snacks: Midge Purce

Gotham FC and USWNT star Margaret Purce stopped by the Snacks podcast in October, giving listeners a behind-the-scenes look into the founding of the Black Women’s Player Collective. Purce explains that the group was born out of conversations between players during the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup around the issue of kneeling during the anthem.

“I think all the conversations and the responsibility that the Black players on all the teams were being given and delegated to explain the dynamic of race in America, and then their experiences, their challenges, and their privileges — it became a lot,” says Purce.

4. Just Women’s Sports: Lynn Williams

In an epic Just Women’s Sports crossover event, Snacks co-host Lynn Williams sat down with USWNT teammate Kelley O’Hara to discuss her unique and illustrious career for both club and country. Williams gives listeners an inside look into her rollercoaster ride with the national team: after falling off the 2019 World Cup roster, Williams returned to the team first as an alternate, then as a full member of the 2020 Olympic squad. The star forward certainly left her mark in Tokyo, scoring a game-saving goal in the quarterfinals.

3. Just Women’s Sports: Alyssa Naeher

Alyssa Naeher joined USWNT teammate Kelley O’Hara on the Just Women’s Sports podcast in September, chronicling her struggle to break into the national team. Training in Hope Solo’s shadow, Naeher spent years working toward the U.S. starting goalkeeper position. Finally, in 2019 Naeher was awarded the role, proving herself in the 2019 World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics with a number of iconic PK saves.

2. Tea with A & Phee: Team USA 3×3

Kelsey Plum, Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray and Jackie Young joined Wilson and Collier fresh off clinching an Olympic gold medal in 3×3 Basketball. The squad gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look into their Tokyo journey, shares the real story behind the team’s epic champagne celebration and talks about what’s next for the golden crew.

1. Snacks: Kristie Mewis

“Are you having an okay time?” The expression first uttered on the Snacks podcast started as a humorous moment between sisters Kristie and Sam Mewis and has since taken on a life of its own. With hilarious sibling stories and candid Olympic insights, Kristie’s appearance on Snacks was an instant classic.

The grass court chaos of Wimbledon didn't disappoint this week, as the unpredictable surface claimed more than one surprise victim in the 2025 Grand Slam's first round.

A full 10 of the London tournament's 32 seeded players fell in the competition's first round, including four of the WTA's Top 10: World No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Qinwen Zheng, and No. 9 Paula Badosa.

"I should just play no tournaments, get no wins, then roll into Wimbledon, and maybe I'll have better results," US star Pegula joked after her two-set Tuesday loss to Italy's No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto, referencing her recent wins.

Gauff's short Wimbledon outing also represented a new challenge for the 21-year-old standout, as the top-ranked US tennis player struggled to bounce back after winning the 2025 French Open last month.

"I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards," Gauff told ESPN. "So I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it."

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The upsets continued as Wimbledon entered its second round on Wednesday morning, claiming several more seeded players like world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini and No. 15 Diana Shnaider, though both No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded fan favorite Naomi Osaka cruised into the Slam's third round on two-set wins.

No. 8 Madison Keys now leads the US contingent, with fellow US contender No. 12 Amanda Anisimova joining the 2025 Australian Open champion in snagging their own two-set, second-round victories on Wednesday.

How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon Championships

Second-round play at the 2025 Wimbledon women's singles tournament continues on Thursday, as seven US players — including No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 28 Sofia Kenin — look to advance to the competition's third round.

Live continuous coverage of the London Grand Slam airs on ESPN.

The world No. 1 USWNT will close out their summer international break against a familiar foe on Wednesday night, facing North American rival No. 8 Canada for the first time this year.

"It's never friendly, you know? It's always like a final," US midfielder Sam Coffey told media earlier this week. "We all know each other super well."

"I'm really excited to be a part of it again for our younger, newer players," she continued. "I think it's going to be a huge learning opportunity on what representing this crest means."

The Northern neighbors are the USWNT's most frequent opponent, with the US entering the pair's 67th meeting with a 53-4-9 all-time record against Canada.

Wednesday's matchup will also mark Canada's first US clash under new head coach Casey Stoney, who joined the team in January following her abrupt June 2024 dismissal by the NWSL's San Diego Wave FC.

As for US boss Emma Hayes, she'll be looking for yet another refreshed set of starters on Wednesday after swapping out all 11 players between the team's two friendlies against Ireland last week.

"It's a testament to players and staff alike that we can rotate to different groups like we did last game, and everybody's understanding [the tactics] to varying degrees," Hayes said on Tuesday.

With months to go before the next USWNT camp in October, Wednesday's showdown serves as the last chance for bubble players to prove their worth, all while the team aims to cap the summer window with a big win over their longtime rivals.

How to watch the USWNT vs. Canada on Wednesday

The USWNT will cap their three-friendly summer break against Canada at 7:30 PM ET in Washington, DC.

Live coverage of the clash will air on TNT.

The Indiana Fever lifted their first trophy since 2012 on Tuesday night, winning the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup with a 74-59 upset victory over reigning Cup champs Minnesota — all while injured star guard Caitlin Clark watched from the sidelines.

To snag the win, Indiana leaned on balanced scoring, with forward Natasha Howard's 16-point, 12-rebound double-double leading the Fever's five double-digit shooters.

At the same time, the Fever employed a shutdown defense, limiting the Lynx to their lowest point total of the season.

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Beyond the $500,000 payout, Tuesday's win gives the 8-8 Fever a momentum boost as the team continues contending with both high-profile departures and the limited availability of their floor general.

"We have a resilient group, you know?" Indiana head coach Stephanie White said after the game. "They're tough, mentally and physically, they pull for one another. I'm just really proud."

"It felt good to get a win under gut-check circumstances," echoed guard Kelsey Mitchell. "To have so much going on and still stay consistently for each other, it was beautiful. It felt really amazing."

As for the league-leading Lynx, the Commissioner's Cup loss won't impact Minnesota's regular-season WNBA standings — and they’ll hope to build on the learnings from last night's ego blow.

Minnesota also has a bit of history one their side, as the last two Commissioner's Cup runners-up went on to win the WNBA Championship in the same year.

"We have to take this game to heart and learn from the mistakes we made, the way we showed up, the way we prepared, and make sure we don't do it again," said Lynx center Alanna Smith.

How to watch the Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx this week

Neither 2025 Commissioner's Cup contender will have much time to reflect on Tuesday's game, as both Indiana and Minnesota will dive back into regular-season WNBA play on Thursday.

The Fever will host the Las Vegas Aces at 7 PM ET, airing on Prime, before the Washington Mystics visit the Lynx at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham turned heads on Tuesday, criticizing the latest WNBA expansion plans in light of ongoing WNBPA CBA negotiations.

Cunningham drew ire from some fans after expressing skepticism about the WNBA awarding expansion teams to Detroit and Cleveland over other possible cities, while also suggesting that the league might be growing too quickly.

"You want to listen to your players, too. Where do they want to play?" she told reporters ahead of Indiana's Commissioner's Cup win. "I'm not so sure what the thought process is there, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you're not expanding our league too fast."

"It's kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don't know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]."

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Elsewhere, Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally also voiced her expansion concerns on Tuesday, calling on the WNBA to keep player support at the forefront when adding expansion teams.

"We really have to put an emphasis on the players that are in our league right now," she told reporters. "Maybe focus on the teams that find excuses continuously to lack investment in their players before we focus on adding more to the grain of people that can't really be sustained."