Serena Williams was never going to fade into the background, but few could’ve predicted the spectacular performance the 40-year-old put on to topple No. 2 Anett Kontaveit in the second round of the US Open Wednesday night.

“I’m a pretty good player. This is what I do. I love a challenge, and I’m rising to the challenge,” Williams said following her thrilling 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-2 victory over the 26-year-old Estonian star.

When asked if she surprised herself with her level of play, Williams simply replied, “I am just Serena.”

Vintage Serena was on full display Wednesday, energizing a raucous crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Fans poured into Flushing Meadows to catch a glimpse of what is expected to be Williams’ final US Open ahead of her impending evolution away from tennis.

The 29,959 fans who showed up to Billie Jean King National Tennis Center broke the all-time night-session attendance record — which had been set two nights earlier, when 29,402 showed up for Williams’ opening match.

Arthur Ashe was buzzing after this break point 😤 pic.twitter.com/NHN8U6TLYI

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) September 1, 2022

Williams’ iconic serve helped her in crucial moments. She fired 11 aces to clinch a hard-fought match that extended beyond the two-hour mark.

Kontaveit was a worthy opponent, at times drawing Serena off the court with a powerful baseline game. Williams, however, rose to the occasion, finding her openings and making them count.

“I think she played really well,” Kontaveit said after the match. “I mean, I thought I didn’t play a bad match at all. She definitely raised her level in the third set. She played amazing.”

Williams prevailed on a day where several top seeds faltered, including No. 3 Maria Sakkari, who Williams was projected to face in the semifinals should she advance that far. She now would be projected to face No. 12 Coco Gauff.

With upsets aplenty, Williams’ once-tough road through the bracket looks much more manageable as she heads to the round of 32. She wouldn’t go up against a seeded player until the quarterfinals, when she would be in line to face No. 5 Ons Jabeur if seedings hold true.

First, though, Williams will face No. 46 Ajla Tomljanović in the third round Friday. The Australian downed Evgeniya Rodina in a three-set battle to earn a meeting with Williams, who she has yet to face in her career.

While all eyes will be watching for Williams to continue her final run, the six-time US Open champion insists this campaign is simply icing on the cake.

“I don’t have anything to prove. I don’t have anything to win. I have absolutely nothing to lose,” Williams said.

The Women's Super League (WSL) is growing, with the UK league's top two flights deciding in a Monday expansion vote to enlarge its top tier from 12 to 14 teams ahead of the 2026/27 season.

The number of matches played each season will also balloon from 22 to 26 games to accommodate the incoming clubs, as will established cup competitions.

Monday also saw the WSL vote down a prior proposal to temporarily suspend the relegation and promotion process to accommodate this expansion, deciding instead to adopt a "two up, one down" model for the second-tier WSL2 next season.

As such, the top two finishers of the 2025/26 WSL2 season will automatically join the higher-tier WSL, while the WSL's last-place team will battle the WSL2's third-place club in "a high-profile, high stakes match" for the final spot in the top flight.

After reaching 14 teams, both leagues will return to relegating the last-place WSL finisher while promoting the WSL2's top team for the following season.

Along with the increased investment in club infrastructure, a 14-team WSL keeps pace with the global women's game — most notably, the NWSL, which will become a 16-team league in 2026.

"Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women's game pyramid, and we believe this next evolution of women's professional football will raise minimum standards, create distinction, and incentivize investment across the board," said WSL Football CEO Nikki Doucet.

With EuroBasket set to tip off on Wednesday and injuries mounting league-wide, WNBA teams are filling out dwindling rosters with more short-term contracts — and calling back some familiar faces along the way.

While some European standouts withdrew from EuroBasket consideration — including Phoenix's Satou Sabally and Seattle's Gabby Williams — others, like New York's Leonie Fiebich and Golden State's Temi Fagbenle, will join their national teams for the regional FIBA tournament through the end of June.

Due to these planned absences, WNBA teams temporarily suspend their EuroBasket players' contracts, allowing squads to add others to their rosters.

Players signed due to temporary absences are technically on rest-of-season deals, though the agreements can end whenever the missing athletes return.

In contrast, the league requires that teams release any hardship signings due to injury once squads tally enough healthy original players to satisfy the WNBA's 10-athlete roster minimum.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Featuring a lineup stacked with international talent, Golden State made the most transactions this week, temporarily suspending four regular contracts as 2025 EuroBasket stars departed for the annual competition.

To bolster their depleted bench, the Valkyries brought back 2025 WNBA Draft Cinderella pick Kaitlyn Chen and recent training camp participant Laeticia Amihere on short-term contracts, in addition to guard Aerial Powers and forward Chloe Bibby.

Elsewhere, after losing forward Maddy Siegrist to injury and temporarily suspending the contracts of centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsöder, Dallas acquired center Li Yueru from Seattle — with the Wings possibly needing additional hardship signings in the coming days.

The Storm snagged two future draft picks in the Saturday deal — a second-round selection in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.

Ultimately, teams are striving to find a balance between stocking up and maintaining consistency, all while operating under the WNBA's roster constraints — with further league expansion fast approaching.

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup will wrap up its conference play on Tuesday, as both Eastern and Western teams battle for a ticket to the in-season competition's championship game — and a cut of the $500,000 prize pool.

With 12 of the league's 13 teams facing off across Tuesday's WNBA courts, the results will set the stage by minting the two squads who will battle in the July 1st final showdown.

Reigning Commissioner's Cup champs Minnesota have the West's easiest path, as a win over the Las Vegas Aces will send the Lynx to a second straight final.

Should the Lynx fall to the Aces, however, Seattle can grab the Western Conference berth by beating the Los Angeles Sparks.

Meanwhile in the East, a surging Atlanta could land a trip to the final by topping New York, while the Liberty need both a win over the Dream plus a loss by the Indiana Fever to clinch their own return ticket to the Cup's grand finale.

If New York does take down Atlanta, the Fever could advance to the team's first-ever Commissioner's Cup final by beating the struggling Connecticut Sun.

How to watch Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup games

All of Tuesday's six WNBA games count toward the 2025 Commissioner's Cup tally.

The action begins with the Atlanta Dream tipping off against the New York Liberty while the Indiana Fever battles the Connecticut Sun at 7 PM ET, live on WNBA League Pass.

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese made headlines this week, with the second-year WNBA forward announcing that she has trademarked word "mebounds" — a slang term opposing fans use to describe Reese rebounding her own missed shots.

"Whoever came up with the 'mebounds' thing, y’all ate that up, because mebounds, rebounds, keybounds...anything that comes off that board, it's mine," Reese said in a TikTok video on Saturday.

"And a brand? That's six figures right there," she continued, referencing her trademark application. "The trolling — I love when y'all do it because the ideas be good!"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Currently averaging 11.9 boards per matchup, Reese is leading the WNBA in rebounds for the second straight season.

Her rookie campaign saw Reese average 13.1 boards per game, a rate that set a single-season league record. She also blasted through the WNBA's consecutive double-double record last season, claiming it with 10 straight before extending it to an impressive 15 games.

Along with the average rebounds record, Reese also broke the single-season total rebounds record previously held by retired Minnesota Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles — a mark that was later surpassed by 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson following Reese's season-ending wrist injury.

"Statistically, all the rebounds that I get aren't always just mine," Reese added in her Saturday social media post. "They're the defense's, too, or somebody else on my team."