So far during the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, only one team has challenged the United States.

When China clashed with Team USA during group play on Sept. 23, they kept the score closer than any other team, losing 77-63 to a U.S. squad that has defeated its opponents by an average of 39.9 points heading into the gold-medal game.

China has been dominant in its own right, beating all of its opponents, including host Australia in the semifinals.

The two sides will meet at 2 a.m. ET Saturday morning to battle for the world championship, with plenty of star power leading each team. The game will air on ESPN and stream live on ESPN+.

Here are the most dominant Chinese and American players so far.

A’ja Wilson

The WNBA regular-season MVP and Defensive Player of the Year has continued her commanding play after leading the Las Vegas Aces to their first WNBA title.

Just 18 hours after getting off her plane in Sydney, Wilson dropped 20 points against China, and she hasn’t let up since. Wilson has averaged 16.8 points and 8 rebounds per game over her five appearances. In the semifinals, she helped Team USA blow past Canada with a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Wilson is also perfect from the free-throw line, making all 18 of her attempts, and is shooting an efficient 70.2% from the field.

We'll have it A'ja's way. And so will she. The @WNBA MVP @_ajawilson22 continues her hot streak in pursuit of her second #FIBAWWC gold medal.

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) September 29, 2022

Kelsey Plum

Another Aces player making her mark at the international level, Plum is averaging 15.6 points and 4.4 assists per game through five games in a USA uniform.

Like Wilson, she’s been efficient in scoring, shooting 62.5% from the field, 40% from beyond the arc and 90% from the free-throw line. Plum has also been near a double-double twice, with 19 points and 9 assists against Korea and then 20 points and 7 assists in a matchup with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Breanna Stewart

In case we needed any more evidence as to why she’s about to be the most sought-after WNBA free agent this offseason, Stewart continues to turn in impressive international performances.

She’s averaging 13.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game, doing a little bit of everything for Team USA.

Stewart opened FIBA play by leading her squad past Belgium with 22 points and 4 rebounds. In the semifinal contest with Canada, she had 17 points and 8 rebounds, as well as 3 blocked shots on defense.

Stewie was on fire from outside as Team USA booked another appearance in the World Cup Final 🔥#FIBAWWC x @TCL_Global pic.twitter.com/J9xopoAv2i

— FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWWC) September 30, 2022

Li Meng

Despite having two WNBA players on the roster, Li has stolen the show for China. The 27-year-old, who plays her professional basketball for the Shenyang Army Golden Lions, is leading her team with 16 points per game.

When China faced the U.S. in the group stage, Li played 32 minutes and scored 21 points. She went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Li also helped her team get by France in the quarterfinals with 23 points.

Throughout the World Cup, Li has continued her hot shooting from 3-point range, making 40.7% of her attempts.

Han Xu

A name that Liberty fans know well, Han played perhaps her best game of the tournament in the semifinals against Australia.

She had 19 points, 11 rebounds for a double-double, and added in 5 blocked shots on the defensive end. Han also shot 80% from the field (8-10) and made all three of her free-throw attempts. Her monster performance was especially crucial for China as Li Meng did not play due to a reported illness.

Over her seven games for China, Han has averaged 13 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.9 blocked shots.

Xu Han played the game of her life to guide China to the World Cup Final 🌟🇨🇳#FIBAWWC x @TCL_Global pic.twitter.com/5fJrMEAhho

— FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWWC) September 30, 2022

Li Yueru

Though she didn’t get many minutes for the Sky this season, Li is another player with WNBA experience. On the national stage, however, she is playing 17.7 minutes per game for China and making significant contributions.

The 24-year-old is averaging 8.9 points, 7 rebounds and 1.4 assists, while also using her 6-foot-7 frame to make an impact in the paint. Her two best games came in the group stage, when she recorded 13 points and 9 rebounds against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 16 points and 8 rebounds against Puerto Rico.

The PWHL is continuing to break records, as Sunday's 2025/26 Takeover Tour stop in Washington, DC, saw 17,228 fans pack into Capital One Arena to see the No. 2 New York Sirens top the No. 4 Montréal Victoire 2-1 — setting a new US women's hockey attendance record in the process.

The benchmark surpasses the previous US record set this past November, when the Seattle Torrent welcomed 16,014 fans to their inaugural home opener.

Sunday's DC crowd also sees the US mark inch closer to the overall professional women's hockey attendance record, set in April 2024 when 21,105 PWHL fans sold out Montréal's Bell Centre to watch the Victoire take on the Toronto Sceptres.

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"Washington, DC, showed up in such a big way, and the energy our fans brought into the arena turned this game into something truly special," PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer said of the first-ever PWHL game in the nation's capital. "Moments like this capture the joy of our sport and the momentum behind the league."

The third-year league is currently racing through its best-attended month on record, drawing more than 154,000 fans across the last 16 games while averaging crowds of 8,726 across all 49 games so far this season.

The Kansas City Current delivered some concerning news this week, with the NWSL club revealing that star striker Temwa Chawinga remains sidelined with an hip adductor injury while the league's 2026 preseason gets underway.

The team currently lists the reigning back-to-back NWSL MVP under a season-ending injury (SEI) designation, a category earned after Chawinga picked up the injury in mid-October, leaving the Kansas City attacker benched for the Current's quarterfinal loss to eventual 2025 NWSL champions Gotham FC.

"It's hard because of the nature of the injury," incoming Kansas City head coach Chris Armas told The Athletic last week. "With Temwa, we've got to be very careful, but she's looking great and doing lots of good work on the return to play."

Also on the Current's SEI list is standout winger Michelle Cooper, with the 23-year-old rising USWNT star suffering a foot injury in Kansas City's final regular-season match of 2025.

"It was a little bit of a tough ending here after, honestly, an amazing historic season," said Armas. "Hopefully they are back as soon as possible, but it's still unclear."

Both Chawinga and Cooper will have some time to recover before Kansas City kicks off their 2026 NWSL regular season against the Utah Royals on March 14th — with teams allowed to lift a player's SEI status any time once the season begins.

The world's top tennis stars are rolling in Melbourne, as the first round of the 2026 Australian Open wrapped early Tuesday morning with only a few ranked seeds suffering early defeats.

World No. 15 Emma Navarro was the highest-ranked US player to fall in the first round, with the 24-year-old exiting the season's first Grand Slam in a 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 loss to Poland's No. 50 Magda Linette on Sunday.

No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova also stumbled in the first round, with her Melbourne run ending in a three-set loss to Turkey's No. 112 Zeynep Sönmez on Saturday before No. 68 Peyton Stearns ousted fellow US star and 2020 Australian Open champion No. 30 Sofia Kenin in straight sets on Sunday.

Many contenders still remain in the hunt, however, as the entire WTA Top 10 cruised through their opening matchups to advance to the Slam's second round.

That said, fans will miss out on one highly anticipated showdown, as wild card entry Venus Williams's first-round loss ended the 45-year-old tennis icon's path to a second-round clash with US favorite No. 3 Coco Gauff.

How to watch the second round of the 2026 Australian Open

The 2026 Australian Open continues when the Slam's second round kicks off with a Tuesday night slate that features stars like No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 7 Jasmine Paolini.

Tuesday's action begins at 7 PM ET, with all Melbourne matches airing live across ESPN platforms.

The ongoing dominance of UConn basketball has started to break records, as the top-ranked Huskies humbled unranked Notre Dame 85-47 on Monday — keeping their perfect 2025/26 NCAA season intact.

Monday's 38-point margin of victory marked the largest in the teams' 20-year rivalry, with the win also snapping the Huskies' three-game head-to-head losing streak against the Fighting Irish.

"UConn showed why they're the best team in the country," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said postgame.

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Even more, UConn sophomore forward Sarah Strong added her own individual history to Monday's tally, becoming the third-fastest Husky to reach 1,000 career points, with the 19-year-old trailing only program legends Maya Moore and Paige Bueckers — who each did so in 55 games to Strong's 59 — in the race to reach that stat.

"I would love to see if anybody has scored 1,000 points by taking less shots than she's taking," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. "She's so efficient."

"It means a lot to me I guess, but I wouldn't be able to do it without my teammates," Strong said after leading the Huskies with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double on Monday night.

How to watch UConn basketball this week

UConn now returns to Big East play, with the No. 1 Huskies taking on unranked Georgetown at 7:30 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on TNT.