The Washington Spirit booked themselves some sweet revenge on Friday, lifting the 2025 Challenge Cup after taking down 2024 NWSL Championship foes Orlando in a penalty shootout.

The Pride were hunting an exclusive claim to all NWSL hardware entering the match, hoping to kick off the 2025 season holding the league's Shield, Championship trophy, and Challenge Cup.

Instead, the Spirit snagged some early-season momentum, buoyed by yet another penalty save by Washington goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury.

"We’re looking to write a new story — we were upset about how last year ended, but this is about this team, this year, and this is a great first step," Kingsbury said after the game.

View this post on Instagram

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

Penalty kicks fuel injury-hampered Spirit to Challenge Cup title

Washington's win came in the wake of mounting early-season injuries, though Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman did enter as a second-half sub — despite her lingering back issue.

Pride defender Rafaelle opened scoring late in the first half, slotting a second-chance ball into the side netting through a flood of Spirit defenders to put Orlando on the board.

Washington equalized in the 72nd minute, as Spirit midfielder Leicy Santos made NWSL history by launching the second-ever direct free kick goal in any final.

The match ended 1-1 in regulation. According to the contest's rules, there are no overtime periods in the Challenge Cup, forcing the Pride and Spirit to decide the result from the penalty spot.

The game-deciding shootout saw Washington outpace Orlando 4-2, allowing the Spirit to avenge their 2024 championship loss by immediately earning a 2025 trophy.

Notably, the Spirit are enjoying a unique penalty kick run, tallying their third shootout win in a knockout game — more than any other club in NWSL history.

While the regular season doesn’t officially start until Friday, the NWSL’s top two clubs hit the ground running — with Washington already proving just how quickly the tide can turn in the world’s most competitive league.

Top-ranked players cruised through the competition at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells over the weekend, with few early-round upsets leaving the sport’s best firmly intact as the Round of 32 enters its second day.

Defending champion and world No. 2 Iga Świątek has put together the tournament's most dominant performance so far, with the Polish phenom dropping just four total games in her first two victories over France's Caroline Garcia and Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska.

On the other hand, several lower seeded players suffered early round losses.

Yastremska opened her Indian Wells account by ousting Tunisian star and world No. 32 Ons Jabeur 6-3, 6-1 in Friday's first round.

Meanwhile, Saturday saw Canada's No. 27 Leylah Annie Fernandez and the US's No. 18 Amanda Anisimova fall in three-set first-round battles with Romania's Jaqueline Cristian and Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, respectively.

Sunday's play went mostly according to seeding, with the lone second-round upset win going to Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. The world No. 23 player sent the US's No. 14 Danielle Collins packing with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat.

Top 5 players look to roll to the Round of 16

While Świątek and US standout No. 4 Jessica Pegula booked their Round of 16 spots on Sunday, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka as well as US stars No. 3 Coco Gauff and No. 5 Madison Keys will take the court for their second-round matchups on Monday afternoon.

Keys faces perhaps the toughest path to the trophy.

If the 2025 Australian Open champion clears Belgium's No. 28 Elise Mertens on Monday, she could face Gauff in an all-US quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Then, a potential date with 2024 US Open winner Sabalenka — who Keys defeated to secure her first-ever Grand Slam win — awaits in the tournament's penultimate round.

How to watch the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells 

The conclusion of the tournament's second round is currently underway, with live coverage airing on the Tennis Channel.

While NCAA basketball conference champions celebrate their trophies and automatic entries into March Madness, top contenders on the losing side are facing more questions than answers — with limited time to regroup before Selection Sunday.

After No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 7 NC State both fell to tournament champion — and emerging dark horse — No. 11 Duke this weekend, projections shifted such that the ACC is not likely to field a No. 1 seed in the national bracket.

No. 9 LSU similarly struggled, losing 56-49 in the tournament semifinal to eventual SEC runner-up No. 1 Texas.

That said, the Tigers' woes, however, could be short-lived. LSU endured the entire conference tournament without leading scorer Flau'jae Johnson due to a shin injury, and then saw standout senior Aneesah Morrow — the team's second most prolific scorer — exit their SEC semifinal loss with a re-aggravated foot sprain.

Both are expected to be back in action when the NCAA tournament tips off.

Win-or-go-home NCAA tournament looms large

Other teams are confronting harder-to-identify issues.

"I feel like we played below our standard. So that's frustrating. We’ve got to get better, and that’s on me," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said after Saturday’s ACC semifinal defeat. "I need to make this team get better, and that’s something that, when we’re back on the court, we will be better for this loss."

Even squads that fell in conference tournament finals departed the arena knowing that next time, there will be no second chance.

"I certainly think we have established ourselves as one of the top two teams in the cup when it comes to seeding," said Texas head coach Vic Schaefer after Sunday’s championship loss to No. 5 South Carolina. "We’ll learn from that [loss].… We’ve earned our way, and we’ll trust the committee to make that [seeding] decision. Whatever they make, we’ll roll with it."

Not every talent-laden team will make it to April's Final Four, but with adjustments, a conference tournament stumble could become a mere footnote in a longer postseason journey.

How to watch the NCAA tournament Selection Sunday Show

The road to Tampa officially kicks off when the NCAA basketball committee reveals the 68-team Division I tournament bracket on Selection Sunday, March 16th.

The Selection Show will air live at 8 PM ET on ESPN.

The Power Four wrapped up their 2024/25 NCAA basketball seasons on Sunday, with newly minted conference tournament champions punching their tickets to the March Madness tournament.

While the Big 12's weekend was all chalk as No. 8 TCU added their first tournament title since 2005 to their 2024/25 regular-season conference trophy on Sunday, the ACC capped their contest with chaos.

No. 11 Duke put the conference — and the NCAA selection committee — on notice, upsetting both No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 7 NC State en route to their first ACC tournament championship in 12 years.

In the SEC, No. 5 South Carolina had the last word against No. 1 Texas. After splitting their two 2024/25 meetings and sharing the regular-season title, the defending national champion Gamecocks turned the SEC tournament final into a defensive masterclass, defeating the Longhorns 64-45 to claim the conference trophy.

Meanwhile, Sunday's Big Ten finale saw No. 4 UCLA enact revenge on their crosstown rivals, No. 2 USC. After dropping both their matchups and ceding the conference's regular-season title to the Trojans, the Bruins held USC to just 34.3% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc to snag the tournament crown with a 72-67 win.

Conference winners eye NCAA tournament seeding

With their Sunday wins and their automatic entries into the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament, conference champions are now eyeing their shots at top national seedings.

While TCU and Duke each made strong cases for increasing their seeds, UCLA and South Carolina fully cemented themselves as frontrunners to top the 2024/25 bracket.

"When you win this [SEC] tournament and play the schedule that we play, I do think we’re the No. 1 overall seed," remarked South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. "There isn’t anybody in the country that has played the schedule that we have played, that had share of the regular-season title, won this tournament and beat the No. 1 team in the country."

The stats back up Staley's claims. South Carolina played more Top 25 opponents this season than any other currently ranked squad, winning 12 of those games — seven against Top 10 teams. The only three losses they logged all season came against No. 1 Texas, No. 3 UConn, and No. 4 UCLA, with the Gamecocks handing the Longhorns two defeats in return.

UCLA head coach Cori Close took a more diplomatic approach when asked about top seeding after winning the Big Ten title.

"I think it would mean a lot for us [and USC] both to be No. 1 seeds," Close told ESPN. "And I hope we do get the chance to do it [in the Final Four] in Tampa a fourth time."

The final decisions rest with the selection committee, who will reveal their 2024/25 NCAA tournament bracket this Sunday.

How to watch Monday's Big East tournament final

Though the Power Four have handed out their hardware, other DI conference tournaments will be in action all week, with the Big East championship tipping off Monday night.

No. 3 UConn is hunting their fifth straight Big East tournament trophy, but they'll have to beat No. 23 Creighton to hoist it.

The No. 1-seed Huskies and No. 2-seed Bluejays will tip off at 7 PM ET, with live coverag on FS1.

The WTA announced sweeping new parental protections on Thursday, with over 300 players becoming eligible to receive paid parental leave for the first time in the pro tennis organization’s history.

Despite their year-round schedule, WTA players are technically independent contractors, a status that previously limited their access to benefits.

Players can now apply for up to 12 months of leave for carrying a child, while athletes who become parents through surrogacy, adoption, or partner pregnancy are eligible for a two-month leave.

The program also allots grants to support fertility treatments, including egg freezing and IVF.

View this post on Instagram

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

All athletes who have competed in at least eight WTA tournaments, including four at a minimum 250 level, over the last 12 months are eligible to receive benefits. As an alternative, players contesting at least 24 WTA events over the last 36 months, including 12 at the 250 level, will also be eligible.

Under those requirements, the WTA calculates that 320 current athletes now qualify for paid parental leave.

Details surrounding the benefit amount were not disclosed. But the program will be retroactive to January 1st.

"We’ve seen players making decisions about maybe ending their careers a little sooner than they would have liked because they want to explore family life, or coming back onto the tour and competing maybe sooner than they’re ready," WTA CEO Portia Archer told reporters at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday. "And so we think that this will minimize some of that stress and make those kinds of decisions easier."

"That can be transformational for some players, particularly those earning less than the top players in the world, where these kinds of benefits and support may be more impactful. So we really do hope that it changes lives."

WTA parental leave program sponsored by Saudi Arabia

The new WTA program offering parental protections is being backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of 2024 WTA Finals host Saudi Arabia. The WTA entered into a multi-year partnership with the kingdom last May.

While the country’s recent investments in women’s sports grab headlines, many identify the moves as "sportswashing," or using sports investments to draw public attention away from other unethical practices.

Numerous prominent athletes have criticized Saudi Arabia's human rights record, particularly when it comes to practices involving women as well as the LGBTQIA+ community.

Practices such as a law requiring women to have permission from a male relative in order to marry have the country ranked 126th out of 146 nations in the 2024 Global Gender Gap Report.

When pressed on the issue, Archer simply said, "Questions about Saudi society are really not questions for me or the WTA. They’re questions for the Saudis to answer."