The WNBA Finals series between the Chicago Sky and Phoenix Mercury headlines the weekend in women’s sports, with Game 3 heading to Chicago on Friday. The NWSL is back in action as well, as teams fight for playoff positioning ahead of the regular season’s October 31st finale.

Here’s everything to watch this weekend in women’s sports:

WNBA Finals: Chicago Sky vs. Phoenix Mercury, Game 3

Friday, October 15 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN

The WNBA Finals series between the Sky and the Mercury heads to Chicago for a decisive Game 3. The Sky will play in front of a sold-out crowd at the Wintrust Arena, with around 10,000 fans in attendance.

WNBA Finals: Chicago Sky vs. Phoenix Mercury, Game 4

Sunday, October 17 at 3 p.m.  ET on ESPN

Should there be a Game 4, the WNBA Finals will stay in Chicago. The Mercury will look to contain Kahleah Copper, who has been hot all playoffs, leading the Sky’s offensive charge.

NWSL: Racing Louisville FC vs. Orlando Pride

Saturday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Paramount+

The Orlando Pride will look for a crucial three points in the NWSL standings in a last-minute playoff push before the regular season’s end on October 31. Sydney Leroux has been explosive for Orlando all year, leading the team in scoring with eight goals on the season.

NWSL: Chicago Red Stars vs. Kansas City

Saturday, October 16 at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount+

On the playoff bubble, the Chicago Red Stars will look to climb the NWSL table to secure a spot in the postseason. The Red Stars head into their matchup with Kansas City as the favorites with a 6-2-2 home record.

NWSL: OL Reign vs. Washington Spirit

Saturday, October 16 at 10 p.m. ET on Paramount+

OL Reign has already clinched their playoff spot and appear to be in top form, with the likes of Rose Lavelle, Eugenie Le Sommer and Bethany Balcer all getting involved in the team’s attack. The Washington Spirit are still on the hunt for their postseason ticket, sitting firmly in the middle of a packed NWSL table.

NWSL: North Carolina Courage vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC

Sunday, October 17 at 2:00 p.m ET on CBS Sports Network

The North Carolina Courage has stayed at the top quadrant of the table throughout the season but has yet to lock up their playoff slot. The Gotham FC matchup will be one to watch as both teams fight for a postseason spot.

NWSL: Houston Dash vs. Portland Thorns FC

Sunday, October 17 at 7 p.m. ET on Paramount+

After a streaky start to the regular season, the Houston Dash are hitting their stride at the right time. A win in the team’s home matchup against the Portland Thorns could be enough to push the Dash over the edge.

Tennis: BNP Paribas Open

Friday, October 15 at 9 p.m.-1 a.m. ET on the Tennis Channel (Semifinals)

Sunday, October 17 at 4 p.m- 6 p.m. ET on the Tennis Channel (Final)

Paula Badosa, Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka are among those through to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells. American Shelby Rogers will have a chance to fight for a semifinal spot after surviving a challenge from teen sensation Leylah Fernandez in the Round of 16.

Golf: Aramco Team Series

Thursday, October 14, 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel

Friday, October 15, 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel

Saturday, October 16, 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel

The world’s top female golfers tee off at the Aramco Team Series in a unique event featuring teams of four, made up of three pros and an amateur. Stars from the Solheim Cup, including Lexi Thompson, Nelly Korda, and Anna Nordqvist, will go head to head at Glen Oaks starting on Thursday.

 

Sweden veteran defender Magda Eriksson is hanging up her international boots to focus on her health, with the 32-year-old officially announcing her retirement from her national team on Sunday.

Eriksson will continue competing at the domestic level for her German club, Bayern Munich.

The longtime captain sat out the most recent international window due to a head injury, watching as world No. 3 Sweden fell to No. 1 Spain in the two-leg 2025 Nations League semifinals.

"It's by far the toughest decision I've ever made," Eriksson said in her social media announcement. "But I'm listening to my body and mind instead of my heart."

"I've landed in the fact that unfortunately it's a decision that has to be made."

After an 11-year career with the Swedish senior national team, Eriksson retires as a two-time Olympic silver medalist, earning those podium finishes in Rio in 2016 and at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games.

Often leading Sweden through major tournaments where early domination dissolved into a third-place finish, Eriksson also helped her team eke onto the World Cup podium in both 2019 and 2023.

"It is heavy news," said Sweden head coach Tony Gustavsson after Eriksson announced her international retirement, calling her "one of our most important players for a long time."

"[Magda's] professionalism, courage, and heart have left a strong mark on the national team," he added.

Chelsea FC's £1 million gamble is paying dividends, as USWNT rising star Alyssa Thompson continued her goal-scoring momentum for the six-time defending WSL champs on Sunday.

The young forward found the back of the net in the ninth minute of the Blues' 1-1 Sunday draw with Liverpool, solidifying her status as a decisive attacking threat for her new club.

"You can see how much talent she has and the quality she brings to the team," Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said of Thompson earlier this month. "She's improving game after game, becoming more connected to her teammates, and understanding the way we want to play better."

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Thompson left NWSL side Angel City for Chelsea on a then-record £1 million transfer fee in early September, with the 21-year-old going on to notch three goals and one assist in four matches across both WSL and Champions League play.

"Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity," said the striker. "I want to learn, grow, and develop a lot. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in."

Beyond individual accomplishment, Thompson's success underscores Chelsea's depth as they continue to hunt domestic and continental honors on a now-34 match WSL unbeaten streak — while also looking to potentially draw more USWNT stars away from the NWSL.

Women's professional baseball has landed a home base, with Front Office Sports reporting on Monday that the newly formed WPBL will play the entirety of its 2026 debut season at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.

The incoming league prioritized a neutral venue without an existing baseball team to house its four inaugural clubs — New York, Boston, LA, and San Francisco — for its first campaign, with barnstorming games also planned for each team market.

"Our sport is for everybody," WPBL co-founder Keith Stein told FOS. "It's for middle America, everybody. We thought, 'Our teams are on these two coasts, it would be good to be in the middle of the country.'"

Founded in 2024 as the first professional women's baseball outfit in the US since 1954, the WPBL will hold its first-ever draft on Thursday, with the league's four teams drawing from a pool of 120 eligible players.

The WPBL recently fielded an oversubscribed Series A investment round, telling FOS that they're closing a $3 million raise with another round planned ahead of its August 2026 season-opener.

Each 30-player team will operate under a $95,000 salary cap for the first year, with the league also covering living costs throughout the seven-week season as well as giving players a percentage of sponsorship funds.

How to watch the first-ever WPBL Draft

The 2025 WPBL Draft kicks off at 8 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage streaming across the league's Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channels.

Las Vegas Aces boss Becky Hammon spoke her mind last week, telling CNBC Sport that the WNBA might need "a change in leadership" for the league's CBA talks to successfully progress.

"I just think [player relations] might be too fractured at this point, but we'll see," Hammon said, while also noting that she's had only limited interactions with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

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Citing Engelbert's "private conversations...with individual players — or lack of the conversations," Hammon described the commissioner's current relationship with players as "rocky" while describing her widely criticized leadership style.

"I don't know if she can ever regret, retract, and get that traction back from those conversations," the Aces boss posited.

"When the players speak, people need to sit up and listen," she continued. "I think [Engelbert is] sitting up and listening now."

Hammon also voiced support for Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier after the five-time All-Star described the WNBA as having the "worst leadership in the world" in her now-viral 2025 exit interview.

"I completely agree with Napheesa that the players should be making more than coaches," the Las Vegas sideline leader — who publicly earns seven figures per year — continued. "They're due for a huge increase in salary, and it's got to be something that is sustainable. That's the biggest thing you got to remember, that this league is still a young league."

Ultimately, while the 2025 WNBA season is over, CBA concerns loom large over the league's current offseason and 2026 campaign, leaving Hammon and others looking to avoid a lockout as the November 30th extension deadline nears.