The WNBA regular season begins tonight, with eight of the league’s teams squaring off across four matchups.

Indiana Fever vs. Washington Mystics

7 p.m. ET, Facebook

Friday’s season opener marks the return of a healthy Elena Delle Donne to the court. Delle Donne has played just 52 minutes of WNBA basketball since winning a championship with the Mystics in 2019.

She had a great showing in the team’s preseason game against the Lynx, scoring 21 points on 9-for-13 field goal shooting.

Elizabeth Williams has yet to rejoin the team from overseas, leaving room for rookies like Shakira Austin to get some playing time and potentially carve out a significant role later on in the season.

“She’s one of the rare young players who can make an immediate impact on the defensive end of the court,” Mystics coach Mike Thibault said of Austin.

The Fever, meanwhile, will take the court with five rookies, the most of any WNBA team – and four of them could crack the starting lineup. NaLyssa Smith, the No. 2 overall pick, should be one of them.

Los Angeles Sparks vs. Chicago Sky

8 p.m. ET, NBA TV

Liz Cambage will make her LA debut against Candace Parker and the Chicago Sky, who will begin their title defense in the season opener.

Despite losing key player Diamond DeShields, the Sky have kept most of their core together. The team added the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP in Emma Meesseman.

On Friday, though, the team will be without Allie Quigley, who was ruled out for the first game with a knee injury. The decision is precautionary, with Sky head coach James Wade saying the team wants “to make sure we’re very careful with her” and that she’s at 100 percent before returning.

The Sky expect to have her back by their third game, a road matchup against the Minnesota Lynx on May 14.

In addition to Cambage, the Sparks added Jordin Canada and Katie Lou Samuelson from Seattle as well as Chennedy Carter from Atlanta. With better depth and scoring, Cambage expects the Sparks to compete this season, saying that it’ll be a wild summer in the WNBA and that “we’re gonna have a ring at the end of it.” The quest to back up that verbiage begins Friday.

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Las Vegas Aces vs. Phoenix Mercury

10 p.m. ET, NBA TV

The time has arrived for Becky Hammon’s first regular-season game as a WNBA head coach and it could not come in a bigger matchup – a rematch of last year’s conference finals, which the Mercury won 3-2.

Phoenix is expected to contend for the WNBA title after finishing as the runner-up last season. The Mercury have added Diamond DeShields – who was a part of the title-winning opposition – as well as 2021 WNBA scoring leader Tina Charles. Look for the Mercury to come out firing.

The team will be without Brittney Griner, who remains detained in Russia.

The Aces also have some unfinished business this season after finishing first in the West but losing in the conference finals to the Mercury. Despite losing Cambage to the Sparks, A’ja Wilson returns, as well as Dearica Hamby and Riquna Williams. All three will look to factor into Friday night’s game.

“There’s definitely unfinished business,” Williams said. “We’re going to get it done. Some way we’re going to figure it out.”

Minnesota Lynx vs. Seattle Storm

10 p.m. ET, Twitter

The Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm will face off in a clash of titans between Sylvia Fowles and Sue Bird. Both are likely in their final seasons in the WNBA.

Alongside Kayla McBride, Fowles will attempt to fill the hole left by Napheesa Collier, who is expecting her first child later this month. Fowles, the WNBA’s career leader in rebounds and a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, will factor in both offensively and defensively.

The Storm are led by Bird, Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd. Stewart is coming back from foot surgery but has had a strong preseason and looks to be fully healthy in Noelle Quinn’s first full season as head coach.

Neither team has any rookies gracing their rosters and bring significant veteran presence to the court.

USA Hockey is sending a refreshed lineup to Italy this winter, with Friday's 23-player Olympic roster tapping both newcomers and seasoned veterans looking to avenge 2022's silver-medal finish.

US hockey legend Hilary Knight will play in her fifth — and final — Winter Games next month, with the 36-year-old forward joining fellow veteran mainstays Kendall Coyne Schofield and Lee Stecklein as just 11 players return from the team's Beijing campaign.

After falling just short of gold in Beijing, this year's USA hockey roster balances youth with experience, heading to Milan with a full dozen Olympic debutants, including seven college players — a full four from reigning NCAA champion Wisconsin.

All other 16 athletes currently compete in the PWHL with the pro league sending players from five of its eight teams to join the US squad in February.

The rest of the team focuses on young talent, including University of Wisconsin defender Laila Edwards, who will make history as USA Hockey's first-ever Black woman Olympian when she steps on the ice in Italy.

"It still hasn't really kicked in yet. Getting that call is like a dream come true," said Edwards.

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How to watch Team USA hockey in the 2026 Winter Olympics

The USA will open their 2026 Olympic campaign against Czechia at 10:40 AM ET on February 5th before subsequent Group A games against Finland, Switzerland, and defending champions Canada.

The clash will air live on USA Network as part of the full 2026 Olympic Games coverage across NBC platforms.

USA Hockey's 2026 Olympic roster

Goaltenders: Aerin Frankel (Boston Fleet), Ava McNaughton (University of Wisconsin), Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa Charge)

Defenders: Cayla Barnes (Seattle Torrent), Laila Edwards (University of Wisconsin), Rory Guilday (Ottawa Charge), Caroline Harvey (University of Wisconsin), Megan Keller (Boston Fleet), Lee Stecklein (Minnesota Frost), Haley Winn (Boston Fleet)

Forwards: Hannah Bilka (Seattle Torrent), Alex Carpenter (Seattle Torrent), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota Frost), Britta Curl-Salemme (Minnesota Frost), Joy Dunne (Ohio State University), Taylor Heise (Minnesota Frost), Tessa Janecke (Penn State University), Hilary Knight (Seattle Torrent), Abbey Murphy (University of Minnesota), Kelly Pannek (Minnesota Frost), Hayley Scamurra (Montréal Victoire), Kirsten Simms (University of Wisconsin), Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota Frost)

Tennis's biggest names have hit highs and lows down under over the weekend, with stars like Coco Gauff seeing mixed results at the 2026 United Cup as the annual Australian Open team tune-up tournament heads into its knockout rounds.

World No. 4 Coco Gauff and the reigning champion Team USA are through to the quarterfinals, joined by top WTA competitor and No. 11 Belinda Bencic of Team Switzerland.

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Czechia, and Greece also punched their tickets to the knockouts, with Tuesday night's final group-stage bout deciding whether No. 2 Iga Świątek and Team Poland or Team Germany will claim the final spot in the quarterfinals.

Thus far in the team competition, however, Gauff has experienced a particularly up-and-down tournament, suffering her first-ever United Cup singles defeat on Monday against No. 42 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain after causing a stir with her postmatch comments.

"I feel like we're definitely, in tennis, the worst," she told reporters before the singles showdown. "I've always said I wish our country in other places would show up throughout the world as we see smaller countries support."

After taking some heat, the 21-year-old later clarified her position on social media, writing "Trust me I understand the financial aspect of things and know tennis is not accessible for everyone, it was more of a comment for those who are already attending and how I wish they were as passionate as those from other countries."

How to watch Gauff and Team USA at the 2026 United Cup

Gauff will look to return to form against No. 51 Maria Sakkari when Team USA kicks off the 2026 United Cup quarterfinals against Team Greece at 9 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on the Tennis Channel.

Unrivaled leadership is back in the hot seat, telling reporters at Monday's Season 2 tip-off that the offseason 3x3 league is open to whatever the future might bring — even if it's a formal partnership with the WNBA.

"We're not in constant dialogue about that," Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said from Miami. "But as I've made very clear, we are open to growing the ecosystem, whichever way that looks like."

"Nothing is on the table or off the table," he continued. "I'm not going to speculate what could happen down the road, but everyone knows our door is always open."

As reported prior to the 3×3 upstart's inaugural 2025 season, Unrivaled co-founders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier had approached the WNBA about a potential equity stake — in part to further illustrate that the new venture is complementary, rather than in competition with, the WNBA — but league leadership turning down the offer, citing a possible rules violation.

Questions have since come up about Unrivaled becoming a prioritization issue for players under the WNBA's still-developing CBA, but Bazzell underlined the league's benefits as being supplemental, rather than in direct conflict with the 5x5 league.

"As long as you can look at the space through an innovative lens, anything is doable," he said. "Anything is possible."

In the first AP women's basketball poll in two weeks, Monday's new rankings reflected last week's conference upsets, sending four Top 10 teams skidding down the table while other contenders broke through.

Now-No. 12 LSU suffered the biggest drop, falling seven spots after consecutive losses to No. 6 Kentucky and No. 7 Vanderbilt.

The Wildcats and the still-undefeated Commodores experienced the opposite effect, jumping five spots each after their ranked victories, with No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 10 Louisville making similar three-spot advances.

The biggest winner of this week's AP poll, however, sits just outside the Top 10, as No. 15 Michigan State leapt nine spots, defeating unranked Indiana, Illinois, and Rutgers after closing out nonconference play with a 66-49 upset win over now-No. 18 Ole Miss.

Chasing the Spartans' rise up the ranks are No. 16 Baylor, who earned a six-spot jump after handing No. 11 Iowa State their first loss of the season on Sunday, and No. 17 Texas Tech, whose unbeaten status saw the Red Raiders claim a four-spot boost.

Meanwhile, a struggling Notre Dame dropped out of the Top 25 entirely after losses to unranked Georgia Tech and Duke, snapping an 85-week AP Poll appearance streak — the third-longest in women's basketball history.

Additionally, the Top 4 remained unchanged after perfect results from No. 1 UConn, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 South Carolina, and No. 4 UCLA — who dominated their crosstown rival No. 21 USC 80-46 on Saturday.

How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball this week

Top 25 teams will continue their conference slates this week, starting with USC taking on unranked Oregon on Tuesday.

The Trojans and visiting Ducks will tip off live at 10 PM ET on Fox Sports.

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 9

1. UConn (15-0, Big East)
2. Texas (17-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (15-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (14-1, Big Ten)
5. Oklahoma (14-1, SEC)
6. Kentucky (15-1, SEC)
7. Vanderbilt (15-0, SEC)
8. Maryland (15-1, Big Ten)
9. Michigan (12-2, Big Ten)
10. Louisville (14-3, ACC)
11. Iowa State (14-1, Big 12)
12. LSU (14-2, SEC)
13. TCU (14-1, Big 12)
14. Iowa (13-2, Big Ten)
15. Michigan State (14-1, Big Ten)
16. Baylor (13-3, Big 12)
17. Texas Tech (16-0, Big 12)
18. Ole Miss (14-3, SEC)
19. Ohio State (13-2, Big Ten)
20. Tennessee (10-3, SEC)
21. USC (10-4, Big Ten)
22. UNC (13-4, ACC)
23. Washington (12-2, Big Ten)
24. Princeton (13-1, Ivy)
25. Nebraska (13-2, Big Ten)