Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for 250 days as of Tuesday.

While a U.S. official on Tuesday called the handling of the WNBA star’s judicial case “a sham,” Griner’s supporters still were left disheartened by a Russian court’s decision to reject the appeal of her nine-year sentence for drug possession.

“This appeal is further verification that BG is not just wrongfully detained,” the WNBA Players Association said in a statement. “She is very clearly a hostage.”

The Phoenix Mercury center was arrested in February at a Moscow-area airport while trying to join her Russian club, UMMC Ekaterinburg. She was accused of having less than a gram of cannabis in her possession; in Russia, possession of less than six grams of cannabis is supposed to garner no more than a fine or up to 15 days in jail.

More than eight months later, Griner remains in detention in Russia. She was convicted and sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony in August, close to the maximum sentence of 10 years, but she had appealed the decision.

“The verdict contains numerous defects and we hoped that the court of appeal would take them into consideration,” Griner’s lawyers said. “We still think the punishment is excessive and contradicts the existing court practice.”

The results of both her original case and the appeal, though, remain in line with expectations. In Russia, 99 percent of court cases result in a conviction, and U.S. officials have said that Griner’s case, in particular, was nothing more than a “show trial” with a “predetermined” outcome.

“We are aware of the news out of Russia that Brittney Griner will continue to be wrongfully detained under intolerable circumstances after having to undergo another sham judicial proceeding today,” U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement Tuesday. “President Biden has been very clear that Brittney should be released immediately.”

The U.S. government is working to free Griner and fellow American detainee Paul Whelan. The Biden administration has proposed a prisoner swap with Russia, but officials do not expect significant movement from Russia until after the U.S. elections in November.

The WNBPA applauded Griner for her “courage and integrity” over the last 250 days and called on the public to rally around the Mercury center.

“No athlete should be used as a political pawn,” the WNBPA said in its statement.

WNBPA Statement Regarding Brittney Griner's Appeal and a Call to Action.#WeAreBG#BringBGHome pic.twitter.com/lpUyYtfyxC

— WNBPA (@TheWNBPA) October 25, 2022

WNBA players also took to social media Tuesday to express their support for Griner.

“It is time for her to come home,” tweeted Seattle Storm star Breanna Stewart, who has posted daily about Griner’s plight.

It has been 250 days since our friend, Brittney Griner, has been wrongfully detained in Russia. It is time for her to come home. @WhiteHouse @potus @vp , we are paying attention and we are counting on you. #WeAreBG

— Breanna Stewart (@breannastewart) October 25, 2022

“My heart breaks for BG,” wrote Aisha Sheppard, who won the WNBA championship this season with the Las Vegas Aces.

Dallas Wings rookie Veronica Burton called the rejection of Griner’s appeal “horrible news to wake up to,” while Washington Mystics star Natasha Cloud wrote: “I’m sick about BG.”

Kia Nurse, one of Griner’s Mercury teammates, echoed the calls to “bring her home.”

“My heart goes out to BG and her loved ones,” Nurse wrote. “We love you and we miss you.”

my heart goes out to BG and her loved ones. We love you and we miss you. Bring her home 🖤 #WeAreBG

— Kia Nurse (@KayNurse11) October 25, 2022

Former WNBA player and current South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley also expressed her continued support for Griner in the face of the “expected bad news.”

#FreeBrittneyGriner 250 days and more expected bad news with the upholding of @brittneygriner sentence. I’m a firm believer in God and will lean in stronger. On our worse day he does he best work. Love you BG. HOLD ON! #WeAreBG pic.twitter.com/V3JQShI8Ja

— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) October 25, 2022

The 2025/26 PWHL season schedule arrived on Wednesday, with the pro hockey league preparing to hit the ice coast-to-coast for the first time ever when its third season begins on Friday, November 21st.

In celebration of the PWHL's two new West Coast teams, the season-opening doubleheader will feature the first-ever game between incoming expansion sides Seattle and Vancouver, who will face off after the back-to-back reigning champion Minnesota Frost takes on the Toronto Sceptres.

"We can't wait for puck drop to see the impact our new and returning players will make, and to deliver a competitive season with even more games for fans to enjoy," said PWHL EVP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford in a league statement.

While each team will again play 30 games on this season's schedule, the increase of the PWHL lineup from six to eight teams means that the 2025/26 campaign will span 120 total games — a 30-game increase over the league's second season.

The 2025/26 PWHL regular season will run through April 25th, though the league will pause play from January 29th to February 25th to allow for the 2026 Winter Olympics, with more than 50 PWHL players expected to compete for international glory in Italy.

How to buy tickets for the 2025/26 PWHL season

While season passes for each of the league's eight teams are available now, single-game tickets to all 120 PWHL clashes will go on sale on October 14th.

All tickets for the 2025/26 season will be available online.

Former San Diego Wave president Jill Ellis is back in the headlines, with the NWSL club's owners — private equity billionaire couple Lauren Leichtman and Arthur Levine — filing a lawsuit against Ellis on Monday for allegedly promising to stay on after the team's 2024 sale, only to resign days later in order to accept a new job as FIFA's Chief Football Officer.

According to the lawsuit, Ellis leveraged her longstanding friendship with Leichtman and Levine to convince them to purchase the San Diego Wave at a then-record price of $120 million, with the Levine Leichtman Family Office calling Ellis "a very attractive asset" that helped push the deal — and its nine-figure sticker price — across the line.

Though Ellis and other negotiators allegedly assured Leichtman and Levine that she would helm the NWSL club "for many years to come," Ellis resigned just two days after the sale closed, reportedly telling the new owners that she had "no intention of continuing any involvement with Wave FC."

Monday's court filing claims that Ellis and other unnamed defendants committed intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, concealment, and false promise, and requests damages as Ellis's departure allegedly resulted in an estimated $40 million in lost revenue.

Ellis's attorney deemed the suit "meritless," calling it retaliation for the former USWNT manager's ongoing pursuit of $1.2 million in deferred payments reportedly guaranteed by her original contract with the San Diego Wave.

As for the team, the NWSL club is staying out of it, releasing a statement saying, "This is a legal matter between the Levine Leichtman Family Office and Jill Ellis. San Diego Wave FC is not a party to this lawsuit."

World No. 3 tennis star Coco Gauff is through to the semifinals in Beijing, downing Germany's No. 66 Eva Lys in straight sets on Thursday to continue her title defense at the 2025 China Open.

With the quarterfinal win, Gauff booked her first WTA semifinals spot in nearly four months, last appearing the late rounds during her 2025 French Open championship run in June.

The 21-year-old overcame several obstacles in her current quest to become the first-ever back-to-back women's champion at the China Open, including a pair of heated three-set battles against Canada's No. 25 Leylah Fernandez and Switzerland's No. 16 Belinda Bencic in the Round of 32 and 16, respectively.

Not all top-ranked WTA stars were as lucky, however, as No. 2 Iga Świątek exited the Round of 16 after ceding a final-set bagel to No. 17 Emma Navarro on Wednesday.

Gauff and Navarro aren't the only US stars showing out on the 2025 China Open court, as No. 4 Amanda Anisimova punched her semis ticket by ousting Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Navarro will meet No. 7 Jessica Pegula in an all-US quarterfinal battle on Friday — guaranteeing that three of the four tournament semifinalists will hail from the US.

Along with her China Open success, Gauff also secured her spot in the 2025 WTA Finals this week, marking her return as the end-of-season tournament's reigning champion while also becoming the youngest player to qualify for the event in four straight years since Maria Sharapova in 2007.

Considered the most prestigious tennis event except for the four Grand Slams, the eight-player 2025 WTA Finals will kick off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 1st, with Świątek and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka also taking part.

How to watch the 2025 China Open

The 2025 China Open quarterfinals will wrap early Friday morning, with England's No. 81 Sonay Kartal facing Czechia's No. 27 Linda Noskova at 3 AM ET before Navarro takes on Pegula at 6 AM ET.

Friday's winners will contend with each other alongside Gauff and Anisimova in Saturday's semifinals.

All tournament matches will stream live on the Tennis Channel.

Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell appears to be in the clear, with the 29-year-old guard posting an injury update following her early exit in the third quarter of Tuesday's Game 5 semifinal in Las Vegas.

After trainers and medical staff carried Mitchell off of Tuesday's court and sent her to the hospital, reports originally described her condition as extreme lower-body cramping.

Following the Fever star's hospital discharge, Mitchell revealed on Wednesday that doctors diagnosed her injury as a rare muscle condition called rhabdomyolysis.

"I went into sense of numbness/paralyzing feeling with no movement from my lower extremities for up to 5 to 7 seconds," she said. "It was an out of body experience for me and I thank God for covering me at a time like that."

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Often brought on by overexertion, rhabdomyolysis involves muscle tissue breaking down and releasing harmful proteins into the bloodstream, causing muscle stiffness and potentially leading to serious kidney damage.

"My muscles stopped producing positive blood to my bloodstream, my body locked up from a physical standpoint and from there fatigue and cramping settled in," Mitchell explained before relaying that she is now "moving at a slow pace" and expected to make a full recovery.

"I played literally til my wheels fell off," she added. "THANK you for the prayers, love, respect, and support throughout all of this."