The WNBA is back, which means it’s time to dust off the JWS Power Rankings as we head into the final stretch of the 2021 regular season.

We were without live WNBA games during the Olympics, but there still was plenty of activity to monitor that could affect the standings in the second half. Which teams might have benefitted from the break, and which teams might have suffered setbacks during it?

Let the power rankings light the way.

12. Indiana Fever (4-16) —

The Fever won three straight games before the Olympic break for their first victories since May. There’s no guarantee that the momentum has carried over from the month away, but it’s a start. One key learning Indiana should have taken away from the win streak? Teaira McCowan, averaging a near double-double this season, deserves to be in the starting lineup.

11. Atlanta Dream (6-13) -1

The Dream have the most questions to address in the second half. Mike Petersen stepped down as interim head coach on July 24, leaving Atlanta with yet another person in charge. Candice Dupree brings much-needed veteran leadership after signing with the Dream on July 26, and Petersen’s replacement, Darius Taylor, has called the next month a “restart” for the team. With Chennedy Carter’s suspension still hanging over them, the Dream will take whatever positive boost they can get.

10. Los Angeles Sparks (6-13) +1

It was a disappointing first half for the Sparks, who were voted as the team most affected by injuries and absences in our anonymous survey about the first half of the season. Los Angeles is banking on the returns of Kristi Toliver, Chiney Ogwumike and Nneka Ogwumike (who should be extra motivated after an eventful Olympic break) as the keys to getting back into the playoff race.

9. Washington Mystics (8-10) -1

If the Sparks were the team most affected by missing players, the Mystics weren’t too far behind. Elena Delle Donne is practicing with the team again, but whether she returns this season from a serious back injury is anyone’s guess. It also doesn’t appear likely that Emma Meesseman will return after competing with Belgium in the Olympics.

8. Dallas Wings (9-12) -2

The Wings dropped four of their last five games before the Olympic break, including a 16-point loss to the Aces on July 11. Arike Ogunbowale leads Dallas into the second half after an epic MVP performance in the All-Star Game. The Wings continue to be the best upset candidate in the WNBA, but will their overall inexperience trouble them down the stretch?

7. New York Liberty (10-11) —

The Liberty looked like a shell of their early-season self in July. When their 3-point shots weren’t falling, they struggled to get anything going on offense beyond Betnijah Laney’s isolation game. Natasha Howard is back at practice after missing all but two games with a knee injury, while Sabrina Ionescu had a month to rest her ailing ankle. Those are all good signs for the Liberty, so long as they can capitalize on them.

6. Phoenix Mercury (9-10) +3

The Mercury severely underwhelmed during the first half of the season, so moving them up three spots from the last power rankings might come as a surprise. But the Mercury have been in this position before, winning seven of their final games in 2020 and just missing out on a semifinal appearance. Diana Taurasi’s health remains a question, but Brittney Griner’s dominance at the Olympics bodes well for Phoenix coming out of the break.

5. Chicago Sky (10-10) -2

For as talented a roster as the Sky have, their streakiness in the first half of the season makes them a wild-card entering this stretch. Their ball control has improved since their seven-game losing streak early in the season, but they still turn the ball over 15.8 times per game, which is the second-most in the league. The chemistry they’ve built since Candace Parker returned from injury will be the key to a deep playoff run.

4. Minnesota Lynx (12-7) +1

The Lynx head into the final month with the most momentum, having won their last seven games before the break. Cheryl Reeve has put together one of the most efficient offenses in the league, built on good ball movement and strong finishing at the rim. As part of Team USA’s undefeated run to the gold medal, Reeve, Sylvia Fowles and Napheesa Collier haven’t lost a game since June 19. That’s what we call a winning mentality.

3. Connecticut Sun (14-6) +1

The Sun looked like they hadn’t played in a month Thursday night, dropping the Commissioner’s Cup championship game 79-57 to the Storm. Jonquel Jones had an off night and still recorded a double-double, which is all you need to know about her dominance this season. The Sun’s 20 turnovers Thursday were very uncharacteristic for a Curt Miller-led team and shouldn’t persist.

2. Las Vegas Aces (15-6) -1

The Aces hold the regular-season edge over the Storm and still have time to retake the top spot in the power rankings. They went into the break first in points per game (90.7), first in field-goal percentage (46.7), first in rebounds (39.3) and second in blocks (5.2). They’re as complete a team as any in the league, and the experience A’ja Wilson gained from her Olympic run with Team USA will only help.

1. Seattle Storm (16-5) +1

It was only one game, but it felt impossible not to give the Storm the honors of the top spot after their performance in the Commissioner’s Cup title game. Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird and Jewell Loyd led the way despite getting back from Tokyo on Monday. They showed no signs of jet lag or fatigue, and instead made the defending champions look even more formidable as we move closer to the playoffs.

US swimming icon Katie Ledecky is back on top, earning her 22nd world title with a gold medal-winning 1,500-meter freestyle performance at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships on Tuesday.

Finishing with a time of 15:26.44, Ledecky now owns 25 of the top 26 times in the event's history and holds six World Aquatics Championships titles at that distance.

"Each one has meaning, and I love every race that I've had at Worlds over the years," the 28-year-old swimming star told broadcasters following her Tuesday victory.

That 22nd title brought Ledecky's combined Worlds total to an overall 28 medals, lifting the star to second on the all-time most decorated list where she trails only retired US men's star Michael Phelps's 33 podium finishes.

Earlier in the week, the Team USA standout took bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, coming in third behind China's silver-medalist Li Bingjie and Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh, who won the race with a time of 3:56.26.

Gold medals have been hard to come by for Team USA at this year's World Championships.

Other than Ledecky's win and the 100-meter butterfly title snagged by Gretchen Walsh on Monday, the US women have struggled to claim gold medals as they push to recover from the acute gastroenteritis that hit several team members at their pre-meet training camp in Thailand.

That stomach bug inhibited multiple US swimmers from traveling with the team to the Singapore meet, and saw contenders like 100-meter butterfly Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske pull out of initial heats.

"We're taking it a day at a time," said Team USA head coach Greg Meehan about the impact of the illness. "Obviously, this is not how we thought the first few days of this competition would go. But I'm really proud of our team."

How to watch Ledecky at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships runs through Sunday, and US star Ledecky has two events left to swim at the meet.

On Thursday, she'll compete in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, before facing another showdown with rival McIntosh in the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday.

Preliminary heats kick off the night before at 10 PM ET, with finals seeing staggered starts beginning at 7 AM ET.

Live coverage of the meet airs on Peacock.

UEFA Women's Euro 2025 made a splash across the pond, drawing an average of 458,000 US viewers per match across FOX platforms to mark a 97% viewership increase over the 2022 edition — making this year's tournament the most-watched English-language Women's Euro on record.

Building off the 2025 competition's previously reported record-breaking numbers, Sunday's grand finale between defending champs England and 2023 World Cup winners Spain averaged 1.35 million US viewers — a 53% increase in viewership over the last Women's Euro championship match.

Even more, the broadcast ultimately peaked at 1.92 million fans tuning in, making it the most-watched English-language Women's Euro Final on record.

View this post on Instagram

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

The historic viewership is a major win for broadcaster FOX, who secured the women's tournament's first-ever US media deal back in May.

Initially committing to live coverage of 20 of the tournament's matches, record returns motivated the broadcast giant to quickly pivot and air all 31 matches live as part of its FOX Sports Summer of Soccer campaign.

"More and more people are tuning in to watch soccer in the US," FOX Sports commentator and UWSNT vet Carli Lloyd told The Athletic. "There's just been an incredible amount of soccer on display, which has been fantastic for the sport."

As the NWSL preps for this weekend's return from an extended summer break, No. 4 Washington Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman is also hoping to re-take the pitch for the first time since April.

Rodman is currently back training with the team, rejoining her club after undergoing extended treatment overseas for chronic back issues.

"I'd never really dealt with something like that," Rodman admitted after an open practice earlier this week. "So, for me, mentally, it was very difficult."

"[I was] trying to function through pain, and kind of gaslight myself to thinking it was fine every day, when it wasn't," she said. "I can now kind of openly say, I was in pain all the time."

Rodman also admits that stepping away was, though difficult, the right call to make for her healing.

"Obviously, it sucks being away from the team and being away from soccer in general," she added. "But I got to work on things that I wouldn't have gotten to work on if I was in the team environment all the time, so I think that was a positive."

Rodman's availability fluctuated after she earned an Olympic gold medal with the USWNT in Paris last summer, with the soccer superstar featuring in just four Spirit games this season — and none since stepping away in April.

Now functioning pain-free, Rodman's next on-pitch challenge is balancing her competitive intensity with her newly found health.

"It's really understanding my body and acknowledging [when] it's in pain," she explained. "And not pushing through things that I shouldn't."

View this post on Instagram

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

Rodman eyes new contract amid NWSL return

On top of navigating her return to play, Rodman is also actively negotiating with the Washington Spirit for a contract renewal.

Her current deal expires at the end of 2025, and with interest in the US standout reportedly mounting from overseas clubs, the 23-year-old could eventually field multiple offers.

Considering her lack of minutes so far this season, the star called the assumed interest "a weird situation."

"I'm trying not to stress about it or put too much pressure on it," she said of the ongoing talks. "At the end of the day, I'm worried about health first.... Everything else can come next."

Wednesday's WNBA bill puts a heavyweight battle in the spotlight, as 2024 finalists and 2025 league leaders Minnesota will host reigning champion No. 2 New York in their first face-off of the season — with the Liberty hoping to rattle both the Lynx and the standings.

"I think common sense would say that those two teams probably should have played earlier in the season," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve told media this week, referencing the apparent scheduling idiosyncrasies that delayed the championship rematch.

"It doesn't feel like a Finals rematch anymore, honestly," Lynx forward Napheesa Collier echoed. "It's a new year for us. And it's been so long, it's almost August, so it's just the two top teams going against each other."

Both squads enter the clash on uncharacteristic skids, as Minnesota and New York look to avenge recent losses while other WNBA teams jockey for positioning during the league's Wednesday night slate:

• No. 3 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever, 7 PM ET (ESPN3): The Fever must continue to contend without injured star guard Caitlin Clark, as Indiana faces a newly healthy Mercury side striving to steal back the No. 2 spot with a win.

• No. 5 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 11 Dallas Wings, 8 PM ET (ESPN3): After a disappointing Tuesday upset loss, the will Dream close out a back-to-back against a bolstered Dallas squad fresh off a big victory over New York.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, 8 PM ET (ESPN): With a four-game lead in the standings, the Lynx aren't in danger of giving up their perch at the top, but a strong performance from the Liberty could provide a much-needed boost to the ailing title-holders.