With the CBA well on its way to becoming official, WNBA teams are announcing 2026 preseason exhibition matchups in the ramp-up to the league's 30th season.
On Monday, the Phoenix Mercury dropped plans for two preseason games, starting with an April 25th friendly against the Chicago Sky in Sioux Falls.
The clash will mark the first-ever WNBA game in South Dakota, with the game's historic location coming in part to honor the local ties that Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts and assistant coach Megan Vogel have to Sioux Falls.
The Mercury will then return to Phoenix to host an exhibition against the Japan women's national team on April 29th — the pair's third-ever meeting and first since 2013.
The international friendly isn't the only one on the WNBA's 2026 preseason docket, with the Lynx previously announcing their own history-making matchup against Nigeria on April 27th. The friendly will make Minnesota the first-ever WNBA team to play an African national team.
The WNBA preseason will tip off on Saturday, April 25th, capping a whirlwind of activity spanning a two-team expansion draft, college draft, and free agency period.
ESPN reported the first step in the crammed lead-up to the 2026 season on Monday, with the league giving its veteran teams from April 1st through the 5th to finalize their player protection lists before the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo stock their rosters in an expansion draft on Monday, April 6th.
