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WNBA training camp: Which rookies will get their shot?

Naz Hillmon greets Cathy Engelbert after being selected 15th overall by the Atlanta Dream. (Evan Yu/Just Women’s Sports)

WNBA teams open training camp Monday, and most teams have released their training camp rosters as they start to gear up for the season.

Both drafted and undrafted rookies will look to make their mark as they compete for the few spots available on already competitive WNBA rosters. Each team can carry a maximum of 12 players into the season.

Atlanta Dream

In addition to drafting Rhyne Howard as the No. 1 overall pick and selecting Naz Hillmon at No. 15, the Atlanta Dream signed Georgia guard Que Morrison to a training camp contract Tuesday.

The Dream are one of the few teams in the league that could see competition at multiple positions ahead of the team’s first WNBA season under head coach Tanisha Wright. The Dream have 16 players listed on their roster ahead of training camp.

Chicago Sky

The Sky added undrafted rookies Lexi Held and Kayla Wells to their training camp roster. Held spent four seasons at DePaul, averaging 12.8 points and 5.3 assists in her senior season. Wells spent five seasons at Texas A&M, averaging 15.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 2021-22.

The Sky’s roster stands at 22 players. In addition to Held and Wells, Rhode Island’s Emmanuelle Tahane joins the Sky as an undrafted rookie.

Fifth-year player Imani McGee-Stafford and second-year player Kysre Gondrezick will also attempt to make the Sky roster, which is returning much of its 2021 championship team.

Connecticut Sun

The Sun picked up three undrafted rookies in addition to draftees Nia Clouden, Kiara Smith and Jordan Lewis.

Alexus Dye, Delicia Washington and Aleksa Gulbe were all signed to training camp contracts by the team. The team’s total training camp roster sits at 20 players.

Another looking to compete for a spot on the 12-player roster is Taj Cole, who was signed by the team at the beginning of the Athletes Unlimited basketball season.

Dallas Wings

The Wings finalized their training camp roster Thursday, with draftees Veronica Burton, Jazz Bond and Jasmine Dickey all featured.

Destinee Walker, a 2021 Dallas training camp signee, and Morgan Bertsch, a 2019 Dallas draft pick, will also compete for spots on the roster.

Indiana Fever

In addition to a plethora of draft picks Monday, the Fever announced that they had signed undrafted rookie Erin Whalen out of Dayton to a training camp contract.

The Fever will be looking to fill many holes during the preseason, with plenty of opportunities to make the regular season roster. They carry 22 players into their preseason training camp.

Las Vegas Aces

The Aces have some key training camp additions, including Sydney Colson and Kalani Brown out of the Athletes Unlimited season.

They also added six rookies during Monday’s draft ahead of Becky Hammon’s first season as a WNBA head coach. The team waived one player ahead of the draft, bringing its training camp total to 16.

Los Angeles Sparks

Los Angeles reloaded during the offseason, including the key addition of Liz Cambage. The team also acquired Lexie Brown from the Sky and added Jordin Canada from Seattle.

The Sparks drafted Rae Burrell, Kianna Smith, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Amy Atwell. They carry a roster of 18 into the preseason.

Minnesota Lynx

The Lynx finalized their training camp roster Wednesday, signing draftees Kayla Jones and Hannah Sjerven. Undrafted rookies Chloe Bibby, Cece Hooks and Moon Ursin were also added to the roster.

The status of Napheesa Collier, who due to give birth to her first child in May. Collier has expressed interest in returning for what will be Sylvia Fowles’ final season but her game-readiness could be a factor.

The Lynx are carrying 20 players on their training camp roster.

New York Liberty

New York has announced that first-round pick Nyara Sabally will not play the upcoming season, and neither will third-round pick Sika Kone. Second-round pick Lorela Cubaj will look to make the 12-player roster on a team that also boasts Stefanie Dolson and Michaela Onyenwere.

The Liberty will have 14 players in training camp without Sabally and Kone.

Phoenix Mercury

The Mercury’s roster has little room thanks to the offseason additions of Diamond DeShields and Tina Charles. But the absence of Brittney Griner – without any knowledge of when she could return from being detained in Russia – certainly hangs over the team.

Leaonna Odom, Jennie Simms, Kiana Williams and Kristine Anigwe are all signed to training camp contracts and will be looking to make the regular season roster. A total of 18 players are on the roster heading into the Mercury’s training camp, the team’s first under new head coach Vanessa Nygaard.

Seattle Storm

On Thursday, the Storm announced the signing of undrafted rookies Raina Perez, Jenna Giacone and Paisley Harding to training camp contracts. Perez joins NC State teammate and Storm draftee Elissa Cunane in Seattle.

Ahead of what is likely to be Sue Bird’s final season, the Storm are carrying 19 players into training camp, including draftees Evina Westbrook and Jade Melbourne.

Washington Mystics

The Mystics carry No. 3 pick Shakira Austin into preseason, as well as second-round pick Christyn Williams and undrafted rookie Jennifer Coleman out of the Naval Academy.

International players Lee Seul Kang and Rui Machida also join Washington. The team is carrying 18 players into training camp.

Aryna Sabalenka Narrowly Escapes Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati Open Battle

Defending champion No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka follows through on a backhand during her narrow Round of 32 victory over No. 39 Emma Raducanu at the 2025 Cincinnati Open.
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka needed more than three hours to defeat No. 39 Emma Raducanu at the 2025 Cincinnati Open on Monday. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)

Tennis fans saw an epic battle on Monday, as world No. 39 Emma Raducanu forced No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka into a third-set tiebreak in the third round of the 2025 Cincinnati Open.

The British 22-year-old, who burst into the sport's upper echelons by winning the 2021 US Open as an unseeded teenage qualifier, came achingly close to ousting the top-ranked three-time Grand Slam winner in a match that required more than three hours and two tie-breaks to resolve.

"She's world No. 1 for a reason, and I pushed her more than I did at Wimbledon so that's an improvement," said Raducanu, ultimately falling to the 2024 Cincinnati Open winner in Monday's narrow 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5) loss.

Clearly affected by the oppressive humidity of the southern Ohio summer, Sabalenka took risks in the match's late stages to offset her 72 unforced errors and her diminishing energy.

"At the end, I went for crazy shots," Sabalenka told the crowd following the 2025 US Open tune-up match. "I think that it was a little bit risky from me and it really helped to put a lot of pressure on her."

Along with Sabalenka, this week's Round of 16 will feature at least four other Top-10 contenders, as 2025 Australian Open victor No. 6 Madison Keys and Kazakhstan's No. 10 Elena Rybakina booked their own Round of 32 wins on Monday, while 2025 French Open champion No. 2 Coco Gauff and 2025 Wimbledon winner No. 3 Iga Świątek enjoyed extra rest as their third-round opponents withdrew due to illness and injury on Tuesday.

Hoping to join the Gauff and Keys's advancing US contingent are No. 4 Jessica Pegula and No. 35 Ashlyn Krueger, who will face Poland's No. 40 Magda Linette and Italy's No. 9 Jasmine Paolini, respectively, on Tuesday.

How to watch the Cincinnati Open

Tennis's best will keep battling for Cincy's trophy — and an edge going into the season's final Grand Slam — this week: The third round will wrap on Tuesday before the Round of 16 kicks off on Wednesday.

Live coverage of the 2025 Cincinnati Open will continue airing on the Tennis Channel.

Injured Fever Star Caitlin Clark Talks WNBA Ratings Pressure on Sue Bird Podcast

Injured Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark stands in front of the bench during a 2025 WNBA game.
Injured Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has missed 19 of her team's 32 games so far this season. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is feeling the pressure, joining retired WNBA legend Sue Bird on last Friday's podcast to discuss the impact of her recent spat of injuries on league attendance and viewership.

"That's definitely been hard," Clark told Bird about having to ride the bench. "I'm going to go to every road game no matter what, whether I'm playing or not. It's hard because obviously I do feel this responsibility of being out there and playing."

"I sign autographs for way longer when I'm hurt than when I'm active," Clark told Bird, referencing her outsized popularity. "That's never something I wish for, but I still want to make as much time as I can for people."

In total, Clark has missed 19 of the No. 5 Fever's 32 regular-season games — plus this year's Indianapolis-based All-Star Game — as she manages three separate muscle injuries.

Before her injuries, Indiana's 2025 season opener pit Clark against fellow WNBA sophomore Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky earned what is still this year's highest viewership, with 2.7 million people tuning in on May 17th.

Since then, all three rematches have seen the regional rivals face off without one or both of their popular 2024 draft picks.

Despite star absences, however, ratings are up across all WNBA teams, with national networks averaging 794,000 viewers per game through July — a 21% increase over 2024's full-season average.

Golden State Valkyries Debut Violet the Raven Mascot

The Golden State Valkyries debut their new mascot Violet the Raven during an August 2025 WNBA game.
Golden State Valkyries mascot Violet the Raven will be a mainstay in Ballhalla going forward. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

The mysterious large purple egg stashed inside the Bay Area's Chase Center has hatched, revealing the first-ever mascot for the Golden State Valkyries: a bespectacled raven named Violet.

Violet made her official mascot debut during the No. 7 Valkyries' 74-57 Monday win over the No. 13 Connecticut Sun, with the Golden State crowd welcoming her by singing "Happy Birthday."

"Ravens are commonly known as Valkyries' helpful and savvy counterparts in Norse mythology," the 2025 WNBA expansion team wrote in Tuesday's press materials, also noting that "because she is near-sighted, she sports gold glasses helping her achieve the excellent eyesight that ravens are known to have."

Nicknamed "Vi," Violet will bring "crucial knowledge [from her daily flights] back for the leaders of Ballhalla to use in battle."

Violet will now join other mascots in the league's spotlight, with teams seeing significant success from the popularity of WNBA-specific characters — sparked by the 2021 debut of New York Liberty icon Ellie the Elephant.

"The cultural phenomenon that Ellie has become today definitely exceeded our expectations," Liberty chief brand officer Shana Stephenson told Andscape last season. "She's become such an integral part of our game-day experience that the energy and atmosphere within our game I don't think would be the same without Ellie."

Chicago has also undergone a mascot revamp recently, replacing the team's old Sky Guy mascot with Skye the Lioness last year.

How to catch Violet the Raven at Golden State

Fans hoping to meet the Valks' new mascot will have a shot on Sunday, when Golden State returns from this week's road trip to host the No. 3 Atlanta Dream in the Chase Center at 8:30 PM ET, airing live on NBA TV.

Wings Rookie Paige Bueckers, Teammates Back Dallas Coach Chris Koclanes Amid Skid

Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers high-fives head coach Chris Koclanes during a 2025 WNBA game.
Dallas Wings head coach Chris Koclanes and rookie star Paige Bueckers are staying faithful despite the team's recent losing streak. (Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images)

Currently on a five-game losing streak, the No. 12 Dallas Wings — and star rookie Paige Bueckers — are trusting the process, hunting an upset as they take on the No. 5 Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.

"I think we have a really good young core, we have great pieces to build around, good complementary pieces," Bueckers told reporters on Sunday. "We're all really excited that the front office has doubled down on who we have here right now. I think that's what we're gonna build around."

"We've talked about it enough," the 2025 No. 1 overall draftee continued. "We need to put action behind our words."

First-year Dallas head coach Chris Koclanes has taken much of the heat for the Wings' skid, exiting the court to fans chanting "We want Nola" — a plea for assistant coach Nola Henry to take over the team.

"Stepping into this leadership role, [I'm] being challenged to step outside of character at times and when to hold people accountable in different ways and when to discipline in different ways, so I'm learning," said Koclanes, whose role with the Wings is also his first-ever stint as a head coach — at any level of the game.

"You know we didn't start the season off well, we're not playing how we should be playing. But we need the fans to support us," Dallas forward Myisha Hines-Allen said, directly addressing upset fans after the Wings' Friday loss to the No. 2 New York Liberty.

"At the end of the day, Chris is still our head coach. We still need him."

How to watch the Dallas Wings vs. Indiana Fever on Tuesday

The No. 12 Wings head to Indiana to take on the No. 5 Fever at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on ESPN.

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