Wimbledon returns Monday, with Serena Williams making her return to singles competition for the first time since 2021 and Iga Swiatek looking to continue her 35-match winning streak.

Swiatek will open at 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday against qualifier Jana Fett with the opportunity to make history and claim the longest winning streak this century. Her best performance so far at Wimbledon has been a fourth-round run last year.

Just Women’s Sports has broken down the singles draw and come up with three key storylines to follow as the action gets underway.

A friendly draw for Serena Williams

When Williams makes her return to the court at Wimbledon on Tuesday, it will be her first time playing in singles competition since going down with a hamstring in the first round of last year’s tournament.

This year, Williams will begin her journey to the title with a first round match against Harmony Tan. Tan is currently ranked 113th in the world with a career-high ranking of 90. Twice she has reached the round of 64 at a major, with the most recent coming at the Australian Open this year.

Later in the draw, if Williams beats Tan, she could face Sara Sorribes Tormo or fellow American Christina McHale. In the third round, sixth-seed Karolina Pliskova could await Williams.

Also in Williams’ quarter is Coco Gauff. The potential fourth-round matchup would be exciting, as Gauff is coming off of her first major final at the French Open.

Fourth-seeded Paula Badosa headlines Williams’ grouping.

A stacked quarter for Garbiñe Muguruza

No. 9 seed Garbine Muguruza may have gotten one of the toughest draws of the grouping. She opens Tuesday against Greet Minnen.

Also in her quarter are 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens and Zheng Qinwen – the only player to take a set from Swiatek in Paris. She struggled with an injury that match but could be a difficult draw for whomever she faces at Wimbledon. Zheng already has one win over Stephens this season, getting the better of the American in Charleston, but she hasn’t yet won on grass professionally.

Should Muguruza advance to the third round, she could face either No. 17 Elena Rybakina or 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu. Andreescu reached her first semifinal and final in more than a year (and her first ever on grass) at the Bad Homburg Open and appears to be rolling heading into Wimbledon.

Also in the quarter is No. 8 Jessica Pegula, who could be a tough fourth-round matchup should both advance past their opponents in the earlier rounds.

How healthy is Emma Raducanu?

After making headlines at last year’s Wimbledon tournament, Emma Raducanu had a stellar run at the U.S. Open for her first Grand Slam.

But since September, the English 19-year-old has struggled with injuries. In January, a blister on her finger led to a loss in the Australian Open. Then a leg injury forced her to retire in Mexico in the first round. At Indian Wells, she retired in the first round due to a stiff back while a foot blister in the Billie Jean King Cup led to a loss.

She withdrew from the Italian Open in May with back pain.

In early June, Raducanu suffered a “freak injury” that left her unsure of her status for Wimbledon. She later said that she would compete in the English Slam after scans revealed the injury wasn’t serious. Regardless, her health remains a large question mark as the tournament begins.

Entering Wimbledon, she’s the No. 10 seed and in the same quarter as No. 7 Danielle Collins. A possible matchup with Madison Keys awaits her in the second round.

The battle for continental soccer glory continues on Wednesday, as the Portland Thorns and Gotham FC land in Mexico for the 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup semifinals.

After advancing past last fall's group-stage play, both NWSL sides now face Liga MX standouts in the knockout rounds with a ticket to Saturday's Champions Cup Final on the line.

The back-to-back semifinals will take place on Wednesday in Nuevo León, Mexico, with live coverage streaming on Paramount+:

• Club América vs. Gotham FC, 7:30 PM ET: Both the Bats and this year's Liga MX regular season champions are looking to bounce back, as Gotham attempts to shake off a recent NWSL skid while América seeks redemption after stumbling in their season-ending league tournament earlier this month.

• Tigres UANL vs. Portland Thorns, 10:30 PM ET: Expect a high-energy clash between the three-time NWSL champs and six-time Liga MX title-winners, with the Thorns coming off a five-match undefeated streak and the Tigres shooting to impress in front of their home crowd at Estadio Universitario.

It's not just hardware and continental bragging rights on the line, though.

Saturday's 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup victors will also earn automatic qualification into FIFA's 2026 Champions Cup — a six-team tournament between confederation winners — and the first-ever Club World Cup, which will kick off in 2028.

After a first-round weekend of pitcher's duels and red-hot bats, the 2025 NCAA softball tournament's best-of-three Super Regionals field is set — and it's missing four of the 16 national seeds.

No. 10 LSU fell on Saturday after two upset losses to unseeded SE Louisiana, before Sunday saw No. 13 Arizona and No. 14 Duke follow suit while unseeded Ole Miss, Georgia, and Nebraska all punched second-round tickets.

Eventually ousting SE Louisiana in the winners' bracket to advance to their first Super Regionals in 11 years, the Huskers rode in on the back of two-time All-American pitcher Jordy Bahl, with the Oklahoma transfer throwing 12 innings and hitting four home runs across Nebraska's three Regional games.

Elsewhere, unseeded Liberty booked a program-first trip to the Supers by eliminating top-seed Texas A&M — the first time the NCAA bracket's overall No. 1 seed failed to advance from Regionals.

Should they similarly bounce No. 16 Oregon this weekend, Liberty will become just the second mid-major team to make the Women's College World Series (WCWS) since 2014, joining James Madison's 2021 Cinderella run.

Rounding out the rest of the Super Regional round's 16 teams are No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 5 Florida State, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Tennessee, and No. 8 South Carolina, as well as No. 9 UCLA, No. 11 Clemson, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 15 Alabama, and the aforementioned No. 16 Ducks.

Super Regional weekend to feature blockbuster matchups

The 16 contenders will battle head-to-head for eight available WCWS berths, with the four-time defending champion Sooners now leading the field.

To advance, however, Oklahoma must first outlast Alabama, a team with which the Sooners have a long, contentious postseason history — the pair have faced off in five of the last 12 NCAA tournaments.

After Oklahoma bounced Alabama from the 2019 WCWS semifinals — the last time the pair squared off before becoming SEC rivals — the Tide enacted revenge by narrowly beating the Sooners in April's conference play, teeing up a tense weekend Super Regional series.

After narrowly missing this weekend's hosting rights as the No. 9 seed — UCLA's lowest seeding since 2016 — the Bruins proved why they are the sport's winningest program, run-ruling ever Regional game while allowing just two runs all weekend.

The 12-time champions will now travel to Gamecock territory, where No. 8 South Carolina will try to boost the Bruins and book their first WCWS ticket in 28 years.

Powerhouses still rule the diamond, but parity has never been higher in college softball, with this year's NCAA tournament already delivering whiplash results.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA softball Super Regionals

The best-of three NCAA softball Super Regionals kick off on Thursday and run through the weekend, with possible winner-take-all clashes finalizing the WCWS slate on Sunday.

First games are as follows:

• No. 12 Texas Tech at No. 5 Florida State, 7 PM ET on Thursday (ESPN2)
• No. 11 Clemson at No. 6 Texas, 9 PM ET on Thursday (ESPN2)
• Georgia at No. 3 Florida, 11 AM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• No. 9 UCLA at No. 8 South Carolina, 1 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• No. 15 Alabama at No. 2 Oklahoma, 5 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• Nebraska at No. 7 Tennessee, 7 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• Ole Miss at No. 4 Arkansas, 8 PM ET on Friday (ESPNU)
• Liberty at No. 16 Oregon, 10 PM ET on Friday (ESPNU)

With the 2025 PWHL Finals in full swing and new franchises on the horizon, the league rolled out a detailed expansion plan to build its two new teams on Monday.

The expansion process will see 24 current PWHL players — four from each of the six founding teams — join either Vancouver or Seattle next month.

To be eligible for selection, athletes must be either under contract or have rights held by a current team for the 2025/26 season. 

Each original team can protect three eligible athletes at the outset, with squads reserving the right to protect one additional player should the incoming clubs select two players off the same roster.

In the lead-up to June 9th's expansion draft, Vancouver and Seattle will have five days to sign up to five unprotected players each.

After that window closes, Seattle and Vancouver will increase their rosters to a required total of 12 players via expansion draft selections, with the number of picks for each team determined by how many athletes the new franchises choose to sign.

Finally, the West Coast squads will then complete their 23-athlete lineups alongside the other six teams during the PWHL's June 24th entry draft.

With such a broad unprotected player pool, about half of the PWHL's current athletes — including some of its brightest stars — will be up for grabs, ensuring a very different landscape when the league takes the ice for its third season.

Team USA hockey titan Hilary Knight is hanging up her international skates, with the record-10-time world champion announcing Tuesday that the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, Italy, will be her fifth and final Olympic run.

"It's time," Knight told USA Today. "I'm at peace. I just have this feeling that it’s time."

Going out on her own terms is top-of-mind for the USA hockey great, with Knight acknowledging "That is such a privilege that only a handful of competitors get."

Making her national team debut at 17, the now-35-year-old is one of the sport's most decorated athletes, winning Olympic gold in 2018 to complement three silver medals in 2010, 2014, and 2022.

Just last month, Knight led the US to victory at the IIHF Women's World Championship, and currently sits as the tournament's all-time leader in goals (67), points (120), and assists (50).

Despite her impending step off the international ice, Knight, who currently captains the PWHL's Boston Fleet, plans to continue playing for the second-year league — a pro venture she helped bring to life in 2023.

"I understood what the sport gave me and I wanted to give that to other people," Knight said. "Obviously, there's tons of work that always needs to be done, but I think we now have a career path."