Serena Williams’ road to a 24th Grand Slam title was revealed Thursday, with the tennis great set to face off against some pretty big names at the US Open.

The 40-year-old announced her plans to retire from tennis after the US Open in a Vogue cover story earlier this month. In her final major, Williams would face off against four of the world’s top 10 players if her bracket shakes out according to ranking.

Just Women’s Sports breaks down what her road to the final could look like, taking the top possible seed for each matchup.

The path to 24 🏆 pic.twitter.com/HAOXiC7ZZ0

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 25, 2022

Dana Kovinić (-)

Williams’ first-round opponent, Kovinić is the lone unseeded player the 23-time major singles champion will face. The 80th ranked player in the world, Kovinić made the round of 32 at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros. She’s played some strong matches this year, beating Karolina Pliskova at Indian Wells and defending US Open champion Emma Raducanu at the Australian Open.

Anett Kontaveit (2)

If Williams makes it past Kovinić, she’ll face a tough test in Kontaveit in round two. Ranked second in the world behind Iga Swiatek, she’s already won one WTA title this year in St. Petersburg and made a few finals, including the final at Qatar, where she lost to Swiatek. 

She has yet to win a Grand Slam, with her highest US Open finish coming in 2020, when she advanced to the round of 16. 

Martina Trevisan (27)

Trevisan recently withdrew from the Tennis in the Land tournament, but she’s back for the New York City major. She’s won one title this year and made it all the way to the semifinals at Roland Garros, where she lost to Coco Gauff. 

Leylah Fernandez (14)

A meeting with Fernandez in the fourth round would be a doozy, as the teenager made it all the way to the US Open final last summer before falling to Emma Raducanu. Fernandez has dealt with injuries this summer, however, and is coming off a straight-set loss to Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Cincinnati Open. 

Ons Jabeur (5)

The fifth-ranked player in the world, Jabeur has had her fair share of wins this year. She’s also coming off a really good run at Wimbledon, where she made it all the way to the final before losing to Elena Rybakina.

Maria Sakkari (3)

Sakkari is another credible threat, although she’s struggled of late. She lost to eventual champion Caroline Garcia in the round of 32 in Cincinnati and Karolina Pliskova at the Canadian Open. 

Iga Swiatek (1)

The world No. 1, Swiatek already has won one major this year at the French Open. She also went on the longest win streak since 2000, surpassing both Williams and sister Venus. But she suffered an uncharacteristic loss in the round of 16 the Cincinnati Open, losing in straight sets to Madison Keys.

The 2026 LPGA Tour officially teed off on Thursday, when 39 top-ranked golfers began competing for a piece of this year's $2.1 million HGV Tournament of Champions purse.

Following Thursday's first round, No. 17 Nasa Hataoka (Japan) led the field with a 6-under 66 performance, with world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand), No. 11 Lottie Woad (England), No. 24 Linn Grant (Sweden), and No. 53 Chanettee Wannasaen (Thailand) chasing her just one shot behind.

Defending Tournament of Champions winner No. 27 A Lim Kim (South Korea) enters Friday's second round three strokes back.

Leading a US contingent that includes No. 13 Angel Yin, No. 25 Lauren Coughlin, and No. 49 Lilia Vu is 2025 Tournament of Champions runner-up No. 2 Nelly Korda, who capped Thursday trailing Hataoka by two shots.

"Overall, I'm happy with my round. [It's only] Thursday, so hopefully, I can continue building momentum going into the next three days," said the 27-year-old US star. "But [I] can't complain."

Featuring 16 of the Top 25 golfers, including 2024 champion No. 6 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) and 2023 winner No. 23 Brooke Henderson (Canada), the 2026 LPGA season-opening tournament pairs pros with amateur celebrities including USWNT legend Brandi Chastain and golf icon Annika Sörenstam.

How to watch the 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions

Live coverage of the 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions airs at 11:30 AM ET on Friday and 3 PM ET on Saturday on the Golf Channel, before NBC broadcasts the LPGA season opener's final round at 2 PM ET on Sunday.

Aryna Sabalenka is one match away from her third Australian Open title after the world No. 1 tennis star took down Ukraine's No. 12 Elina Svitolina in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) in the 2026 tournament's semifinals on Thursday.

Entering her fourth straight Australian Open final, the 27-year-old Belarusian initially won the Melbourne Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024 before dropping the 2025 final to US star No. 9 Madison Keys.

"The job is not done yet," Sabalenka said following her Thursday semifinal win.

Now hunting a fifth career Grand Slam victory after claiming a second consecutive US Open title last September, Sabalenka will face Kazakhstan's No. 5 Elena Rybakina in Saturday's final, after the 2022 Wimbledon champ downed No. 6 Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6(7) in Thursday's first match.

"It got very tight. I stayed there," the 26-year-old said after defeating the last-standing US star. "I was fighting for each point."

Notably, Saturday's final will also be a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open championship clash in which Sabalenka staged a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory.

Even more, though Sabalenka holds the all-time edge with an 8-6 career record against Rybakina, the Kazakhstani star has won six of the pair's last 10 meetings — including a dominant 6-3, 7-6(0) upset victory to take the 2025 WTA Finals title in November.

How to watch the 2026 Australian Open final

The 2026 Australian Open final between No. 1 Sabalenka and No. 5 Rybakina kicks off at 3:30 AM ET on Saturday, airing live on ESPN.

Unrivaled 3×3 is taking over Philadelphia on Friday, when the Miami-based league brings pro women's basketball back to the City of Brotherly Love the first time since 1998.

As the league's its first-ever tour stop, Friday's one-off doubleheader — dubbed "Philly is Unrivaled" — is already shaping up to be a success, with Unrivaled selling out the 21,000-seat Xfinity Mobile Arena with tickets averaging $165 each on the secondary market — nearly double the price to see the NBA's Sixers at the same venue.

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"I'm just excited for the love from the city. People can really see this as a basketball city. One of the best cities in the world," said Philadelphia product and Rose BC star Kahleah Copper, as her hometown gears up to launch its own WNBA expansion team in 2030.

Friday's Unrivaled event promises a star-studded bill, with Paige Bueckers's Breeze BC first taking on Philly's own Natasha Cloud and the Phantom before Copper and the Rose square off against Marina Mabrey's Lunar Owls.

How to watch the "Philly is Unrivaled" doubleheader

Unrivaled tips off from Philadelphia on Friday when Breeze BC takes on Phantom BC at 7:30 PM ET, before Rose BC faces the Lunar Owls at 8:45 PM ET.

Both "Philly is Unrivaled" clashes will air live on TNT.

Riding high near the top of the SEC standings, No. 15 Tennessee will face an age-old rival on Sunday, when the Lady Vols visit the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season's last-standing undefeated Division I team, No. 1 UConn.

Tennessee previously led the SEC title race with a 6-0 conference record until a 77-62 upset loss to unranked Mississippi State on Thursday sent the Vols' tumbling to third on the conference table.

While claiming nearly double the rebounds as Tennessee, the Bulldog defense kept Tennessee's field goal rate under 32%, paving the way for senior forward Kharyssa Richardson to lead the charge to the Mississippi State victory with 21 points on the night.

"They outworked us, they out-toughed us, start to finish," Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell said postgame.

For Big East basketball leaders UConn, Sunday's matchup against Tennessee likely stands as the Huskies' final ranked test before kicking off the postseason — and their national title defense.

However, UConn is currently managing a lengthy injury report, with six players sidelined from their dominant Wednesday win over unranked Xavier.

Even so, the Huskies' depth never wavered, as sophomore guard Allie Ziebell sunk a program record-tying 10 three-pointers to secure the 97-39 victory on a career-high 34 points.

How to watch Tennessee vs. UConn this weekend

The top-ranked Huskies will host the No. 15 Vols at 12 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on FOX.