All Scores

Washington Spirit rookie Tinaya Alexander carries late father with her

(Courtesy of the Washington Spirit)

Washington Spirit attacker Tinaya Alexander has no plans of changing what she stands for as she embarks on her first season in the NWSL.

Before she went 14th overall to the Spirit in December’s NWSL Draft, Alexander played her fifth and final year at Louisiana State. After each of the nine goals she scored during the season, she lifted her jersey to reveal a white shirt underneath. The shirt read “Stop police brutality” as a tribute to her father, who was killed by a police officer when Alexander was 11 years old.

After consulting with Spirit head coach Kris Ward, Alexander will continue the routine in the NWSL.

“I don’t think I should change who I am as a person for anyone else,” she said. “I think that if you’re going to support me, and I’m scoring goals, then you support me as a person.”

Soccer carries much more meaning for Alexander than scoring goals and winning games. Her father introduced her to the sport after she tried ballet and tap dance and hated them both.

“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t even be here, I wouldn’t be playing,” she said. “[The shirt] just takes me back to those moments where I’d look over and he’d be on the sideline when I scored.”

Alexander’s mother did her best to maintain a sense of normalcy for her children after their loss, balancing a job while raising two kids with busy sports schedules in Reading, England.

The memories from those years were still fresh when Alexander had the shirt made in 2020. She didn’t wear it until the 2021 season so people wouldn’t confuse it for a political statement following George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police in May 2020.

Around the same time, over a Zoom call, the 22-year-old shared her father’s story with her LSU team for the first time.

“It was such a powerful moment for the team,” said head coach Sian Hudson, who had supported the group’s contributions to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

A year later, Alexander started displaying the shirt during her goal celebrations. She faced some immediate backlash, including from people who threatened to stop coming to games in protest.

Hudson encouraged Alexander to use her voice, and the school defended her with posts and a video on social media. Feeling like she shouldn’t have to explain herself, Alexander was hesitant at first to talk in the video, but she knew it was important for people to understand the backstory.

“I’m not saying it for Black people, I’m not saying it for white people — I’m literally saying it for everyone,” she said, adding that it was a Black officer who killed her father.

“This past year I just saw a lot of maturity, in terms of the way she grew as a person,” Hudson said. “And I think as a result of that, she was able to really express herself as a player on the field.”

The 2021 season was Alexander’s best yet. After earning All-SEC First Team honors and finishing her LSU career ranked second all-time with 22 assists, she decided to enter the NWSL Draft in December. Only one other LSU player, Alex Arlitt, had ever been drafted into the league, so Alexander wasn’t getting her hopes up.

To her surprise, the reigning NWSL champions selected her with the second pick of the second round.

During physicals on her first day with her new team, Alexander ran into Gaby Vincent, who was traded to Washington from Kansas City days after the draft. Alexander offered a handshake. The cameras were close, but not on them, so they laughed and said, “Let’s do it again!” Their reenactment turned into the photo the Spirit used for team materials.

“It’s just funny because we look back and we’re like, ‘That’s when we first met and we were already making jokes,’” said Vincent, who finds humor in Alexander’s mannerisms and the way her voice changes when she’s surprised.

Alexander went about preseason focused and calm, and her teammates usually saw her with her headphones on. So Vincent started poking her in the locker room.

“‘Hey, what are you listening to?’” she said she asked Alexander. “Which is probably super annoying, but I knew, like, hey, we’re going to be friends. We don’t need to do this awkward phase. We’re going to be cool. Let’s just get past that part.”

Now they sit in bean bag chairs for hours during their time off from training, watching “British Bake Off” and playing “Call of Duty.”

On the field, Alexander turns into an entertainer. Being a part of the league’s youngest team, measured by average age, has been one of the best sources of motivation. When Alexander sees one of her similarly aged teammates do something impressive, she wants to match it.

A dynamic player who’s very measured in how she sets up defenders, Alexander brings a different style to the field than the Spirit’s other strikers, notably Ashley Hatch, Trinity Rodman and Ashley Sanchez. She loves to drive at people on the dribble and deliver passes in behind the opposing defense.

“It was huge for her when she scored her first goal in training, and everyone was celebrating with her, for her, so we’re just trying to continue to push that forward and keep growing her confidence,” said Ward.

The seven U.S. women’s national team players on the Spirit’s roster demonstrate the value of quick reaction time and decision-making. When Alexander has the ball on the counter attack, she can hear them breathing after they’ve lost it.

It’s not easy to chase down an explosive player like Alexander, after all.

Vincent laughs thinking about the time her teammates admonished her in practice after Alexander danced right past her and two others.

“I told her after practice, ‘Girl, you got me in trouble! But good job,’” Vincent said.

The only 2022 draftee signed by the Spirit, Alexander has already seen lots of playing time in Washington’s first two matches of the Challenge Cup, including her first professional start on Friday against Gotham FC.

Ward plans to rotate her through the lineup as much as possible during the preseason tournament. From there, Alexander will look to make an impact as the Spirit contend for back-to-back NWSL championships — and, if all goes according to plan, to score a goal so she can honor her father and share his story with the world.

“I have no doubt she’ll pursue an unbelievable professional career,” Hudson said. “She wants to be the very best.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.