Mallory Pugh is embracing her role on the U.S. women’s national team as she straddles the line between the experienced core and the up-and-comers.

“It’s definitely this interesting balance, but it’s also really unique,” Pugh recently told Attacking Third, pointing to the fact that while she’s just a few years older than relative newcomers Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman, she also has a World Cup and an Olympics under her belt and has been able to share that experience with them.

After the 2019 World Cup, though, Pugh struggled. While she was invited to the USWNT camp in January 2020, she was left off the Olympic qualifying roster.

“Mal was competitive, and she did well, but there were other players I believe that performed better,” coach Vlatko Andonovski said at the time. “I want to be clear that she’s a very talented player, she performed well, and she has a big future in front of her, so I’m pretty sure if she keeps on developing, going forward, she will be on this roster.”

The forward later was named to the roster for the SheBelieves Cup, which took place in March 2020. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and Olympics postponement, as well as a spate of injuries for Pugh. She was absent from USWNT camps in late 2020 due to injury, then suffered another injury while playing with the USWNT in January 2021.

The injuries, combined with her at times inconsistent play, led to Pugh’s exclusion from last year’s Olympic roster.

“Over the years, the pressure of me putting onto myself and then external pressure, it got to me and I felt like I lost my game a little bit,” the 24-year-old told Attacking Third. “In 2020 I realized, OK, this is not going the way that I want it to go.”

Finding and working with mental health coach and sports psychologist Armando Gonzalez helped turn her game around, Pugh said.

A week ago, the @USWNT won the CONCACAF W tournament. 🏆@jennyachiu sat down with the young stars @MalPugh, @trinity_rodman, and @sophsssmith to discuss the future of the USWNT and what it's like playing along side each other. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xDvEQqe0EB

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) July 25, 2022

“I feel like I found that in 2020. That played a huge role in my game,” she said. “It kind of went hand in hand, and I’m very thankful that I have him as a resource.”

The steps she has taken in the last few years have paid off. Pugh has come into her own — both in the NWSL, where she currently sits in third place in the Golden Boot race, and on the USWNT, where she helped the team to a gold medal at the Concacaf W Championship earlier this month.

And according to Andonovski, Pugh doesn’t have to worry about her roster spot. The coach pointed to the forward — as well as Smith, Andi Sullivan and Emily Fox — as the future of the USWNT.

“They’re going to be here for three, maybe four World Cups,” he said, “so get used to them.”

The Naomi Osaka comeback tour at the 2025 US Open has ended, as the two-time New York Grand Slam champion and world No. 24 star ceded her Thursday semifinal to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, who battled back to claim the 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.

"Naomi is playing amazing tennis," the 23-year-old said of Osaka's US Open run. "She's back where she belongs. I told her I'm so proud of her after having a baby and playing at this level — it's insane."

With her Thursday win, Anisimova is now the only player to ever defeat Osaka in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, semifinal, or final — ending the Japanese fan-favorite's 13-0 run in the later rounds of tennis's major tournaments.

Anisimova's US Open success is even more impressive considering the result of her first-ever Grand Slam final — a brutal 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon in July.

In a massive turnaround, Anisimova handed No. 2 Iga Świątek, the 2025 Wimbledon champion, a redemptive straight-set loss in Wednesday's US Open quarterfinals en route to reaching this weekend's championship match.

Anisimova's victory means that a US player has now competed in every women's Grand Slam final dating back to the 2024 US Open, extending the country's championship-match streak to five straight Slams.

With even more history on the line, the US rising star now has a second shot at joining No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 3 Coco Gauff in hoisting a 2025 Grand Slam trophy for the US — a feat not accomplished by any single country since Serena Williams won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2015.

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How to watch the 2025 US Open championship match

Just like Keys and Gauff, Anisimova will have to defeat Aryna Sabalenka to claim her own 2025 Grand Slam trophy — with the hard-hitting US finalist holding a 6-3 all-time record against the world No. 1 player, most recently downing the 2024 US Open champion in this year's Wimbledon semifinals.

Anisimova will battle Sabalenka in for the 2025 US Open crown on Saturday, with live coverage of the championship match beginning at 4 PM ET on ESPN.

The sale saga of the Connecticut Sun added a new chapter this week, as the state of Connecticut submitted a bid proposal on Thursday that would see the WNBA team remain in-state.

Owned by the Mohegan Tribe since 2003, the state is just the latest entrant into an ongoing bidding war for the franchise, with Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, ex-Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and the WNBA itself all making offers ranging from $250 to $325 million in recent weeks.

Unlike previous relocation bids, the state's proposed sale plan sees the Connecticut Sun splitting home games between their current Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and Hartford's larger PeoplesBank Arena, while also promising a new practice facility in the state capital.

Despite winding down 2025 in 12th place, the Sun have amassed a loyal local following, selling out their 10,000-capacity arena four times this year in a state buoyed by NCAA basketball powerhouse and current national champion UConn located less than an hour away.

"The best place for the Connecticut Sun is Connecticut because we have this very fierce fan base for women's basketball," Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz told ESPN. "We love the [UConn] Huskies. We love watching the Sun… and we've seen that the Connecticut Sun players have been great community leaders and role models."

The Chicago Sky reportedly held a team meeting to address the explosive Chicago Tribune interview of Angel Reese this week, after the star forward put the already-eliminated WNBA team on blast.

"We are aware of [Reese's comments]," Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said on Wednesday. "We're addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That's where we'll stay right now."

"Angel has shown a commitment to wanting to be here," he continued. "We as an organization continue to show a commitment that we want people that want to be here."

Reese focused much of her critique on the team's leadership and roster construction, expressing disappointment as the Chicago Sky closes in on back-to-back losing seasons.

"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," the 23-year-old Reese said of veteran Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, following the 36-year-old's season-ending ACL tear in early June. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that."

"We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before," Reese added.

Notably, Vandersloot helped the Chicago Sky snag the 2021 WNBA title before taking the New York Liberty to a franchise-first championship last season.

A high-stakes coastal clash tops this weekend's NWSL bill, with results directly impacting the increasingly tight league standings as No. 8 Gotham tries to hold off a No. 9 Angel City side sitting just one point outside of postseason positioning.

The pair last met in April, when Gotham shutout ACFC 4-0 at LA's BMO Stadium behind a brace from the NWSL's current Golden Boot leader Esther González.

"That's the key — everyone knows their role, their responsibilities, and they're willing to sacrifice for the team defensively while also bringing their quality in attack," Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós said earlier this week.

As they try to rise above the crowded mid-table traffic, both teams have seen positive results in recent weeks — along with challenging levels of upheaval.

Angel City recently lost defender Alanna Kennedy, midfielder Katie Zelem, and star forward Alyssa Thompson to midseason overseas transfers, while Gotham's had little room to breathe after defeating Concacaf W Champions Cup opponent Alianza 2-0 in El Salvador on Tuesday.

"You need to be loyal to your style, cement it, and make sure the players know it," said Amorós. "That's critical when you're playing three games in seven days and traveling almost around the world."

How to watch Gotham vs. Angel City this NWSL weekend

No. 8 Gotham will host No. 9 Angel City this Sunday, kicking off live at 5 PM ET on ESPN.