Last season, the New York Liberty opted to charter the team flights for the second half of the WNBA season, resulting in a $500,000 fine and consideration of “termination of the franchise,” according to a recent Sports Illustrated report by Howard Megdal. The fine is the largest in WNBA history.

The New York Liberty were fined $500K by the WNBA for chartering flights in second half of last season, per @howardmegdal

The league's general counsel also considered 'termination of the franchise' as an option for punishment pic.twitter.com/Sgr8Ro1inH

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 1, 2022

The article, which details the circumstances surrounding the league-record fine, also discusses a larger issue – the differences among WNBA owners with regards to the league’s growth.

Some, like Liberty owners Joe and Clara Tsai, want to invest more in their teams in order to turn them into profitable franchises. Others “view it as pure charity,” according to Megdal.

According to the article, the Liberty told the WNBA Board of Directors last September that they had found a way to get charter flights compensated for every team in the league for three years.

In October, Tsai tweeted out that conversations with airline CEOs were “going well.”

“They get the idea of equity for women athletes,” he said.

However, the plan lacked majority support. Some owners were worried that there would be no going back once players got used to the new form of travel.

WNBA travel has been hotly debated in the past. Currently, the league’s CBA does not allow for teams to pay for anything more than premium economy. There have been a multitude of travel issues, including delayed flights, which have led coaches like Chicago’s James Wade and Connecticut’s Curt Miller to publicly lament the complicated travel arrangements between games.

During last year’s WNBA Finals, the league chartered flights for the Chicago Sky and Phoenix Mercury between Games 2 and 3.

The current CBA does not allow teams to charter flights. When the Liberty opted to charter flights for each road game during the second half of last season, the league intervened. A $1 million fine was floated around informally, as well as the possibility of terminating the franchise or removing draft picks. Ultimately, the fine was reduced to $500,000.

Since then, Tsai isn’t the only owner to raise the possibility of charter flights. Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis said in an early February media call that the “players do deserve more money” as well as better flight options.

“They don’t need to be flying on commercial flights,” Davis said. “We should have charter flights.”

On Tuesday, Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu responded to the article, saying “What a joke.”

What a joke😂😂😂 https://t.co/SdedaL1vyN

— Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) March 1, 2022

Team Poland lifted the 2026 United Cup trophy on Sunday, but the historic win brought new concerns as world No. 2 Iga Świątek appeared rattled while closing out the Australian Open tune-up.

While her compatriots closed out the fourth edition of the international team tournament with wins that secured two-time runner-up Poland its first-ever United Cup title, Świątek stumbled at the finish.

The 24-year-old capped the singles competition with back-to-back defeats, dropping her semifinals match against US star No. 3 Coco Gauff in straight sets on Saturday before falling 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 to Switzerland's No. 10 Belinda Bencic on Sunday — a loss that saw the six-time Grand Slam winner seeking treatment between sets.

"Everything is fine. Just super sore," Świątek said following Poland's 2026 United Cup win, downplaying her fitness concerns. "First tournament of the year, it causes the body [to feel] a bit differently than during the season."

With the first Grand Slam of 2026 looming — the only one standing between Świątek and a Career Grand Slam — the Polish phenom and her peers will have a week to recover before taking the Australian Open hardcourt in Melbourne at 7 PM ET on Saturday.

With qualifying play wrapping midweek, the 2026 Australian Open will reveal each player's path in the main draw, which will stream live at 10:30 PM ET on Wednesday at ausopen.com.

Fresh faces are shining on the 3×3 basketball court, as Unrivaled newcomer Breeze BC holds their own against veteran competition, riding a 2-1 record through their first three games of the 2026 season.

First-year guard Paige Bueckers leads the team with 18.3 points per game, with the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year also sitting third in the offseason league in assists with 7.0 per game.

It's not only Bueckers impressing from the young Breeze squad, however, as second-year Unrivaled vet Rickea Jackson and league debutant Dominique Malonga are posting 17.3 points per game so far, putting the pair at Nos. 11 and 12 among the league's 45 star players — just behind Bueckers at No. 9.

"I feel like we just stick together," said Jackson. "Our chemistry is insane for us to just [now] be playing together."

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Experience did win out on Sunday, though, as reigning champion Rose BC's Chelsea Gray dropped 37 points on the young stars to secure her team's 3-0 record with a 73-69 victory.

Gray currently leads Unrivaled with 31.7 points per game, hitting two game-winners in the first week of play as Rose BC tops the Season 2 standings.

How to watch Breeze BC in Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball

Breeze BC will return to the Unrivaled court next weekend, tipping off their Saturday matchup against Vinyl BC at 8:45 PM ET on truTV before taking on the Mist at 8 PM ET next Monday, airing live on TNT.

The WNBA CBA deadline came and went on Friday, leaving the league and the players union in a status quo holding pattern while negotiations drag on.

The WNBA and WNBPA are continuing talks under the conditions of the previous CBA, without a moratorium on offseason activity like qualifying offers to restricted free agents.

The league originally set the opening to begin free agency conversations for January 11th, allowing teams to now start sending offers through January 20th — though those proposed deals must abide by the terms of the expired CBA.

Amidst the deluge of one-year deals inked last offseason in anticipation of a renegotiated CBA — and the significant compensation bump likely to result from a new agreement — nearly all WNBA veterans are now free agents, with reports indicating that players aren't eager to sign contracts under the old CBA.

This year's free agency period also hinges on the league's expected two-team expansion draft, with incoming franchises Portland and Toronto unable to build their rosters due to the ongoing CBA delays.

Though the WNBA is reportedly not yet considering locking out the players, the WNBPA recently reserved the right to formally authorize a work stoppage through a strike measure, saying the "WNBA and its teams have failed to meet us at the table with the same spirit and seriousness."

Unranked Notre Dame made a statement last weekend, as the Fighting Irish took down No. 22 North Carolina 73-50 to earn their second ranked win of the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season on Sunday.

While guards Cassandre Prosper and Vanessa de Jesus bolstered Notre Dame with 17 and 16 points, respectively, junior star Hannah Hidalgo led the Irish's charge, putting up 31 points as well as snagging six steals in the afternoon matchup.

"Hidalgo was a real problem," Tar Heels head coach Courtney Banghart said postgame. "Obviously, she disrupted us in all ways, I think most of those 27 points off turnovers was because of her."

After a volatile offseason, the Irish saw their 85-week AP Top 25 streak end earlier this month following back-to-back losses to ACC foes Georgia Tech and Duke — but Notre Dame has since rattled off two straight wins to potentially re-enter the rankings conversation.

"I'm challenging them in practice," said Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey. "We're learning from our mistakes, and we're getting better. That's what I love. This group allows me to do that."

How to watch Notre Dame basketball this week

Notre Dame will face another tough test on Thursday, when the unranked Irish host a surging No. 10 Louisville at 6 PM ET, airing live on ACCN.