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Wimbledon: Breaking down the path to the title

(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

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.

Cameron Brink likes Caitlin Clark for 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year

Cameron Brink poses with Caitlin Clark at 2024 wnba draft in new york
Cameron Brink poses with fellow draftee — and possible WNBA ROY —Caitlin Clark. (Photo by Emily Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Dash winger Maria Sanchez confirms trade request a day shy of NWSL deadline

María Sanchez of Houston Dash during a NWSL game
In December, Sanchez signed a new three-year contract with the club worth $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images)

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

Seattle Storm debut state-of-the-art $64 million practice facility

Jewell Loyd #24 of the Seattle Storm during warms up during practice on July 11, 2020 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida
Jewell Loyd, seen here practicing at Florida's IMG Academy, and her team are in for a major upgrade this season. (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

Mystics relocate game to accommodate Caitlin Clark fans

Maya Caldwell, Erica Wheeler, and Lexie Hull of the Indiana Fever celebrate Caitlin Clark
Get ready — Caitlin Clark is coming to town. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.

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