A swan song with a new beat.

Las Vegas looking for answers after blowout loss

This weekend’s WNBA action posed as many questions as answers, as longtime championship contenders reckon with new challenges while rosters continue to gel.

• 2024 champion Las Vegas suffered a surprise 95-68 blowout loss to expansion side Golden State on Saturday, in a performance where only two Aces starters cracked double digit scoring.

• “They outplayed us in every aspect of the game. Just really one of the worst games I’ve seen from us,” said head coach Becky Hammon.

Big picture: Currently in fifth, Las Vegas isn’t the only team searching for an identity in 2025, with a clear divide widening near the top of the league standings.

• Undefeated Minnesota and New York lead the pack, with a three-win gap between the No. 2 Liberty and the No. 3 Dream.

• Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle, and Indiana are all hanging tough with records at .500 or higher, but no team in the middle of the pack is riding more than a two-game winning streak.

Near the bottom, Chicago, Connecticut, and Dallas continue to struggle, sitting multiple games below the playoff line after this weekend’s action.

• Despite setting a franchise attendance record of 19,496 at the famed United Center on Saturday, the Sky fell to a Fever squad limited by injuries 79-52.

Tune in: Golden State will try to ride the momentum of Saturday’s win in a matchup tonight against Los Angeles, streaming on League Pass.

WNBA hopes for star returns

After an opening month filled with injuries, more than one WNBA team will be hoping to see a star player back on the court this week.

• Caitlin Clark could return for the Fever after sitting for 14 days due to a quad strain, potentially suiting up for tomorrow’s matchup against Atlanta.

• 2025 No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers is also near a return for Dallas, sitting out Sunday’s game with an illness after being cleared from concussion protocol.

• Injury recovery has also impacted hardship signings — the Dream waived guard Haley Jones on Sunday in anticipation of Alyssa Thomas’s return, as well as the eventual return of Kahleah Copper.

Big picture: Not every team got good news this weekend, as two-time WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot suffered a season-ending ACL injury in Chicago’s loss to Indiana, leaving the Sky without their starting point guard.

• “Whatever is in store in the future for this team, I trust that we will find a way to make this moment mean something in the end,” Sky rookie guard Hailey Van Lith said of Chicago’s ability to regroup.

Coco Gauff wins Roland Garros

World No. 2 Coco Gauff earned her second career Grand Slam title on Saturday, taking down No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at Roland Garros, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.

• Gauff is the first American player to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015, having reached the final once before in 2022.

• “Losing in the finals here 3 years ago had created a lot of doubt in my head,” Gauff wrote on social media. “I thought my dreams were so close to happening but would never come true. So to be here…. means absolutely everything.”

Big picture: Sabalenka will retain her No. 1 ranking despite her loss in the final, after a performance that saw the 27-year-old commit 70 unforced errors.

• “Both things can be true… I didn’t play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose,” she said on social media after an emotional post-match press conference.

Gauff will stay at No. 2, with fellow American Jessica Pegula at No. 3, and Italian player Jasmine Paolini at No. 4

• Four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek continues to dip, falling from No. 5 to No. 7 after a semifinal loss to Sabalenka.

Sports are a numbers game. And whether it's shattering PWHL attendance records or dropping triple-doubles on the college court, there's never been a better time to celebrate the most powerful moments in women's sports.

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Gotham’s slide continues

Gotham’s woes continued this weekend, despite the return of midfielder Rose Lavelle to the pitch in their matchup against Kansas City.

• The 2023 NWSL champions sit in 10th place after a 2-1 loss against the league leaders, in a game that saw two Gotham goals controversially called back by VAR.

Big picture: San Diego also saw a precipitous drop in the standings this weekend, falling from No. 2 to No. 4 after their first loss in six games — a 2-1 victory by Seattle that launched the Reign into fifth place.

• “I just think there’s belief,” Reign head coach Laura Harvey said after the game. “I think we would have been disappointed if we’d have come away without a win.”

Bottom line: Kansas City, Orlando, and Washington have all regained their spots in the top three, but the fierce competition for positioning in the NWSL standings continues.

Texas breaks through, as WCWS makes history

Texas softball earned the program’s first Women’s College World Series title on Friday, but their best-of-three battle with Texas Tech will reverberate far beyond the Lone Star State.

• An average of 2.1 million viewers watched the first two games on ESPN, becoming the most-watched Games 1 and 2 on record — with Game 3 expected to attract similar numbers.

Big Picture: The value of women’s softball went up even before Friday’s Game 3 decider, as Red Raiders ace NiJaree Canady reportedly garnered a second seven-figure NIL offer from Texas Tech.

• A rising senior, Canady became the highest-paid softball player in the NCAA last year after a $1 million payday following her transfer from Stanford.

• “This program has taken care of her. They have showed how much she is appreciated,” Canady’s manager Derrick Shelby told ESPN.

Number of the day

2

2025 TST 7v7 finalists US Women and Bumpy Pitch FC both tallied two goals apiece in their semifinal wins, setting up a winner-take-all final for the $1 million prize today at 7 PM ET.