StudBudz in training.

Aces refuse to fold

No. 3 Las Vegas is on a historic tear, adding to the 2025 WNBA season’s longest winning streak with last night’s 11th consecutive victory — and becoming just the second team to clinch a postseason berth in the process.

• “They’ve been resilient,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon said after Monday’s 79-74 win over the Sky. “It’s been a really tough stretch… you’re getting beat up and you’ve got to maintain, you have to play through it.”

Big picture: Las Vegas haven’t dropped a game since August 2nd’s 53-point blowout loss to the No. 1 Lynx, racking up seven wins over teams in playoff positioning as they climb the WNBA standings.

• Aces guard Jackie Young scored 22 points in the win, complementing MVP contender A’ja Wilson’s 18, plus 14 from veteran guard Chelsea Gray.

Crashing the party: The Aces spoiled the festivities in Chicago, as the Sky retired WNBA legend Candace Parker’s jersey in a halftime ceremony complete with remarks from current Mercury star and 2021 WNBA champion Kahleah Copper.

• “Today we celebrate you,” Copper said to her former teammate. “You gave this game everything. Your time, your body, your heart. You didn't just play the game — you set records, you broke barriers and you left your mark in ways stats can’t fully compare.” (Watch more)

Up next: Las Vegas has their work cut out for them tomorrow, as they shoot for 12 against No. 2 Atlanta at 7:30 PM ET, live on NBA TV.

New York fights for survival

Reigning WNBA champions No. 5 New York stopped the skid on Monday, defeating No. 13 Connecticut 81-79 in a tight victory that saw 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart back in the starting lineup.

• Stewart scored 19 points after sitting out 13 games with a bone bruise, offsetting Sun guard Leila Lacan’s game-high 22 points as already-eliminated Connecticut looked to play spoiler in Brooklyn. (See highlights)

Big picture: The Liberty have struggled with availability in the run-up to Stewart’s return, losing guards Sabrina Ionescu and Natasha Cloud to injury this week as the team slid down the standings.

• “She’s just got this relentlessness about her that can rub off on her teammates,” New York head coach Sandy Brondello said of Stewart’s influence. “She’s got the highest motor I’ve ever seen in a player that just keeps going and going.”

Up next: The Liberty are hoping their best basketball is still in front of them, as they gear up to battle the No. 10 Mystics, No. 4 Mercury, and No. 7 Valkyries over the next seven days.

• “We’re in an uphill battle right now and it’s not going to get any easier,” Stewart said of the team’s upcoming schedule.

WNBA “unlikely” to meet CBA deadline

With the current CBA expiring in just two months, Front Office Sports reported Monday that the prospect of the league and WNBPA reaching a deal before the October 31st deadline was “increasingly unlikely.”

• Should they not come to an agreement, both the WNBA and the Players Association will have to sign off to extend the original deadline to avoid a work stoppage.

• “As we approach the 60-day mark, the league’s lack of urgency leaves players wondering if it is focused on making this work or just running out the clock,” WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson told FOS. “Fans do not want that. They are with the players in demanding a new standard for the W.”

Big picture: While this year’s CBA negotiations have been rocky, the inability to reach a deal in time doesn’t have to crush the league’s immediate plans.

• The 2019 CBA deadline was also extended, allowing both parties 60 more days to hash out the details before coming to agreement ahead of the following season’s free agency period.

• However, the WNBA is under added pressure to turn things around, with expansion teams in Toronto and Portland aiming to join the league in 2026.

• The league has yet to issue rules or a date for the impending expansion draft, as terms surrounding expansion and free agency fall under the CBA.

Bottom line The WNBA will do everything it can to avoid a strike, but the league will have balance priorities as rapid growth competes with player demands. (Go deeper)

Basketball is so back. And whether it's smashing viewership records or dropping logo threes, there's never been a better time to highlight all the blockbuster moments that move the WNBA.

This major moment is presented by State Farm.

WTA stars top highest-paid list

Sportico released its 2025 tennis prize money tracker this week, with three WTA stars leading the charge in the annual cross-tour ranking’s upper echelon.

• 2025 Wimbledon title-holder Iga Świątek came in third behind ATP Tour giants Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner with $8.21 million in total earnings, followed by reigning US Open champ Aryna Sabalenka in fourth with $7.13 million and 2025 French Open winner Coco Gauff in fifth with $5.95 million.

• With the US Open as the season’s only remaining Grand Slam, six women’s tour standouts occupy slots in the Top 10, with Mirra Andreeva ($4.15 million), Madison Keys ($3.96 million) and Jasmine Paolini ($3.79 million) all represented. (See full rankings)

Big picture: All four Grand Slams now feature equal prize money between the men’s and women’s competitions, giving pro tennis players one of the highest on-court earning potentials in all of women’s sports.

• Świątek will have a chance to continue her run at this month’s US Open, with the tournament upping its payout nearly 20% this year to a record-setting $90 million total purse.

Rugby World Cup draws a crowd

The Women's Rugby World Cup is off to the races, as a record-breaking 42,723 fans watched host nation England's opening-day victory over the US last week.

• Set inside Sunderland's Stadium of Light, England’s Red Roses downed the Women's Eagles 69-7 to open the recently expanded 16-team tournament.

• ‘The fans definitely made a statement. You made that one really special,” said England’s Ellie Kildunne after Friday’s historic match. “Thank you to everybody that came, having rugby in the North is pretty special as well.” (Go deeper)

Star power: This year's US squad features superstar Ilona Maher alongside several of her fellow rugby sevens Olympic bronze medalists, with the group stage running through September 6th and quarterfinals set for September 13th.

• “There were moments out there when we moved the ball really well and we gelled,” said Maher after the loss. “I think the hope is that we unlock that and we do that because we have so much potential.”

Next up: The US returns to the pitch this Saturday, kicking off against Australia at 2:30 PM ET, live on Paramount+.

Number of the day 

46

Chicago star Angel Reese recorded her 46th career double-double in Monday’s loss to Las Vegas, passing Tina Charles for the most double-doubles through a player's first two WNBA seasons.