Valks bounce back | Rodman eyes a comeback | Euros make a splash

Go ahead and run this back.

Valkyries bounce back

Golden State emerged as the WNBA’s big winners last night, with the 2025 expansion side shaking off Sunday’s tough loss against last-place Connecticut with a 77-75 win over No. 5 Atlanta.

• Valkyries forward Cecilia Zandalasini scored a team-leading 18 points off the bench — including the game-winner — as Golden State built up a 30-point third quarter to narrowly hang onto the lead.

• “We were talking about resilience, so it felt really good, especially on the road,” said guard Tiffany Hayes after the win.

Big picture: Golden State will take all the momentum they can get, but Tuesday’s results weren’t quite enough to catapult the ninth-place Valks over the postseason cutoff line.

• No. 7 Las Vegas and No. 8 Washington held fast, while No. 10 LA and No. 12 Chicago failed to make headway in pushing out of their current lottery slots.

• The Sparks did see some upside in forward Cam Brink’s return from injury, with the 2024 No. 2 draft pick contributing five points and three rebounds in her limited 14-minute performance.

Bottom line: With such parity, any WNBA team can plan a run up the WNBA table, but it’s impossible control whether or not the squads at the top cede any ground.

Top dogs square off

Tonight’s WNBA bill features a heavyweight battle, as 2024 finalists No. 1 Minnesota and No. 2 New York attempt to rattle the WNBA standings in their first face-off of the season.

• “I think common sense would say that those two teams probably should have played earlier in the season,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve told media this week, referencing the apparent scheduling idiosyncrasies that delayed the championship rematch.

• “It doesn’t feel like a finals rematch anymore honestly,” Lynx forward Napheesa Collier echoed. “It’s a new year for us. And it’s been so long, it’s almost August, so it’s just the two top teams going against each other.”

What to watch: Both teams enter tonight’s clash on uncharacteristic skids, as Minnesota and New York look to avenge recent losses while other teams jockey for positioning.

• No. 3 Phoenix vs. No. 6 Indiana, 7 PM ET (ESPN3): Fever guard Caitlin Clark is still unavailable, as the newly healthy Mercury strives to steal back the No. 2 spot with a win.

• No. 5 Atlanta vs. No. 11 Dallas, 8 PM ET (ESPN3): After Tuesday’s disappointing loss, the Dream close out a back-to-back against a bolstered Dallas team fresh off a big win over New York.

• No. 2 New York vs. No. 1 Minnesota, 8 PM ET (ESPN): The Lynx are in little danger of giving up their perch at the top, but a strong performance from the Liberty could give a boost to the ailing reigning champions.

Rodman eyes NWSL return

As the NWSL preps for this weekend’s return, one of the No. 4 Washington Spirit’s biggest names is also hoping to re-take the pitch.

• Forward Trinity Rodman is back in training after undergoing extended treatment for chronic back issues that left her “in pain all the time.”

• “It was very difficult — and I think too — trying to function through pain, and kind of gaslight myself to thinking it was fine every day, when it wasn't,” she said after Spirit practice earlier this week.

• “Obviously, it sucks being away from the team and being away from soccer,” she added. “But I got to work on things that I wouldn’t have gotten to work on if I was in the team environment all the time, so I think that was a positive.”

Big picture: Rodman’s availability fluctuated after earning Olympic gold with the USWNT last summer, with the soccer superstar featuring in just four Spirit games this season — and none since stepping away in April.

• As her current deal expires at the end of 2025, Rodman is now actively negotiating with Washington for a contract renewal, with assumed interest mounting overseas.

• “I’m trying not to stress about it or put too much pressure on it, because at the end of the day, I’m worried about health first, and then everything else can come next,” she said of the ongoing talks.

Up next: See whether or not Rodman makes a comeback when Washington faces Portland on Sunday at 12:30 PM ET, live on ESPN.

On this week's all-new Sports Are Fun! presented by Adobe, host Kelley O’Hara hits the JWS studio to bring you the best and brightest in women’s sports — all with an extra side of fun.

• In the episode, intern extraordinaire BJ Beckwith, and JWS staffer Gab Basinski hash out England’s unlikely path to becoming repeat UEFA Women’s Euro champions, plus the NWSL’s highly anticipated return, the WNBA’s post-All-Star Game madness, and so much more.

• “People say winning is a habit,” says O’Hara. “But for this England team, perseverance is a habit — that was what defined them.”

Watch more: “England Goes Back to Back and Italy Impressed Kelley” on Sports Are Fun! with Kelley O'Hara

FOX’s Euros gamble pays off

Euro 2025 made a splash across the pond, averaging 458,000 US viewers per game across FOX platforms to mark a 97% increase over 2022 — and become the most-watched English language Women’s Euro in tournament history.

• Sunday's showdown between defending champs England and 2023 World Cup winners Spain averaged 1.355 million US viewers, up 53% over the last Euro Final.

• The broadcast peaked at 1.92 million, making it the most-watched English language Euro Final on record.

FOX dives in: FOX secured the women’s tournament’s first-ever US media deal back in May, airing all 31 matches live as part of its FOX Sports Summer of Soccer campaign and seeing record returns from the group stage through Sunday’s finale.

• “More and more people are tuning in to watch soccer in the US,” Fox Sports Euros commentator and UWSNT vet Carli Lloyd told The Athletic. “There’s just been an incredible amount of soccer on display, which has been fantastic for the sport.”

Ledecky laps the field at Worlds

US swimming icon Katie Ledecky is back on top, earning her 22nd world title on Tuesday with a gold medal-winning 1,500-meter freestyle performance at the 2025 World Aquatics Championship.

• Finishing with a time of 15:26.44, Ledecky now claims 25 of the top 26 times in event history.

• The Team USA standout took bronze in the 400-meter freestyle earlier in the week, coming in third behind Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh, who won the 400-meter with a time of 3:56.26.

Big picture: Team USA entered the World Championships on shaky ground, as several members struggled with acute gastroenteritis after falling ill at a training camp in Thailand.

• Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske did not compete in the Sunday’s 100-meter butterfly heat to focus on relay events, with an implication that the stomach bug could have impacted her performance.

What you had to say

Last Friday, 55% of you said that Spain would win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025. Siempre está el año que viene.

• 55%: Spain

• 38%: England

• 7%: I’m not watching