WNBA taps All-Star reserves | Bueckers & co. rock Phoenix | Sabalenka storms ahead

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WNBA completes All-Star bill

The WNBA completed the 2025 All-Star field on Sunday, dropping the 12-player reserves list to round out the player pool heading to Indianapolis later this month.

• Washington rookie phenoms Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen received their first All-Star nods, joining fellow first-timers Gabby Williams (Seattle), and Kayla Thornton (Golden State).

• All-Star captains Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark will also have access to Skylar Diggins (Seattle), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta), Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana), Kelsey Plum (LA), Angel Reese (Chicago), Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix), Courtney Williams (Minnesota), and Jackie Young (Las Vegas) to build out their teams.

Big picture: While a mix of fans, players, and media vote to determine the All-Star starters, reserves are chosen by the league’s head coaches — and some players weren’t exactly happy with this year’s outcome.

• “Whatever about me…. But taking 2, and NOT including the best player from a below 500 team is crazy,” LA forward Dearica Hamby posted on Sunday, blasting the coaches for not including Mystics guard Brittney Sykes.

• “I don’t know why only Phee and Courtney are All-Stars when you have the best team in the league by a few games,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters. “There are teams that are below us in the standings by a lot that have three All-Stars.”

Up next: Clark and Collier will draft their All-Star teams Tuesday at 7 PM ET, live on ESPN.

Dallas rookies rock Phoenix

Another round of upsets tore through the WNBA over the long weekend, headlined by youth-powered No. 11 Dallas’s 98-89 win over No. 2 Phoenix.

• While injured stars DiJonai Carrington and Arike Ogunbowale watched from the sidelines, four Wings rookies started Thursday’s matchup — the most first-year starters on any WNBA team since 2000.

• The team’s young core shined, with Dallas’s Aziaha James, Paige Bueckers, and JJ Quinerly combining for 68 points to outlast Phoenix forward Kahleah Copper’s 33-point performance.

• “The rookies were fantastic,” Copper said afterwards. “They came out with no fear, as you should. They played free, they played aggressive, and they showed what they could do.”

Big picture: While the Mercury’s two-game losing streak has yet to impact their spot in the current WNBA standings, it did widen the gap at the top of the table.

• No. 1 Minnesota avenged last week’s Commissioner’s Cup loss with some regular-season mayhem, ending the weekend on a 3-0 run to go up 4.5 games over Phoenix.

• No. 4 Seattle also climbed the ranks, downing No. 5 Atlanta and No. 3 New York to pull within a half-game of the skidding Liberty.

• No. 7 Indiana got one over on No. 8 Las Vegas, beating the Aces for the first time since 2019 on Thursday before falling to No. 10 LA 89-87 on Saturday.

Tune in: Phoenix will try their luck against Dallas again tonight at 10 PM ET, live on League Pass.

Sabalenka rolls through Wimbledon

Wimbledon continued to level the field this weekend, with one big name still in pursuit of her first-ever title from the annual London Grand Slam.

• Not always known for her prowess on grass, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka reached her second-career Wimbledon quarterfinal on Sunday, taking down No. 25 seed Elise Mertens in straight sets.

• “Everything is possible,” Sabalenka said of her chances. “I am just trying to give my best and really hope for the best.”

US stays alive: While several stars crashed out in the Slam’s early rounds — including No. 2 Coco Gauff — at least one US player will feature in this year’s quarterfinals.

• No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova downed No. 30 seed Linda Nosková on Sunday, seeing her through to her second-ever Wimbledon quarterfinal.

Exiting the court: A few fan favorites also went home this weekend, as England’s Emma Raducanu and Japan’s Naomi Osaka both suffered third-round defeats.

• “I’m just going to be a negative human being today,” a sullen Osaka told reporters after Friday’s loss. “I’m so sorry. I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I’m working on.”

Tune in: Wimbledon continues through Saturday, with the quarterfinals kicking off tomorrow live on ESPN.

WNBPA’s CBA concerns heat up

Basketball’s biggest stars aren’t holding back on criticizing the league’s CBA proposal, after the WNBA Player’s Association rejected last week’s opening offer.

• Phoenix forward and WNBPA representative Satou Sabally called the proposal “a slap in the face,” while WNBPA vice president and New York forward Breanna Stewart told reporters she was “absolutely frustrated.”

• “Anytime you go back-and-forth, you’re not expecting to hear that ‘yes’ on the first [proposal], but you’re expecting to have a conversation,” Stewart added. “They kind of just ignored everything we said.”

Big picture: With the current CBA expiring at the end of this season, players are upping demands in light of the WNBA’s recent popularity surge and expansion plans.

• “It’s been made clear that this perception that the players don’t understand the business,” WNBPA president and Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike told reporters on Saturday. “We want this league to be exactly what it is today and more. So I’m hoping that something positive, progressive, yields from this meeting.”

Up next: The WNBPA and WNBA will enter face-to-face negotiations in Indianapolis later this month, with the union tapping Nobel Prize-winning economist Claudia Goldin to assist in what Stewart says will be a “spicy” meeting.

France makes Euros statement

France opened their 2025 Euros campaign with a bang on Saturday, beating defending champs England 2-1 to better their chances of escaping a tough group stage draw.

• The Netherlands currently sit atop Group D’s “group of death” after their 3-0 win over tournament debutantes Wales, with Saturday’s victory powered by star forward Vivianne Miedema’s 100th international goal.

• 2023 World Cup champions Spain also hit the ground running, routing Portugal 5-0 behind a brace from Gotham FC star Esther González on Thursday to earn La Roja’s biggest Euros victory to date — and their place atop Group B.

• However, Norway became the first team to advance to the knockouts on Sunday, earning their second win in two games to secure Group A’s top spot.

Up next: Fox Sports’s group stage coverage continues today, with Spain looking to seal the deal against Belgium at 12 PM ET before Portugal takes on Italy at 3 PM ET.

Prefontaine Classic crushes world records

The Prefontaine Classic shattered world records on Sunday, as long and middle distance runners showed their class in what World Athletics called the best single-day competition in track and field history.

• Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet became the first woman to run the 5000-meter in under 14 minutes, turning in a world record time of 13:58.06.

• Fellow Kenyan Faith Kipyegon also hit a personal best in her favored 1500-meter event, breaking her own record with a time of 3:48.68.

Making strides: Famed hurdler Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone won the Classic’s 400-meter flat sprint with a season-best time of 49.43, continuing her progress as a flat runner after dominating the 400-meter hurdles.

Quote of the day

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese
continuing to voice her WNBA officiating concerns on X after Sunday's 80-75 loss to the Minnesota Lynx.