Category: Featured

Photo Courtesy of BDZ Sports

NWSL Player Spotlight: Lynn Williams

The World Cup is over which leaves all the focus turned to the NWSL. The players from the UWSNT and other World Cup teams are on various clubs all throughout the league. But just because Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd or Rose Lavelle might not be playing that night or for a specific team does not mean you should not still tune in. The NWSL is flooded with talent and we have created a weekly series that looks at players in the NWSL who did not go to France this summer, but could very well turn into your new favorite player. First up on our series is Lynn Williams.

She was the top American goal scorer in the NWSL last season with 14 goals. Williams even has the most combined goals in the league by any American for the past few seasons. This all includes the players who dawned the USA jersey this summer. You did read that correctly, the top American goal scorer was not on the World Cup roster. We can even take it a step further and let you know Williams has not been called into a USWNT camp since April of 2018. But this meant while the World Cup was going on with people scratching their heads at why she is got snubbed, Williams was knocking in goals for her club team, the North Carolina Courage.

The Courage are the defending NWSL Champions and back to back Shield winners (given to the top regular season finisher). Their success is due large in part to Williams who has been excelling at the club level since she entered the league in 2016. She had 14 goals not only last year but also in her rookie campaign. Williams least productive year so far was in 2017 when she still scored nine goals.

In just 13 games this season Williams has already scored six goals and added four assists. Those marks have her in fifth place overall for goals and first overall for assists. She is the only player in the league in the top five for both categories.

Williams likes to use her pace to get in behind back lines. Her teammates often play her through balls that she is able to run onto and just flat out beat defenders in a foot race. Her most recent goal shows this perfectly.

Not only is Williams fast with her feet but she is also fast with scoring in a match. All six of her goals this season have happened in the first half of games. Her earliest goal coming in at 22nd minute and her latest just before half at 45+1. All of her goals this year have come in different games, but the single goal she scores sets the tone for the Courage. For five of the six goals she was the first goalscorer for her team and the Courage are 4-2 when Williams scores in a match.

The NC Courage are currently in second place just behind the Portland Thorns by four points. The two teams will meet two more times this season and their first meeting ended in a 1-1 tie. If the Courage want to gain some ground on the Thorns they can start with their next game against the Utah Royals. In their last meeting Williams was pretty quiet with just one shot on goal. The Royals did well to stop Williams in the attack who at the time had to foot most of the offense since her teammates Crystal Dunn, Jess McDonald and Debhina were all playing in France. With more offensive weapons around her this time Williams might be able to find some more space and have a completely different game.

You can catch Williams and the Courage facing off against the Utah Royals on Saturday at 10 pm ET on ESPNews. Perhaps it will be the game Williams scores more than one goal and even jumps in first place as the overall top goal scorer.

Photo Courtesy of Lorie Shaull

Team Captains Delle Donne and Wilson Select All-Star Rosters

The WNBA All-Star rosters are officially set! On Tuesday night, team captains Elena Delle Donne and A’Ja Wilson selected their teammates through the WNBA All-Star Draft.

Delle Donne and Wilson select their teams

The draft is an annual event that allows the players that got the most votes to choose their rosters for the star-studded game on Saturday. The event took place on ESPN2 and featured both team captains as they made their picks.

The draft began with Delle Donne making the first pick of the draft. Delle Donne was the leading vote-getter this year with 32,460 fan votes. For her first pick, Delle Donne selected Phoenix Mercury center, Brittney Griner.

After Delle Donne selected Griner, Wilson selected Chelsea Gray of the Los Angeles Sparks.

The team captains went back and forth selecting from the other All-Star starters. Delle Donne selected Jewell Loyd, Jonquel Jones and Kia Nurse. Wilson selected her Aces teammates in Kayla McBride and Liz Cambage, but she also selected Natasha Howard of Seattle.

Wilson had the first choice of the reserves as Delle Donne had the first choice of starters. She chose Sylvia Fowles. Delle Donne chose her Mystics teammate Kristi Toliver with her first reserve pick. Then, both players went back and forth in picking reserves.

Wilson chose Diamond DeShields, Allie Quigley, Tina Charles (who she traded), Erica Wheeler, Candice Dupree and Odyssey Sims. She traded Charles to Delle Donne in exchange for Naphessa Collier (who will replace Wilson in the All-Star Game) . Delle Donne selected DeWanna Bonner, Nneka Ogwumike, Courtney Vandersloot, Naphessa Collier (who she traded) and Alyssa Thomas.

The team captains also traded coaches, Bill Laimbeer (head coach of the Las Vegas Aces) will coach Team Wilson, and Mike Thibault (head coach of the Washington Mystics) will coach Team Delle Donne. So, both players’ coaches are going to coach their All-Star teams.

All-Star Festivities Begin

The All-Star Game takes place on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET. It will be televised on ABC. The Skills challenge and 3 Point Contest takes place on Friday.

The team captains selected extremely talented players, who will come together and put on a show on Saturday.

With the rosters set, it is only a matter of waiting for the weekend. Fans are in for a treat.

Photo Courtesy of Lorie Shaull

WNBA MVP Power Ranking

As the WNBA season continues, some players have had noteworthy seasons. These players have played well and have helped their teams succeed. Typically, when a player has such an impactful season, fans and media alike agree that the player is having an MVP caliber season.

The WNBA MVP is the most prestigious (individual player) award of the league. A player receives the award when they have an impactful season. They play well, and their team usually does the same.

Last year, Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm won the MVP award. She won after a great season where she averaged 21.8 points (a career-high), 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals (another career-high). She also won Finals MVP and a WNBA championship in the same year.

This year, the award could go to another deserving player. A player who like Stewart, impacts their team. Here are five potential MVP candidates and where they currently stand against other candidates.

1.) Elena Delle Donne

Delle Donne is no stranger to the MVP award. She won the award in 2015 after averaging 23.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and two blocks. Her averages in each category are her career-best. Delle Donne’s performance led to the Chicago Sky finishing second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 21-13. Unfortunately, the Sky lost in the first round of the playoffs.

This year, Delle Donne, who now plays for the Washington Mystics, averages 17.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. She ranks fourth in scoring and fourth in rebounds. Delle Donne was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 28.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in two games. The Mystics went undefeated this weekend as they beat the Fever on Friday and the Dream on Sunday. Delle Donne scored 28 points in both games and had a double-double in the overtime win over the Fever. She grabbed 15 rebounds to go along with her 28 points.

Delle Donne played great over the weekend, as she returned to the Mystics on Friday. She missed three games with a broken nose. She wore a face mask and put on a show.

The Mystics are second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 11-6. They are on a two-game winning streak as Delle Donne returned to action. They lost three-straight games when she was out. Now, they are back on the right track. This shows how important Delle Donne is to the Mystics and why she is an MVP candidate.

2.) Natasha Howard

Another player to consider is Natasha Howard. Howard averages 18.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks. She is averaging a career-high in points and rebounds and made significant improvements in both categories. Her points per game averages has improved by 5.2 points and her rebounds average increased by 1.8. Last season was her career-best in several categories, but she is surpassing those averages this year.

Howard was named the Western Conference Player of the Week as the Seattle Storm went 2-0 this week. She averaged 27.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks.

Howard has 33 points as the Storm beat the Minnesota Lynx 90-79. Then, she had 21 points and 10 rebounds in a close win over the Las Vegas Aces.

The talented forward ranks third in the league in points and sixth in rebounds. She is playing well despite a situation off the court. Her performance has helped the Storm remain second in the Western Conference with a record 12-8. They are on a four-game winning streak and could extend their streak as they play the Aces. Howard’s performance this season has helped them tremendously.

3.) Jonquel Jones

Jones is playing well for the Connecticut Sun as they sit on top of the Eastern Conference. She averages 15.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Her stats have improved from her previous season.

Jones has played well as the Sun are on a three-game winning streak.

In their games last week, Jones finished the games with 26 points and 12 points respectively. The forward/center is impacting her team and will likely continue to do so for the rest of the season.

4.) A’ja Wilson

The 2018 Rookie of the Year continues to shine as she leads the Aces through their season. Wilson averages 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds this season. She ranks ninth in points and seventh in blocks this season.

In their last two games, the Aces went 1-1. They lost to the Storm on Friday but beat the Lynx on Sunday. Wilson played in Friday’s game but left early due to an ankle injury. Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer says that Wilson could be out for weeks. Wilson has played well for the Aces as they are first in the Western Conference with a record of 12-6.

Wilson’s injury will affect the Aces (and her MVP chances), but she should be considered.

5.) DeWanna Bonner

Bonner is a veteran that is still going strong. She started her career in 2009 with the Phoenix Mercury and has been with the team since then. This season, Bonner averages 18.5 points and 7.7 rebounds. She ranks second in scoring and eighth in rebounds.

In their two games last week, Bonner had 10 points in the first game and 14 in the second. The Mercury won both games (one home and one away) against the Dallas Wings

Bonner has played well for the Mercury, and she plays a crucial part in their success. The veteran deserves recognition as an MVP candidate.

This year’s MVP race features several deserving candidates. Next week’s rankings could change, but as of now, these are the MVP candidates and where they currently stand.


Photo Courtesy of BDZ Sports

You Miss the World Cup, so Now What?

Last week, the United States capped the Women’s World Cup with a win over the Netherlands securing their fourth World Cup trophy. For an entire month the sports world was centered around soccer. Some fans even tuned into women’s soccer for the first time or at least the first time since the last World Cup four years ago.

This World Cup saw record setting viewership numbers in the United States. According to FOX, the final game had 14,271,000 viewers, peaking at nearly 20 million. Which means it’s the most watched soccer game in the U.S. since the 2015 final including any male soccer games. More people watched women’s soccer in the US than ever before, but women’s soccer does not just take place for one month every four years.

For starters, next summer in Tokyo, 12 of the best teams in the world will be competing for Olympic Gold. But you don’t even have to wait another year to watch quality women’s soccer. For the 14, 271, 000 people in the US who watched the World Cup final you can get your soccer fix on a weekly basis by watching the NWSL.

Many players from this year’s World Cup are playing their soccer all over the USA. All 23 American players are on an NWSL team. The league also has top players from other World Cup teams like Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord from Australia or Marta and Camilla from Brazil. And yes, all of these players along with the rest of the ones who played in France this summer will all be back to play for their club teams this week. But the NWSL is so much more than just the World Cup players coming back.

The NWSL has had already been playing games this season before and during the World Cup. Each team has played at least 11 games so far and they will continue playing well into October. With how successful the World Cup was for viewership, ESPN announced they would cover 14 games for the rest of the NWSL season. The rest of the games will be available to stream on Yahoo Sports giving the fans many chances to watch the NWSL.

While you watched the World Cup you may have enjoyed the fearless play of Megan Rapinoe, the stonewall defense of Becky Sauerbrunn or the breakout performancs from Rose Lavelle or maybe you’ve now become a giant fan of all three. And if you’re wanting to follow NWSL teams just based on your favorite USWNT players you might have a hard time choosing one team. All of the players just listed all play for three separate teams, Reign FC, Utah Royals and the Washington Spirit respectively. Every NWSL team has at least one player from the USWNT on it and no team has more than three USWNT players on their roster.

So unless you live in one of the NWSL team cities or surrounding areas which include Bridgeview, IL (Red Stars), Houston, TX (Dash), Cary, NC (Courage), Orlando, FL (Pride), Portland, OR (Thorns), Tacoma, WA (Reign), Piscataway, NJ (Sky Blue), Sandy, UT (Royals) and Boyds, MD (Spirit) perhaps watching a few games will have you come across an impressive player you may never have heard of or a style of play from a team that catches your eye and can grab your fandom. The NWSL was built to develop players and prepare them for the UWSNT team and has been able to do that. If you watch enough games you may just see the next breakout player who can help raise up the next World Cup trophy.

To help you out with finding key players in the league who were not at the World Cup this year, starting next week we will be doing a weekly series focusing on top players all throughout the league that were not in France this summer.

Before you read that article be sure to catch the NWSL action going on this week starting with the Utah Royals vs the Portland Thorns on Yahoo Sports at 10pm ET. We will soon be updating our website to include a full NWSL schedule.

Photo Courtesy of James Marvin Phelps

WNBA Announces All-Star Reserves

The WNBA All-Star rosters are all set as the league made a big announcement. According to the WNBA, the league’s All-Star reserves have been decided.

WNBA head coaches around the league selected the reserves. The coaches had the task of voting for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position. Their choices at either position could come from either conference, but they were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.

The reserves feature 12 players from around the league. There are six guards along with six frontcourt players. They will play behind the starters, which the league announced on Thursday.

The frontcourt reserves are New York Liberty’s Tina Charles, Indiana Fever’s Candice Dupree, Phoenix Mercury’s DeWanna Bonner, the Minnesota Lynx’ Sylvia Fowles, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike and the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas.

The guards also feature a group of talented players. The guard reserves are the Chicago Sky’s Diamond DeShields, Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot, Minnesota’s Odyssey Sims, the Washington Mystics’ Kristi Toliver, and the Indiana Fever’s Erica Wheeler.

The 2019 WNBA All-Star game takes place on Saturday, July 27. The game is at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, which is home of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. This year’s game will air on ABC at 3:30 pm ET. The starters for the game were chosen by fan voting with the players who received the most votes awarded captains of each team. Team Delle Donne faces Team Wilson as Elena Delle Donne and Aces player A’ja Wilson are team captains.

The team captains choose their rosters in an upcoming draft. Delle Donne and Wilson will choose from eight starters and then from the 12 reserves announced on Monday. Since Delle Donne was the top vote getter she will get to pick first.

Their draft begins with other starters such as Las Vegas’ Liz Cambage, Phoenix’s Brittney Griner, Los Angeles’ Chelsea Gray and Seattle’s Jewell Loyd. So, the All-Star rosters will feature several talented players.

Dupree and Charles lead all players with most All-Star game selections with seven. There are four players who will appear in their first All-Star game including Howard, Nurse, DeShields, Sims and Wheeler. No rookies were selected to the All-Star game.

The coaches for the game were determined by which two teams had the best records through July 12. The Las Vegas Aces was the top team with a record of 10-5 so Las Vegas head coach Bill Laimbeer and his staff will coach Team Delle Donne. Meanwhile, the Washington Mystics had the second best record at 9-5 so Washington head coach Mike Thibault and his staff will coach Team Wilson. This does create a unique situation since Wilson and Delle Donne will be switching their regular season coaches for the All-Star game.

Las Vegas will be hosting their first ever All-Star game this year creating an exciting event for fans. It gives them the chance to see their favorite players share the same court. There are several great players who will put on a show come the 27th.

This game should be a good one, and something fans can enjoy. All that’s left is for Delle Donne and Wilson to make their decisions.

Photo Courtesy Dlz28

Natasha Howard Continues Playing as WNBA Looks Into Domestic Violence Allegations

On Sunday, the Seattle Storm defeated the New York Liberty 78-69. The Storm secured their victory with contributions from a few players, one of them being forward Natasha Howard.


Howard scored 14 points in 25 minutes as the Storm won by nine points. However, Howard’s game comes after allegations made on social media.

Howard’s wife went on Twitter and made allegations towards Howard. She posted videos saying that Howard threatened and abused her and screenshots of conversations. The screenshots were conversations with Howard, Howard’s agent as well as Seattle Storm General Manager Alisha Valavanis. The allegations were all over social media and caught the attention of the WNBA.


When the allegations surfaced, both the Storm and the WNBA made statements regarding the allegations. Valavanis said that the team is aware of the allegations and is in communication with the league.

The organization is aware of the recent allegations against Natasha. We are in communication with the league and looking into them,” the team said in a statement from Brummel and CEO/general manager Alisha Valavanis.


When asked if Howard would play in Sunday’s game, Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel made a statement regarding the situation.


Natasha will play in the game tonight,” Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel said in a statement. “We are in continued communication with the [WNBA], and their investigation is now in process.”

The WNBA said the league plans to gather additional information. Alex Coffey of the Athletic sent out a tweet of a WNBA spokesperson’s statement.


Howard’s allegations are the second domestic violence incident the WNBA has encountered this season. Los Angeles Sparks guard Riquna Williams was arrested in April after attacking her then-girlfriend at a Florida home. Williams had her hearing postponed and is with the Sparks this season. She averages 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals.

Howard averages 17.6 points and 8.5 rebounds this season. Recently, she became a starter at the All-Star Game for the first time in her career this season.

As of now, no legal charges have been filed against Howard.

The WNBA had previous experience with domestic violence in 2015. Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner and Dallas Wings forward Glory Johnson were arrested on charges of assault and disorderly conduct back then. The WNBA responded by suspending both players seven games after Griner pled guilty to disorderly conduct charges. As the league learns more about the situation, there is a chance they do the same for Howard. Until then, Howard will continue to play.

Photo Courtesy of Max Pixel

Simona Halep Wins Wimbledon With Unbelievable Performance

Heading into the Wimbledon Final many thought this would be the day when Serena Williams captured her 24th Grand Slam Title. Williams had the overall record over Simona Halep entering the match with nine wins in the last 10 matches. Halep only has one Grand Slam Title to her name winning the French Open in 2018. It seemed like today would be the day for Williams, but Halep played arguably the best match of her career.

Halep once struggled on grass and injured her ankle in the semifinals of 2014. As she has grown as a player so has her game and appreciation for the grass courts of Wimbledon. Earlier in the tournament Halep tweeted that she loves grass and today it showed.

From the beginning Halep looked strong putting Williams in difficult positions for shots. Even when it seemed like Williams would win a point with an impressive shot of her own Halep would seemingly come out of nowhere and return the ball out of the reach of Williams. Halep was winning point after point, breaking Williams’ infamous serve and finding rhythm with her own serve as well. Halep won the first set in commanding fashion 6-2. The slow start for Williams created frustration for her and perhaps reminded her of her 2018 Wimbledon Finals defeat to Angelique Kerber.

Embed from Getty Images

With the first set now behind them perhaps it could be the break that Williams needed to refocus. Also, could Halep sustain her level of play against one of the sport’s best?

The second set was much of the same. There were moments of brilliance from Williams, but she only yelled her emphatic, “Come On!” a couple of times throughout the match. She spent much of the match chasing after balls well hit by Halep into the corners of the court. Halep carried the momentum from the first set into the second and did not allow Williams to get back in the match. Halep would win 4/5 break points and limit Williams to just two aces all match. The match would take only 56 minutes for Halep to claim her second Grand Slam title winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.

Embed from Getty Images

The loss for Williams is now her third loss in a row in a final bringing her all time Grand Slam Finals record to 23-8. Obviously disappointed in not winning and still chasing 24, but in true Williams fashion after the match she gave all the credit to Halep.

She literally played out of her mind. Congratulations Simona. You know it was a little deer in headlights for me. Whenever a player plays that amazing you just kind of have to take your hat off and give them a nod on the head. So congrats on all the hard work.”

Williams making it back to the finals again is a testament to her since she has played limited matches after coming back from her pregnancy. She will continue her quest for 24 at the US Open next month.

Embed from Getty Images

Wimbledon is one of the most historic tournaments in all of tennis so winning a title here has so much historic significance. Halep talked about it after the match that winning at Wimbledon, specifically, was a dream come true for her and her family.

I will never forget this day because it was my mom’s dream. When I was about 10/12 she said if I want to do something in tennis I have to play the final in Wimbledon and the day came.”

Halep’s play was remarkable and while Williams did not have her best match Halep played her absolute best. She had the fewest unforced errors in a ladies’ singles final with just three. After the match when she was asked if she had ever played a match better than that she responded with, “Never, it was the best match.” When asked about her nerves which seemed few and far between she admitted she was quite nervous.

Well I had nerves, my stomach was not very well. But I knew there was no time for emotions.”

Despite the nerves Halep was able to play the match of her life and win the 2019 Wimbledon Ladies Single Title in dominant fashion.

WOW Sports Now Providing Coverage for Basketball With the WNBA

WOW Sports is happy to announce we are now expanding our coverage to include basketball. To start we will focus our attention on the WNBA which is in the middle of their 2019 season. We look to add coverage for national teams as well as foreign leagues in the future.

We currently have coverage of the league that includes team rosters, league tables and game schedules. As the WNBA league continues on this summer our coverage will grow including game and player analyses.

The WNBA is considered one of the top if not the top professional women’s league in the United States. The WNBA is celebrating its 23 year which currently includes 12 teams all across the USA. Teams have played in 14-16 games so far this year and will look to play the remainder of their regular season games into early September.

The competition has been great so far this season with tight standings. The Atlanta Dream, who are currently in last place, are just five games back from first place, Las Vegas Aces. A league that was dominated by the Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks rivalry in recent years has now become wide open with quality play from all of the teams.

The league has top players from various countries not just from the United States. Players currently in the WNBA are from Canada, Australia, China, Germany, Sweden and others. The athletes and the play in the league are considered some of the best in the world. If you would like to catch some of the WNBA action yourself a majority of the games are available on the WNBA League Pass, a subscription based viewing package. There are games that are on national networks including ESPN, CBS and NBA TV.

Basketball joins soccer and tennis in our arsenal of sports we currently cover. Soccer has now expanded from just pertaining to the Women’s World Cup to now covering women’s professional soccer in general. The NWSL is currently taking place in the United States and other leagues will be starting back up very soon. You can see the full soccer coverage on our website under the “Soccer” tab.

Photo Courtesy of Romain Dauphin-Meunier

Serena Williams and Simona Halep Will Face-Off in Wimbledon Final

Three of the last six Grand Slam Finals have included either Serena Williams or Simona Halep and Saturday’s Wimbledon Final will feature them both. Before they take center court they each had to play a semifinal match against two players hoping to play spoiler to the higher ranked players.

Halep and Elina Svitolina played first on the day. Purely based on seeding the two are evenly matched and Halep just edges her by having the seven seed while Svitolina holds the eight seed. This was the first Grand Slam semifinal in Svitolina’s career and having only reached the quarterfinals three times, most recently at the 2019 Australian Open. Halep was also the highest seeded player Svitolina had faced at Wimbledon meaning this was the first time she was seen as the underdog.

Halep got out to an early lead in the match and quickly won the first set 6-1. Svitolina never really seemed to settle into the match only winning 1/5 break points and never earning consecutive game points. She did last a little longer in the second set but eventually lost 6-3, losing in straight sets.

Embed from Getty Images

Halep looked impressive the whole match even enduring long rallies with Svitolina but won the majority of them demonstrating her stamina. A player who has struggled on grass in the past, only making it to the semifinals at Wimbledon once before this year, looks composed this year. At times player can slip on the surface especially if they are not used to it compared to the clay and hard courts. Halep even injured her ankle the last time she was in the semifinals at Wimbledon due large in part to the grass surface.

When asked how she has improved her game at Wimbledon over the years, Halep admitted she has made adjustments with drop shots, using the slice more and having an effective serve. But a big part to her game she noted has been her mental approach to the grass surface. She stated,

Now when the ball is coming my way I know what to do with it. Maybe that’s why and maybe I feel confident and not scared anymore of how the ball bounces. So I think I have the feeling and also I feel stable on the legs which is very important on the grass.”

The second semifinal of the day was between Williams and Barbora Strycova. Like Svitolina, Strycova was also playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, but Strycova has only made the quarterfinals one other time at a Grand Slam before this year’s Wimbledon, back at the 2014 Wimbledon tournament. Unseeded Strycova upset four seeded players before facing Williams, most natably beating fourth seeded, Kiki Bertens, and 19th seeded, Johanna Konta. Unfortunately her string of upsets would stop in the semifinals due to the stellar play from Williams. Strycova looked outmatched from the start and Williams was firing on all cylinders. Williams had four aces on the day, winning 89% off her first serves and winning 4/5 break points. The match took less than an hour with Williams winning 6-1, 6-2.

Embed from Getty Images

The upcoming final will be her second straight at Wimbledon and third in a year’s time. However, she has not won a Grand Slam title since 2017 before she took time off for her pregnancy plus time to relax and recover. Many doubted she would be able to fully get back to her peak performance and believed her recent pregnancy along with her age would derail her from winning another title. If she is able to win on Saturday her next title will be a big one.

If Williams is able to win she would have her elusive 24th Grand Slam title, which would give her the most all time, men or women. Anytime Williams makes it far in a tournament it is the topic of conversation. Reporters are constantly asking her about her thoughts on getting the 24th and she often claims to not think about it and really just focuses on tennis and her post-match interview was no different today. When asked about the pressure of 24 she replied,

I thought about it this morning and I actually didn’t think about it since. Because it’s really not about 24 or 23 or 25 it’s really just about going out there and giving my best effort no matter what. No matter what I do I will always have a great career. I just kind of let it go this morning. Yeah, I feel really calm about it.”

While Williams will be the favorite to win the match Halep is no slouch herself. She is a former number one player and the last of the two to win a Grand Slam; Halep won the 2018 French Open. They have played each other a total of 11 times with Williams winning the last six matches including two at Grand Slams.

The pressure, whether Williams feels it or not, will be on her to win her 24th title and get the critics off her back that say she is unable to return to her dominance in the past. If both players continue to play as they have this final will be a great battle with long rallies throughout the match.

The final will take place on Saturday at 9 am ET on ESPN.

Photo Courtesy of Steven Pisano

Top Seeded Barty Loses and Gauff’s Phenomenal Run Comes to an End

Wimbledon’s fourth round with the final 16 players left in the Ladies’ Singles took place today. Five of the top ten seeds were left in the field entering today, but only two would remain when the day was over.

The biggest upset of the day was top seeded Ashleigh Barty getting beat by unseeded Alison Riske. Barty was able to win the first set 6-3 but Riske rallied back to win the last two sets 6-2, 6-3. This will be the first time Riske has ever made it further than the fourth round of any Grand Slam tournament. Riske will play 11th seeded Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

Barty was looking good heading into Wimbledon having won the last Grand Slam tournament this year, the French Open, and making it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open earlier this year. Her number one ranking is not at stake since the number three ranked player in the world, Karolina Pliskova, the last player who could surpass her, lost today as well. Pliskova was defeated by Johanna Konta 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 today. If Pliskova had made it to the semifinals she would have been the new number one.

Earlier this year former number one Naomi Osaka talked about the pressure of being the number one ranked player and how freeing it was to not have the number by her name anymore. When Barty was asked if the number one ranking had changed her she had a very different and more relaxed response compared to Osaka.

No, I haven’t lived my life any differently. But there’s a little bit more attention… For me nothing has really changed. I try and go about it the same way, the right way. The way that I believe works for me and my team… If we can hold onto the number ranking it’d be great. But if we don’t it’s not really going to change anything that we do between now and our next event.”

Perhaps the match most people were tuning into involved the youngest player and lowest ranked player in the tournament, Coco Gauff. She had the hard task of facing the seventh ranked player, Simona Halep. On paper it seemed like Gauff would struggle, but if tennis was played merely on paper Gauff would not even be playing in Wimbledon.

Not only was Gauff the underdog heading into the match, but she was also be sick throughout the match with what appeared to be stomach pains. Whether it was her inexperience, her stomach pains or a combination of both Halep looked like the superior player through the majority of the match. Gauff lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 and only lasted one hour and 15 minutes. After the match, just like she was gracious in victory she was equally gracious in defeat and did not blame the sickness giving all the credit to Halep on a great match. Halep will play unseeded Shuai Zhang in her next match.

The final upset on the day was the 21st seeded Elise Mertens being beat by unseeded Barbora Strycova by a score of 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. With Strycova’s victory the quarterfinals will have a seeded and unseeded player in every match.

The quarterfinals begin tomorrow at 8 am ET with S. Williams playing Riske and Halep playing Zhang. Then followed up at 9:15 am ET (time subject to change) by Konta playing Strycova and Elina Svitolina playing Karolina Muchova. The matches will be broadcasted on ESPN and ESPN2.