Search

Mr. Women's Basketball's Preseason Rankings, POY, & DPOY watchlists heading into a highly anticipated second season of Unrivaled. November 7, 2025 Unrivaled Season 2 Projections EJ Arocho Unrivaled Season 2 Preseason Rankings 1. Phantom 2. Breeze 3. Lunar Owls 4. Mist 5. Hive 6. Laces 7. Rose 8. Vinyl Preseason POY Watch List Paige Bueckers | Breeze Alyssa Thomas | Laces Breanna Stewart | Mist Kahleah Copper | Rose Kelsey Mitchell | Hive Napheesa Collier | Lunar Owls Skylar Diggins | Lunar Owls Kelsey Plum | Phantom Satou Sabally | Phantom Dearica Hamby | Vinyl Preseason DPOY Watch List Cameron Brink | Breeze Dominique Malonga | Breeze Alyssa Thomas | Laces Alanna Smith | Mist Veronica Burton | Mist Azura Stevens | Rose Ezi Magbegor | Hive Saniya Rivers | Hive Napheesa Collier | Lunar Owls Natasha Cloud | Phantom Aliyah Boston | Phantom Rhyne Howard | Vinyl SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author EJ Arocho is Mr. Women’s Basketball and lives in New Jersey. Lives by the shore but looking to make waves everywhere!

My number one sports take, which I have just been dying to write about since I was asked to join LFG, is that the WNBA and NWSL are playing in the wrong time of year. I am convinced both leagues should play in the winter, like nearly all the other professional leagues in those sports. We will almost certainly explore the NSWL side of that equation in a future article, but for today, I present my six reasons why I believe the WNBA should change to a winter schedule... November 6, 2025 Why The WNBA Should Change Its Schedule Steve Pimental What is your pet sports take? You know, the one that you think about more often than is healthy? The take that you interject into conversations even though it's only tangentially related? The one that is contrary to popular opinion, or maybe just doesn’t get talked about enough? It could be that Draymond Green is a Hall of Famer, or that Babe Ruth is overrated. Maybe you believe draft picks and young prospects are overvalued for fantasy or that the St. Louis Cardinals have the Best. Fans. In. Baseball. What is that? You hear that one all the time? Are you sure? I’m pretty confident I just came up with that off the top of my head. In any event, my number one sports take, which I have just been dying to write about since I was asked to join LFG, is that the WNBA and NWSL are playing in the wrong time of year. I am convinced both leagues should play in the winter, like nearly all the other professional leagues in those sports. We will almost certainly explore the NSWL side of that equation in a future article, but for today, I present my six reasons why I believe the WNBA should change to a winter schedule. Expand the season. The WNBA has consistently expanded the season in the last decade, going from 34 regular-season games per team in 2015 to a record 44 in 2025. The playoffs have expanded as well. All series before the WNBA Finals used to be best-of-three, while the Finals were best-of-five. This season, only Round 1 was best-of-three. The Semifinals were best-of-five and the WNBA Finals were, for the first time, best-of-seven. The WNBA has pushed its summer window about as far as it will go. The season already encroaches on many of the players’ seasons overseas, and it is not practical to cram many more games in. If the league wants to continue to expand its season and thus its revenue, it has to go to a Fall-to-Spring schedule. Hopefully, we’ll never see an 82-game schedule like the NBA, but you could have teams play two or three games a week and get to 65ish games pretty easily. 2. Keep players fresh. Cramming so many games into such a short schedule, especially when so much of the league has just finished a full season overseas or in college, has been cited as one of the reasons for the league's high injury count this season. This was arguably the best season the WNBA has ever had, but its hard to argue it wouldn’t have been better if Caitlin Clark hadn’t missed half the season, or if the Liberty’s stars hadn’t all missed time, or if Napheesa Collier, Satou Sabally, Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Mitchell and DiJonai Carrington hadn’t all gotten hurt in the playoffs. A winter schedule won’t eliminate injuries, but more time between games, combined with a real offseason in the summer, might allow more players to be upright at the end of the season. 3. Give the rookies a break. It is truly remarkable how good the last couple of rookie classes have been, considering how little time those players have between the NCAA Tournament, the WNBA Draft, and the start of the WNBA season. It's one reason a lot of rookies tend to fall off in the second half of the season: they wear down compared to other players who may have taken the winter off or are simply more used to the grind of playing year-round. I don’t think it's a coincidence that Caitlin Clark was terrible to begin her rookie season but was much, much improved after the WNBA took a month off for the Olympics. How much better would rookies perform if they actually had a break between seasons? You could have a summer league for the rookies and young players to get more experience and instruction, and then let them recharge ahead of their rookie years. I think this is important for two reasons. Firstly, as the league expands, more rookies are going to make rosters and be in their teams’ rotations from day one. This was less of an issue when only a few rookies were making a difference, and anyone not chosen in the first round probably wasn’t even making a roster. Secondly, one of the biggest advantages that the WNBA has over most sports leagues in the world is that many of its best players come into the league as stars. In the era of one-and-done, there are few true stars in men’s college basketball. That is not true on the women’s side. Nearly every WNBA star was a star in college. Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Candace Parker, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers were all huge stars long before they ever set foot on a WNBA court. The WNBA has never been great at turning its late bloomers and international players into stars, so it needs to do its best to put the stars it is handed in the best possible position to succeed. I believe a winter schedule would do that. 4. Avoid international competitions. Every year, several prominent players either opt to skip the WNBA season or have to miss a significant portion of it to play in international competitions such as Eurobasket, Americup, the Women’s Basketball World Cup, and even the Olympics. All of those competitions are held in the summer, and they all take very good players away from the league. That was more palatable when there were only 12 teams, but as the league expands, it can no longer be so cavalier about whether or not it gets the best players. 5. Avoid Overlap with overseas leagues. Now that the new CBA, in whatever form it takes, is going to see players’ salaries increase dramatically, there is no need for the WNBA to share its players with leagues in Europe, China, Australia, or anywhere else in the world. The WNBA wouldn’t have to worry about enforcing its prioritization rule, which is a point of contention for some players, because players wouldn’t need to play overseas as their main gig and in the WNBA as their side hustle. Players would still play in the offseason, both internationally and, perhaps, in Unrivaled if it moved to the summer. But the WNBA wouldn’t have to suspend players for missing training camp and even the start of the regular season because they were fulfilling their commitments overseas. This has been a big headache for the league for years, but now that there is so much more money flowing into the league, I don’t think the WNBA has to worry about competing with those leagues. I think they can just play their games in the same portion of the calendar as everyone else and still lure most of the best players in the world to their league. 6. The WNBA doesn’t need to avoid the NBA anymore. I may have buried the lede with this one. I get why the WNBA started out playing in the summer. The NBA wasn’t going to launch a new league that would directly compete with itself, and the summer was mostly blank on the basketball calendar. Nobody was watching Eurobasket or, frankly, any FIBA competition. Outside of the Olympics, there wasn’t much for basketball fans to watch in the summer. Even the NBA draft and free agency weren’t nearly as popular as they are now. There was little else going on in the summer, and the WNBA looked to fill that void. As we pointed out above, that is no longer the case. More importantly, the WNBA isn’t really even avoiding the NBA that much. The WNBA season begins in the heart of the NBA playoffs, which is hardly ideal. The NBA draft, free agency, and Summer League all fall right in the middle of the WNBA regular season. And while the second half of the WNBA season still falls in a fallow period on the basketball calendar, there is plenty of competition from other sports. The WNBA playoffs fall in the heart of the MLB playoff race and the start of the NFL season. There is still plenty of competition for attention, even if it doesn’t come from the NBA. Even more to the point, Women’s college basketball, the WSL, and myriad international leagues have proven that women’s sports can thrive during the men’s season. The WSL doesn’t play on the most popular days of the EPL season, and by doing so, is able to bring in tons of fans to the pitch and on TV. I don’t see any reason why the WNBA couldn’t do the same thing. Hopefully some day soon, more people will start to agree with me. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Steve Pimental would rather write 20,000 words about Stef Dolson than write two sentences about himself. He lives near Chicago with his beagle/shepard mix, Hootie.

That will almost certainly inform the product we see on WNBA courts next season. While I pass the time waiting for the WNBA and the WNBPA to reach a new collective bargaining agreement by watching NBA basketball, I can’t help but wonder if the trends we’re seeing in the men’s game will carry over to the WNBA. Here are four trends I expect to see in the WNBA next season. November 4, 2025 Four Strategy Adjustments That Could Be Coming to the WNBA Steve Pimental One of the things I love about the WNBA is the stylistic diversity across the league. If you like threes and layups and pick-and-roll, there is plenty. If you like post play and offensive rebounds, I’d argue you get more than in the NBA. While the NBA can often be a guard-centric league, the best WNBA players are almost always forwards. That alone changes what offenses teams can run and the defensive looks to try to slow them down. That being said, there is no doubt that WNBA coaches oftentimes take what works at the NBA level (or internationally) and apply it to their teams. In fact, I believe we are seeing a more concerted effort to do that this offseason. I don’t think it's a coincidence that two of the three new head coaching hires had recent NBA experience. The Liberty are reportedly also prioritizing a coach with NBA or G-League experience in their coaching search. Most of the teams that couldn’t hire one of the best coaches in WNBA history, Sandy Brondello, are turning to coaches with diverse experience, including NBA experience. That will almost certainly inform the product we see on WNBA courts next season. While I pass the time waiting for the WNBA and the WNBPA to reach a new collective bargaining agreement by watching NBA basketball, I can’t help but wonder if the trends we’re seeing in the men’s game will carry over to the WNBA. Here are five trends I expect to see in the WNBA next season. Full Court Pressure The Indiana Pacers used relentless pressure on defense to wear down opposing ballhandlers. Head coach Rick Carlisle used a deep guard rotation to allow his players to expend a lot of energy on defense while constantly rotating in fresh players to pick up where they left off. That, among other things, carried the Pacers to Game 7 of the NBA Finals. As many pundits expected, several teams have picked up the Pacers’ defensive strategy and run with it, chiefly the Portland Trail Blazers and their fifth-ranked defense. The WNBA season was already well underway by the time the Pacers reached the NBA Finals, but I fully expect at least one or two teams to take notice and press teams far more often. I believe the strategy could be especially effective in a league that is rapidly expanding. As we have discussed often the last few months, I don’t think there are enough ball handlers to go around. The Sky basically played the entire season without a starting-caliber point guard, and you could argue Golden State did, as well. Even if teams have a high-level point guard, they may not have a quality backup. Or they may not have lineups with multiple ball handlers. I think some of the undersized point guards who don’t create efficient offense but are able to take care of the basketball could see a resurgence in this league as opposing coaches look to test guards with full-court pressure. In a league that could see unprecedented player movement in the offseason, its difficult to know which teams could embrace this pressuring style of defense, but a few stand out. The Golden State Valkyries already had the third-ranked defense in the WNBA, but they ranked 10th in opponent turnover percentage. It may depend on how many of their players return, but last season they had a deep team without any real stars. When you’re already playing a lot of players for relatively few minutes, it is easier to ask those players to ramp up the defensive pressure. Similar to Golden State this season, either of the expansion teams could try to pressure full court. I expect the Portland Fire to skew younger under new head coach Alex Sarama, and a pressing defense could take advantage of that youth and potentially paper over some of the mistakes young players inevitably make. On the flip side, Toronto could look to assemble a deep team of role players like Golden State did. The Chicago Sky could be another candidate, especially if general manager Jeff Pagliocca really is going to run it back with the same roster next season. Chicago needs to do something to get its defense out of the basement, and with the personnel on that roster, their options are limited. If any teams do elect to pressure in the backcourt, we might get to see it in the preseason. I don’t usually put much stock in preseason WNBA games, but that could be one thing to watch for. 2. Faster Pace The Pacers combined their pressure defense with a breakneck pace on offense. The Portland Trail Blazers are predictably third in pace this season, while the new-look Miami Heat are first. They are getting the ball up the floor very quickly off of makes and misses, often using hit-ahead passes to the wings to allow their players to go one-on-one before the help can arrive. Miami is combining its fast pace with a read-and-react offense that de-emphasizes ball screens in favor of letting players attack one-on-one. It is very similar to the offense the Memphis Grizzlies ran last season until head coach Taylor Jenkins and now-Miami assistant coach Noah LaRoche were fired late in the season. The Phoenix Mercury already played with the third-highest pace in the WNBA but if they bring back Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper, and Satou Sabally, I think they could go even faster. All three are very difficult to stop one-on-one, and Thomas’s lack of floor spacing is less of an issue if he’s barreling down the lane or throwing hit-ahead passes to get the offense started. Phoenix was seventh in offensive rating in the regular season despite that big three and DeWanna Bonner, Sami Whitcomb and Monique Akoa Makani spacing the floor. During the season and the playoffs, I actually thought there was too much one-on-one, but perhaps they just need to do it faster before the defense can load up. The other team I thought of for this style is Las Vegas. The Aces were better in the second half of the season when they moved Jewell Loyd to the bench, but they still finished fourth in offensive rating and seventh in pace. I didn’t think they ran a ton of ball screens anyway, but with four All-Stars and NaLyssa Smith, they have the personnel to excel going one-on-one, especially with a spaced floor. 3. Crash the Offensive Boards The Houston Rockets are first in offensive rating this season despite being 28th in turnover rate and dead last in three-point attempts per game, thanks to an insane 42.1 offensive rebounding rate. The Jazz are second in offensive rebounding rate, which has buoyed their offense to 21st in the league. The Chicago Sky led the WNBA with a 35.5 offensive rebounding rate. I think they should lean into that identity even more, especially if they add 2025 first-round draft pick Ajsa Sivka to the mix. The Sky were actually second to Indiana in second-chance points, which just shows that they need to do a better job converting their opportunities when they do secure an offensive rebound. The other team that could focus more on offensive rebounds if they bring back largely the same team is Seattle. Seattle frankly needed to focus on rebounding on both sides of the ball. I’ll never understand how a team with Nneka Ogwumike, Dominique Malonga, and Ezi Magbegor finished 12th in both defensive and offensive rebounding rate. Gabby Williams and Skylar Diggins should be good rebounders for their position as well. Like the Rockets, Seattle didn’t shoot many threes, finishing ninth overall in three-point attempts but last among the eight teams that made the playoffs. Seattle was starting at a math advantage shooting so few threes, and while they tried to make that up by having the fewest turnovers in the league, I think they need to secure more of their misses to give themselves extra possessions. 4. Shoot More Threes The success of the Rockets notwithstanding, we have generally seen more three-point attempts lead to better offense in both leagues. I don’t think it's a coincidence that the bottom four teams in three-point attempts per game all missed the WNBA playoffs last season. The Valkyries finished 11th out of 13 teams in three-point percentage but first in three-point attempts, and their offense was still good enough to get them into the playoffs as an expansion team. The Atlanta Dream were similarly second in three-point attempts and seventh in three-point percentage, though they finished second in offensive rating. I hate to keep harping on my hometown Chicago Sky, but the whole point of the roster was to surround Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese with shooting, even if most of those shooters couldn’t defend. For that team to finish 12th in three-point attempts and ninth in three-point percentage is pretty sad. They probably would have gotten more open looks if Courtney Vandersloot had stayed healthy, but given their offensive struggles, they probably needed to just keep firing threes even if they weren’t particularly open. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author

Vegas Goes Back-to-Back! A'ja is in her prime and not slowing down. Head and shoulders the best player on the planet and maybe the only player who can single-handedly win games for her team....With all this success, I don't anticipate Vegas's core going anywhere any time soon... October 31, 2025 Way-Too-Early 2026 WNBA Predictions EJ Arocho Vegas Goes Back-to-Back A'ja is in her prime and not slowing down. Head and shoulders the best player on the planet and maybe the only player who can single-handedly win games for her team. Herculean efforts by Wilson led Vegas to a near-undefeated August and catapulted the Aces from 8th to 1st in the standings. Becky Hammon & co. have found the winning strategy three of the past four years with no sign of tapering off... With all this success, I don't anticipate Vegas's core going anywhere any time soon. Indiana in the Finals We could very well see Vegas vs Indiana in the 2026 WNBA Finals. After a RESILIENT season, they go into the offseason with their heads held high. Even with players like Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham out for most of the season, they found a way to nearly upset the eventual champions in the semis. With a fully healthy roster and some new additions, Fever fans could be in for a special ride. An Expansion Team Stuns with Early Success With new franchises like the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo joining in 2026, I’ll predict one of them will earn a surprise playoff berth in Year 1. It’ll be bold, but the league momentum is stronger than ever before. Just look at what Golden State was able to accomplish in their inaugural season! A Total Turnaround for Dallas The Wings have the top odds for the top pick in the 2026 Draft and all eyes are on Lauren Betts, Awa Fam and Azzi Fudd. Any one of these will be a huge piece to what Dallas is building, especially with Paige and Arike in the back court. With new leadership in Jose Fernandez, 2026 could be a very good year. A playoff berth for the first time since 2023 could be in the cards. Major Free Agency Shake-up Leads to Super Team Formation I predict at least one major star will leave their long-time team in free agency and team up with another top player, creating yet another "super team" scenario in the W. With many veterans becoming unrestricted free agents, the movement could be significant. I'm keeping a close watch on Seattle, New York and Los Angeles. Postseason Locks Las Vegas, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Phoenix ... but then who? Three spots up for grab! Breakout Players Cameron Brink, Dominique Malonga and Cecilia Zandalasini have emerged as ones to watch. In fact, I'm fully convinced Cameron Brink will find herself in the DPOY conversation next year. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author

Two more pieces of the WNBA coaching puzzle fell into place this week as the Dallas Wings and Seattle Storm both filled their coaching vacancies. With four of the five open positions filled thus far, each team has gone in a different direction, while nonetheless furthering the hiring trends we have seen in recent years. As we did last week for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire hires, let’s take a look at what these new coaches will bring to their teams and the WNBA at large. October 30, 2025 What Will These New WNBA Coaches Bring To Their Teams And The League? Steve Pimental Two more pieces of the WNBA coaching puzzle fell into place this week as the Dallas Wings and Seattle Storm both filled their coaching vacancies. With four of the five open positions filled thus far, each team has gone in a different direction, while nonetheless furthering the hiring trends we have seen in recent years. As we did last week for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire hires, let’s take a look at what these new coaches will bring to their teams and the WNBA at large. After the Dallas Wings struck out on Sandy Brondello, it was reported that they were looking for candidates with head coaching experience to replace Chris Koclanes, who went 10-34 with the Wings last season, his first as a head coach. While they were reportedly looking at former Kings and Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger, among others, they instead settled on longtime South Florida head coach Jose Fernandez. Fernandez follows Karl Smesko and Lynne Roberts, who were hired last season by the Dream and Sparks despite no previous WNBA experience. Like Fernandez, both Smesko and Roberts have decades of college coaching experience, though not exactly at powerhouse schools. Roberts and Smesko had been head coaches since 2002, with Smesko spending that entire time at Florida Gulf Coast while Roberts coached at three different schools, including the last nine years at Utah. Through one season, it's fair to say those hires were a mixed bag. Smesko finished second in the Coach of the Year voting, with 15 votes compared to 53 for Golden State’s Natalie Nakase. He brought his three-point-heavy offense from Florida Gulf Coast to Atlanta and was largely successful. Atlanta was second in both three-point attempts per game and percentage of shots that were threes. They finished second in the regular season in offensive rating and net rating before losing to the Indiana Fever in three games in the first round of the playoffs. Like Smesko, Roberts was known for her teams taking a lot of threes, but that did not translate as smoothly to the WNBA. Both teams shot 33.7 percent on threes but the Sparks were sixth in three-point attempts per game. They finished sixth in offensive rating but 10th in defensive rating, ultimately finishing two games behind the Golden State Valkyries for the last playoff spot. Roberts certainly wasn’t the worst of the seven new head coaches in the league last season, but she wasn’t the best, either. Dallas will certainly be hoping Fernandez makes the transition to the WNBA game better than Roberts did. Unlike Smesko, Roberts, and even new Fire head coach Alex Sarama, Fernandez doesn’t necessarily have a coaching style or philosophy he is known for. His teams have been good but not great, though he has had seven players selected in the WNBA draft. Wings general manager Curt Miller has spoken repeatedly about wanting the Wings to be a top organization that players want to be a part of, so it stands to reason that a big part of Fernandez’s job is going to be creating a winning culture in Dallas. In a league in which all but two veterans are free agents this offseason, the Wings have five players on rookie contracts, along with the rights to Awak Kuier and seven others. With so many cheap contracts on the books, they could be major players in free agency as they look to build around Paige Bueckers and a lottery pick in the upcoming draft. Fernandez will be tasked with blending whatever veterans the Wings add with their young core in a way that leads to more wins than last season. Seattle’s hiring of Liberty assistant Sonia Raman continues yet another hiring trend in the WNBA, which is to hire coaches with a variety of experience in different leagues, including the WNBA. The Nakase, as mentioned above, and the Chicago Sky’s Tyler Marsh were both hired after two seasons on the Las Vegas Aces staff. Both also had previous NBA and G-League experience. Marsh joined the Aces from the Indiana Pacers after getting his start with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers while Nakase had been in the Clippers organization since 2017, with stints with the Los Angeles Clippers and the G-League Agua Caliente Clippers. Sonia Raman spent one season on Sandy Brondello’s staff in New York following four seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies. Like Jose Fernandez, Raman was a candidate for previous WNBA head coaching opportunities before inking a deal this offseason. I would guess that the Storm are going to try to resign at least some of their veteran free agents to make a run at the playoffs with second-year center Dominique Malonga. Raman helped coach a talent-laden Liberty squad that was third in the league in net rating despite dealing with injuries to key players all season. Seattle had three All-Stars of its own before trading for a fourth in Brittney Sykes, but even with all that talent and former All-Star Ezi Magbegor, they only finished seventh in the regular season before losing to Las Vegas in the first round. I think Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams are the most likely veterans to return, and Seattle probably needs to add some outside shooting as well. Seattle might be the most interesting team this offseason, especially since I am eager to see what ingredients Sonia Raman will have to work with in her first WNBA head coaching job. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author

At some point this off-season, the league and the Players' Association will agree on a new collective bargaining agreement, and then it will be full speed ahead to the draft lottery, expansion draft, and free agency. That makes now the perfect time to look at some forgotten players from the 2025 WNBA Draft...Before they get lost in the shuffle with the 2026 draft class, I want to take this opportunity to look at what we can expect from these players when they make their long-awaited WNBA debuts. October 28, 2025 Don't Sleep On These Rookies in 2026 Steve Pimental One of the things I've tried to do with my Be In The Know articles is highlight important aspects of the game that might get overlooked. At some point this off-season, the league and the Players' Association will agree on a new collective bargaining agreement, and then it will be full speed ahead to the draft lottery, expansion draft, and free agency. That makes now the perfect time to look at some forgotten players from the 2025 WNBA Draft. One of the highlights of this past season was the play of the rookies, especially those drafted in April. Despite what wasn't considered a particularly strong draft class, we saw three rookie All-Stars for the first time since 2011. What makes this draft class even more impressive is that three of the 13 first-round picks didn't even play in the league last season. Before they get lost in the shuffle with the 2026 draft class, I want to take this opportunity to look at what we can expect from these players when they make their long-awaited WNBA debuts. Juste Jocyte, Forward, Golden State Valkyries Golden State’s run to the playoffs in their inaugural WNBA season was made even more impressive considering they did it without their first-round draft pick. Jocyte opted to skip the 2025 WNBA season, but she is expected to play for the Valkyries in 2026. She is currently playing alongside the Valkyries’ Laeticia Amihere for Spar Unigirona in the Spanish LF Endesa. Jocyte has helped lead Girona to a league-best 4-0 record and a 3-0 record in Euroleague. After watching her Euroleague tape, it looks like Jocyte should fit Coach of the Year Natalie Nakase’s system perfectly. Jocyte is a 6’1” wing, and while a couple of sites list her as a guard, I think she’s going to have to play small forward in the WNBA. Jocyte is shooting 50 percent on 6.3 threes per game in all competitions, and while she is unlikely to shoot that well the rest of this season or in the W, she is a bona fide floor spacer who moves well without the ball. The Valkyries lead the league in three-point attempts per game despite finishing 11th in three-point percentage. Jocyte should bring up that percentage while getting shots up at a high rate. Jocyte isn’t just a jumpshooter, however. She is comfortable attacking closeouts and is a solid finisher around the basket. She is a willing passer with good vision, swinging some impressive passes with her left hand. I think the swing skill for Jocyte is going to be her ability to get to the basket. I believe she has a good enough handle, but it remains to be seen if she has the quickness and athleticism to beat WNBA wings off the dribble. She has shown that ability at times in the Euroleague, especially on the pick-and-roll. She will go hard to the basket when she gets a step, and she is great at reading the defense. If she draws hep, she’ll find the open teammate. Joycte is a willing defender and rebounder who is strong enough to hold her ground at the point of attack. Much like on the offensive end, I think her biggest question mark defensively is quickness. One reason I think she’ll be a forward in the W is that she lacks the quickness to stay in front of WNBA guards. I don’t think she’ll be a liability on that end, but beyond that, it is hard to say. I expect Jocyte to be a valuable part of Golden State’s rotation in 2026, with the upside to be an All-Rookie selection. Georgia Amoore, Guard, Washington Mystics Amoore was selected one pick after Jocyte, Washington’s third pick in the draft. She did not play in 2025 due to a torn ACL suffered during training camp. The 5’6” guard out of Kentucky could form the backcourt of the future with All-Rookie selection Sonia Citron, though it is difficult to know what to expect from Amoore in her rookie season, coming off her injury. Amoore was a career 35.6 percent three-point shooter across five college seasons, though her percentages dipped as her usage and attempts increased. At the very least, she should get guarded out there, and opponents won’t be able to go under screens consistently. She should be a consistent floor-spacer next to Citro,n who can run the offense at times when Citron sits. Unless the Mystics add another point guard, I would expect Amoore to take over the Jade Melbourne role as the backup point guard off the bench. The biggest problem for Amoore on both ends is her size. She shot just 40.3 percent from the field in her career, though she did shoot a career-high 42.3 percent at Kentucky as a Senior. We have seen a lot of small guards struggle in the WNBA in recent seasons, especially if they’re not able to score efficiently. As we have discussed a lot of late, I don’t think there are enough quality point guards to go around with the league continuing to expand, so Amoore should be a rotation player for years to come. Perhaps with better teammates and more floor spacing she can become a more efficient scorer, in which case she could be a starter at some point. Ajsa Sivka, Forward, Chicago Sky Like Juste Jocyte, Ajsa Sivka sat out the 2025 WNBA season but is expected to play in 2026. She turns 20 next month, four days after Jocyte. Sivka currently plays for Joventut Badalona in the LIGA ACB, where the 6’4” power forward is second on the team in points and rebounds per game. She also leads her team in three-point attempts (27) and makes (13) through four games. She shot 38.3 percent on threes for Slovenia at the U20 Eurobasket, and the three-point shot is a real weapon. She has a quick release, and she can get her shot off in the pick-and-pop, as a trailer in transition, or coming off screens off the ball. She moves well for her size and can attack off the dribble. Slovenia used her in inverted ball screens, and she can use the threat of her three-point shot to get an advantage going to the basket. Sivka should be good as a floor spacer, especially in the pick-and-roll, right way. I think she’ll be good in transition, both running the floor and as a trailer walking into open threes. I think the biggest question is how much her other skills translate to the WNBA. I would probably rather have Sivka handle the ball than Angel Reese, but that isn’t setting the bar particularly high. If she can actually grab-and-go in transition and attack the basket off the dribble, she could be very, very good. Sivka didn’t shoot the ball as well while playing for the senior national team, but she looked very good playing next to Jessica Shepard. Her spacing allowed Shepard to play closer to the basket, and both players moved well without the ball. If Angel Reese doesn’t force her way out of Chicago, I think Sivka would be a perfect third big, capable of playing next to either Reese or Kamilla Cardoso. Defensively, I think we’ll just have to wait and see. I don’t think Sivka is strong enough right now to bang with most fives on the interior, but I don’t know if she can chase around quicker fours, either. Though at her age, there is plenty of room for growth. Given the uninspiring direction of Chicago’s leadership since their title run, I would say the Sky’s best chance to make the playoffs in the next couple of years is to hit a home run on Sivka or their 2026 lottery pick. After seeing her tape, I feel like Sivka has the upside to be very good right away. Now we just have to see if she can hit that upside. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Steve Pimental would rather write 20,000 words about Stef Dolson than write two sentences about himself. He lives near Chicago with his beagle/shepard mix, Hootie.

Women’s WTA 250 previews: Hong Kong, Jiangxi & Chennai Opens—find the top contenders, dark horses and favorites. Women's main draw play at the 2025 Hong Kong Open, 2025 Jiangxi Open and 2025 Chennai Open will begin Monday, Oct. 27. All three are WTA 250 events with 32-player draws played on outdoor hard courts. The biggest names on the WTA Tour are preparing for the WTA Finals, which begin Nov. 1, so these three events present opportunities for some other players to shine. The Hong Kong Open has the most high-profile field of this week's three tournaments, with four top-25 players in the draw. Below are the top title contenders and dark horses for the 2025 Hong Kong Open, Jiangxi Open and Chennai Open. October 27, 2025 WTA Hong Kong Open, Jiangxi Open and Chennai Open Previews Sasha Yodashkin Favorite to Win the 2025 Hong Kong Open Belinda Bencic : Bencic is putting the finishing touches on a superb first season back from maternity leave. The 2025 Wimbledon semifinalist just claimed her second title of the year at the Toray Open, so Bencic is rolling to close out the campaign. She doesn't hit as hard as the WTA's top power hitters, but Bencic's aggressive court positioning and ability to redirect the ball at will takes time away from her opponents. Bencic is the clear top-ranked player at the Hong Kong Open, and her No. 13 ranking doesn't even include the points from the Toray Open yet. With No. 8 seed Emiliana Arango as her chalk quarterfinal opponent, Bencic has a pretty easy path to the semifinals on paper. She could face No. 4 seed Sofia Kenin or No. 5 Maya Joint in the semis, with No. 2 seed Leylah Fernandez or No. 3 Victoria Mboko as potential opponents in the final. In the Mix to Win the 2025 Hong Kong Open Leylah Fernandez : Bencic isn't the only player in the Hong Kong Open draw with a recent title under her belt, as Fernandez is just over a week removed from her Japan Open title. The Canadian counterpuncher is adept at redirecting the opposition's power, even if she sometimes struggles to generate her own since she's on the smaller side at 5-foot-6. Fernandez is the top alternative to Bencic, both in terms of ranking and form. Leylah has been a consistent top-30 presence since breaking onto the scene with a run to the final of the 2021 U.S. Open, and she currently sits at No. 22. The three other seeds in her half of the draw are scuffling No. 3 seed Victoria Mboko , banged-up No. 6 seed Anna Kalinskaya and seventh-seeded potential quarterfinal opponent Sorana Cirstea , whom Fernandez recently defeated at the Japan Open. Sofia Kenin : Seeded fourth, Kenin will be motivated to avenge her three-set Toray Open semifinal loss to Bencic in a potential semifinal rematch here. Prior to that loss, Kenin had been 2-0 against Bencic. The biggest obstacle in Kenin's path to that rematch is No. 5 seed Maya Joint , whom the 25th-ranked American could face in the quarterfinals. Kenin hasn't lost to a player outside the top 50 since early August, and she picked up a top-10 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova this past week prior to the Bencic loss. Sleeper to Win the 2025 Hong Kong Open Maya Joint : Joint isn't a household name yet, but the 19-year-old Australian is brimming with potential. She's knocking on the door of the top 30, currently sporting a career-high No. 32 ranking, and Joint has already won two WTA Tour-level titles in 2025. Joint beat Sofia Kenin convincingly in Seoul six weeks ago, so the Aussie would like her chances if the No. 4 and 5 seeds faced off in the quarterfinals here. Joint has never faced Bencic. Favorite to Win the 2025 Jiangxi Open Viktorija Golubic : Golubic is the No. 2 seed and defending champion at the Jiangxi Open. She's also playing her best tennis of the year to close out 2025, winning a WTA 125-level title at the Suzhou Open earlier this month and tacking on a respectable quarterfinal showing at the Japan Open. The 55th-ranked Golubic notched two top-50 wins in that two-tournament stretch, and the Jiangxi Open features only one top-50 player: No. 1 seed Ann Li . The six other seeds behind Li and Golubic have all posted uninspiring recent results, so chalk could well hold until the championship match here. Golubic projects to face No. 5 seed Yulia Putintseva in the quarterfinals, then No. 4 Polina Kudermetova or No. 7 Camila Osorio in the semis. In the Mix to Win the 2025 Jiangxi Open Ann Li : Li continued her late-season ascent with a title at the Guangzhou Open this past week, giving her a WTA 250 title, a WTA 250 runner-up finish and a Grand Slam round of 16 result among her last five tournaments. The surging American is in unfamiliar territory within the top 50, but she's making the most of her opportunity and has a chance to pick up another substantial chunk of ranking points as the top seed in an underwhelming Jiangxi Open field. Golubic gets the slight edge as the defending champion since both of the top two seeds have been in good form recently. Li's path to the final includes a potential quarterfinal matchup against No. 8 seed Anastasia Zakharova , then No. 3 Alycia Parks or No. 6 Anna Bondar in the semis. Alycia Parks: None of the other seeded players outside of Golubic or Li have been playing particularly well, but at least the third-seeded Parks has all the tools to put together a deep run if her game starts clicking. The third-seeded American generates easy power and possesses a booming serve, but she has struggled with consistency. Some strong results from the tail end of the 2024 season are supporting her No. 65 ranking, so Parks will be motivated to find her game late in 2025 in order to avoid a substantial drop. If Parks' shots are finding the court consistently, she can hang with anyone, so how her matches go in this tournament will depend more on her form than her opponents'. She's 1-0 in her career against Li, which bodes well for Parks if they meet in the semis, but Parks is in much more danger of losing early given her recent struggles. Sleeper to Win the 2025 Jiangxi Open Claire Liu : Liu just made a deep run to the semifinals of the Giangzhou Open as a qualifier, racking up five wins before falling to Lulu Sun . The 25-year-old American doesn't have any big weapons, but she won't beat herself. If Liu can get through Kaja Juvan in the opening round, she would have a potential second-round matchup against Alycia Parks in a contrast of styles between Parks' all-out offense and Liu's measured defense. Should the steadier Liu prevail there, sixth-seeded Anna Bondar would be the only seed left blocking her path to another WTA 250 semifinal. Favorite to Win the 2025 Chennai Open Zeynep Sonmez : Sonmez has a nice opportunity to pick up her first WTA Tour title as the only top-70 player in the draw for the Chennai Open, which is being held for the first time since 2022 and second time overall, marking the WTA Tour's return to India. Sonmez has played her best tennis in fast conditions, reaching the third round on grass at Wimbledon and holding her own against top-30 player Marta Kostyuk in a tight second-round loss at the hard-court U.S. Open. The No. 1 seed could face fifth-seeded Lucia Bronzetti in the quarterfinals, one of No. 4 seed Janice Tjen or No. 8 Lulu Sun in the semis, and No. 2 Francesca Jones or No. 3 Donna Vekic in the final. In the Mix to Win the 2025 Chennai Open Donna Vekic : Vekic's pedigree significantly outpaces her No. 79 ranking, as she was ranked as high as No. 17 earlier this year thanks to making the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2024 and picking up a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. Consistency has eluded the big-hitting Croatian in 2025, but she's certainly capable of putting together a hot streak, especially in a draw without another player nearly as accomplished as Vekic. She landed in the favorable bottom half of the draw, where the other three seeds (No. 2 Francesca Jones , No. 6 Leolia Jeanjean and No. 7 Kimberly Birrell ) have a combined two Grand Slam third-round appearances, with the last being Jeanjean at the 2022 French Open. Janice Tjen : Tjen has ascended to a career-high ranking of No. 80 thanks to a 72-14 record in all competitions this year, including a recent WTA 125-level title at the Jinan Open, where she defeated possible Chennai Open quarterfinal opponent Lulu Sun . There's no substitute for the confidence gained from winning matches, and the fourth-seeded Indonesian has plenty of that heading into this tournament. Only one of Tjen's 72 wins in 2025 has come against top-60 competition, so she has yet to prove herself against the top of the WTA Tour, but she won't have to do that here, since no player is ranked above No. 69. Sleeper to Win the 2025 Chennai Open Lulu Sun : Sun's game leaves little margin for error, which can lead to frustratingly error-prone fallow periods but also high peaks when she finds her timing for a tournament, such as her quarterfinal run at Wimbledon last year or Sun's recently completed run to the final of the Guangzhou Open, which included a victory over top-seeded Jessica Bouzas Maneiro . Even without the ranking points from Guangzhou on her ledger, Sun managed to snag the last seeded spot at the Chennai Open. The No. 8 seed could face Janice Tjen in the quarterfinals before a potential opportunity to knock off another No. 1 seed in Zeynep Sonmez in the semis. Those looking for more tennis coverage can check out RotoWire's latest tennis news , Tennis Injury Report , Tennis Events page , and Tennis Player Comparison tool . SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.

October 24, 2025 Way-Too-Early 2026 WNBA Mock Draft EJ Arocho Way-Too-Early 2026 WNBA Mock Draft Lauren Betts | Dallas Awa Fam | Minnesota Azzi Fudd | Seattle Olivia Miles | Washington Ta’Niya Latson | Chicago Flau’Jae Johnson | Toronto Gianna Kneepkens | Portland Iyana Martin Carrion | Golden State Cotie McMahon | Washington Serah Williams | Indiana Yarden Garzon | Washington KiKi Rice | Connecticut Ashlon Jackson | Atlanta Janiah Barker | Seattle Raegan Beers | Connecticut SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author EJ Arocho is Mr. Women’s Basketball and lives in New Jersey. Lives by the shore but looking to make waves everywhere!

With the entire WNBA offseason on hold while we await a new collective bargaining agreement, the WNBA coaching carousel is in full swing. Five teams entered the offseason needing new coaches... October 23, 2025 What Do the New Coaching Hires Mean for the WNBA? Steve Pimental With the entire WNBA offseason on hold while we await a new collective bargaining agreement, the WNBA coaching carousel is in full swing. Five teams entered the offseason needing new coaches. The Storm, Wings and Liberty all parted ways with their coaches after the season, while the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire needed coaches for their inaugural seasons. The expansion teams were the first ones to strike, with Portland hiring Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Alex Sarama and Toronto reportedly landing former Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello. I believe both hires offer important clues for not only what these teams will look like, but the direction of the league as a whole. Alex Sarama joins Becky Hammon, Teresa Weatherspoon and Nate Tibbets as recent NBA assistants who came to the WNBA for a head coaching gig. This could be part of a growing trend, as Milwaukee Bucks assistant and former Grizzlies and Kings head coach Dave Joeger is reportedly one of the candidates for the Dallas Wings job. If this is indeed becoming a trend, I think it is a positive one for the WNBA. Hammon and Tibbets just met in the WNBA Finals this month, while Weatherspoon’s one season with the Chicago Sky looks like a triumph compared to Tyler Marsh’s 10-34 record. I would certainly rather see NBA assistants parachuting in the W than to see James Wade abandon the Sky for an assistant position in the NBA. At the very least, it shows that a head coaching job in the WNBA is seen as a step up, and the salaries are competitive. None of these coaches were likely to land an NBA head coaching job anytime soon, and there is a risk they are looking to use the WNBA as a stepping stone to head coaching gigs in the MNBA. That being said, these former assistants have largely been successful in the WNBA, and I believe Dave Joeger is a good coach, too. While I don’t want to see the WNBA become a feeder program for NBA coaches, I can’t argue that getting quality coaches in the league is anything but a good thing. As for Sarama specifically, he is considered a leading authority on the Constraints-Led Approach to training, or CLA. It is quite trendy in soccer and European basketball, and with the expansion Fire, Sarama will have a blank slate to build his staff and the roster with people who fit into his system. Before his one year as assistant coach and Head of Player Development with the Cavs, he was the Director of Player Development for the Rip City Remix in the G League. With that in mind, I would expect Portland to take a longer-term view to team building. The Golden State Valkyries put together a veteran roster with two-way players and parlayed that into a playoff berth in their first season. I think Portland will skew younger and might even make some trades for future assets. Sandy Brondello is much more of a known commodity, owing the Mercury and Liberty records for most head coaching wins. She also won a WNBA title at each of those stops in addition to coaching Australia’s national team to three medals. Of course, Brondello had All-Time greats in Diana Taurasi in Phoenix and Breanna Stewart in New York, and she is unlikely to have anyone of that caliber on this team in the near future. Brondello was far and away the best head coaching candidate available, having interviewed with the Wings and Storm before reportedly taking over the Tempo. At the very least, this signals that Toronto is a serious organization that is willing to invest in its on-court product. Neither Phoenix nor New York were particularly known for player development when Brondello was there, though that could simply be the nature of competing for titles with MVPs in their prime. Even so, I would be surprised if Toronto didn’t try to make the playoffs right away. A lot will depend on the new CBA, the expansion draft and free agency, but I think this could look very similar to the Valkyries last season. I feel like Brondello is known more as an offensive coach than a defensive one, but creating an above-average offense in year one may be an uphill battle, regardless of how they fill out their roster. She does have a reputation around the league as someone players love, and that could be an asset in free agency, especially if Toronto is targeting veterans. With all but two of the league’s veterans entering free agency this season, any advantage could be significant. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author

One of the benefits of expansion is that WNBA fans get to see a lot of quality basketball players who otherwise wouldn’t have found roster spots. Some of those spots will go to rookies who in previous years wouldn’t have made the team, but a lot of those spots will go to players who were out of the league but made a big impact when given a chance...Today, with leagues around the world well underway, we have identified 5 more players who could get a chance in the WNBA in 2026. Get to know these players now, because they may be familiar to even casual fans before long. October 21, 2025 Five Players To Watch During the WNBA Offseason Steve Pimental One of the benefits of expansion is that WNBA fans get to see a lot of quality basketball players who otherwise wouldn’t have found roster spots. Some of those spots will go to rookies who in previous years wouldn’t have made the team, but a lot of those spots will go to players who were out of the league but made a big impact when given a chance. Janelle Salaun made the All-Rookie team after signing with the expansion Valkyries as a free agent. Monique Akoa Makani probably should have made the All-Rookie team over Dominique Malonga after helping the Phoenix Mercury to the fourth seed in the playoffs, and she was essential to their run to the WNBA Finals. Akoa Makani, Lexi Held and Kitija Laksa all contributed to Phoenix as rookie free-agent signings after going undrafted or, in Laksa’s case, getting Waived by Seattle and having her rights renounced by Dallas. Chloe Bibby was essential to Indiana’s playoff run as a 27-year-old rookie while Amy Okonkwo was a revelation for the Wings after initially signing a seven-day hardship contract in August. With the success of all of those players as well as the increased opportunities from adding two more expansion teams, I believe teams are going to be even more aggressive in searching foreign leagues for untapped talent. And while we don’t know where they will end up, the expected salary increases in the new collective bargaining agreement only make it more likely that top players will want to play in the W. In July we discussed nine players who could benefit from expansion , many of whom played in the league this season but could have a larger role going forward (including, interestingly enough, Chloe Bibby). That list also included some players who were out of the WNBA in 2025, most notably Raquel Carrera and Awak Kuier. Today, with leagues around the world well underway, we have identified 5 more players who could get a chance in the WNBA in 2026. Get to know these players now, because they may be familiar to even casual fans before long. Mariam Coulibaly, Center, Spar Girona Coulibaly played very little for the Bradley Braves last season, but through five professional games with Uni Girona CB in Spain, she is the leading scorer on a team featuring WNBA player Laeticia Amihere and the No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 draft, Juste Jocyte. Coulibaly moves well for her size and is a willing three-point shooter, both on the pick-and-pop and as a trailer in transition. She doesn’t have a single block through five games, which is disappointing for a player of her size, but I think she could be a scorer off the bench right now. Helena Pueyo, Small forward, Casademont Zaragoza It is still early, but it appears Pueyo is having a breakout, which isn’t surprisingly considering she turns 25 in February. She won’t continue to shoot 61.5 percent on threes, but if she can maintain her 50 percent shooting on twos while chipping in a handful of rebounds and assists, savvy WNBA front offices will take notice. The Phoenix Mercury hold her rights after the former Arizona Wildcat signed a training camp contract but decided not to play in the WNBA last season. If she’s not selected in the expansion draft, she could have a similar impact for Phoenix as Lexi Held and Kitija Laksa did last season. Crystal Dangerfield, Point Guard, Melikgazi Kayseri Basketbol As the WNBA continues to expand, I think the most difficult players to find will be point guards. Dangerfield hasn’t shot the ball well enough to stick in the league but she is a willing passer who can take care of the ball. You could do far worse for a backup point guard who could start in a pinch so long as she doesn’t have to carry the load offensively. Lauren Nicholson, Forward, Sydney Flames Nicholson might be more of a guard in the WNBA, and she is the oldest player by far to make this list, turning 33 in March. I just think she can play. Her shot may be a little flat but she has a quick release. Finishing might be a problem in the W, but she is just a solid all-around player with very few weaknesses in her game. We saw Jule Vanloo make an impact as a 31-year-old rookie in 2014, and I bet Nicholson could do the same. Klara Holm, Point Guard, Spar Girona I really wasn’t expecting to have two players from a team I had never heard of on this list, but Klara Holm has been the one to put Spar Girona’s talented bigs in a position to succeed. Holm is averaging 15 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4 assists and three steals through two games. I would like to see her up the assists a little bit but I like her all-around game. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Steve Pimental would rather write 20,000 words about Stef Dolson than write two sentences about himself. He lives near Chicago with his beagle/shepard mix, Hootie.

Discover top contenders at the 2025 Toray Pan Pacific Open & Guangzhou Open. Watch stars like Rybakina and Bouzas Maneiro shine on the hard courts! October 20, 2025 WTA Toray Open and Guangzhou Open Previews Sasha Yodashkin Women's main draw play at the 2025 Toray Pan Pacific Open and 2025 Guangzhou Open will begin Monday, Oct. 20. The Toray Open is a WTA 500 level event, while the Guangzhou Open is a WTA 250 event. These outdoor hard-court tournaments both have 32-player draws (28 for Toray with byes for the top four seeds) and feature numerous women's tennis stars, even after some last-minute withdrawals. There are still six top-20 players scheduled to take the court at the Toray Open, while the Guangzhou Open presents a nice opportunity for non-household names to take the spotlight, with the top seed clocking in at No. 40 in the rankings. Below are the top title contenders and dark horses for the 2025 Toray Pan Pacific Open and Guangzhou Open. Favorite to Win the 2025 Toray Open Elena Rybakina : Rybakina is seeded No. 2, but top seed Jasmine Paolini pulled out prior to the start of this event, as did No. 4 seed Clara Tauson , who would have been Rybakina's chalk semifinal opponent. Rybakina just beat Paolini, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Ningbo Open en route to winning the title, so the big-serving Moscow native looked like the favorite at the Toray Open even before the pair of late withdrawals from other seeds. Almost every match Rybakina plays is on her terms, as she dictates play with power off the ground. The biggest challenge for Rybakina has been stringing together healthy events without ailments or injuries popping up, but when she's rolling, Rybakina's right up there with the WTA Tour's elites. Recent Japan Open champion Leylah Fernandez could present an early test in the second round after Rybakina's first-round bye, but No. 6 seed Linda Noskova , No. 7 Diana Shnaider and No. 9 Victoria Mboko are the only other seeds in Rybakina's half of the draw. In the Mix to Win the 2025 Toray Open Ekaterina Alexandrova : Alexandrova just lost to Rybakina in the final of the Ningbo Open, and they are favored to have a rematch in the Toray Open championship match given the depleted draw. Alexandrova would have been in Paolini's half, but the 10th-ranked Russian is now the top-ranked player in the top half of the draw, without a seed on her path until either No. 5 Belinda Bencic or No. 8 Karolina Muchova in the semifinals. Similar to Rybakina, Alexandrova's a big hitter who likes to dictate play. Alexandrova holds herself back mentally and underachieves when the lights are brightest, but her level should be high here since this isn't a Grand Slam event, or even a WTA 1000. Belinda Bencic : Bencic was the biggest beneficiary of Paolini withdrawing, as the No. 5 seed got shifted into Paolini's vacant spot to balance out the draw. Instead of potentially facing Rybakina in the quarterfinals, Bencic is now favored to reach the semis, and she also gets automatic entry to the Round of 16 thanks to a bye as one of the four highest seeds still entered into the draw. While less physically imposing than Rybakina or Alexandrova, Bencic plays her own brand of attacking tennis thanks to aggressive court positioning, which allows the world No. 14 to make the most of her exquisite timing and redirection skills to keep opponents on the run. The serve isn't a strength for Bencic like it is for the other two, but that hasn't prevented Bencic from posting winning head-to-head records against both Alexandrova (5-4) and Rybakina (2-1). Sleepers to Win the 2025 Toray Open Marketa Vondrousova : Vondrousova has a first-round rematch on tap against Czech compatriot Karolina Muchova , who defeated Vondrousova, 6-4, 6-3, at last week's Ningbo Open, which was Vondrousova's first action since sustaining a knee injury at the U.S. Open. Vondrousova was playing fantastic tennis prior to getting hurt, beating both Paolini and Rybakina in New York, and the crafty lefty has the skills to make a deep run now that she has shaken off some rust. Vondrousova's in the easier half of the draw, where the only three seeds are No. 3 Alexandrova, No. 5 Bencic and No. 8 Muchova. Sofia Kenin : The draw reshuffling has created a nice opportunity for Kenin, who is unseeded but also doesn't have any top-80 players standing between her and the quarterfinals, where Kenin could face Alexandrova. The talented American went through a fallow period after a breakout 2020 season in which she won the Australian Open, but she has bounced back in 2025 to return to the top 30 in the rankings. Favorite to Win the 2025 Guangzhou Open Jessica Bouzas Maneiro : Bouzas Maneiro is ranked No. 40, which is enough to earn the No. 1 seed in this underwhelming field. No other top-50 players are in her half of the draw, with No. 42 Ann Li and No. 43 Tatjana Maria both landing in the bottom half. Bouzas Maneiro has outplayed her ranking over the past few months, with a quarterfinal showing at the Canadian Open, as well as Round of 16 results at both Wimbledon and Cincinnati among her relatively recent highlights. Her consistency off the ground and scrambling skills make the 23-year-old Spaniard tough to upset, and she isn't short on confidence. The three other seeds in Bouzas Maneiro's half are fifth-seeded potential quarterfinal opponent Alycia Parks , as well as No. 4 seed Alexandra Eala and No. 6 Yulia Putintseva . In the Mix to Win the 2025 Guangzhou Open Ann Li : Li's playing the best tennis of her career, sporting a career-high No. 42 ranking. The 25-year-old American reached a WTA 250 final in Cleveland just before making the round of 16 at the U.S. Open, showcasing her hard-court prowess. Li has spent most of her career skirting the line between full-time WTA Tour player and the top of the next level down, so she won't take the opportunities presented by her current top-50 spot for granted. She's the favorite to make it out of a bottom half of the draw in which the other three seeds are No. 3 Maria, No. 7 Francesca Jones and No. 8 Polina Kudermetova . Hard court is easily Maria's worst surface, while the other two are ranked outside the top 70. Alexandra Eala : Eala being a top-four seed at this tournament is a testament to how quickly the 20-year-old Filipina has climbed the rankings, as she's up to No. 54. She broke out with a Cinderella run to the semifinals of the Miami Open, but Eala has tacked on some other impressive results, including a WTA 250 final in Eastbourne and a WTA 125 title in Guadalajara. She's at her best on faster surfaces, such as hard courts. Eala could stand to improve her consistency, but she tends to get better as tournaments unfold and has a nice opportunity to build momentum here, as her chalk quarterfinal opponent Putintseva has had a down year with a sub-.500 record. Eala has arguably the most long-term upside of anybody in this draw, and the future could be now if she harnesses her talent effectively at the Guangzhou Open. Sleepers to Win the 2025 Guangzhou Open Ella Seidel : The 20-year-old Seidel's future is bright, and she has been stacking wins in the latter part of the 2025 campaign. Including qualifying matches, the ascendant German has posted a 14-4 record in her last four events, with two of the four losses coming against top-30 competition. If she gets through Leolia Jeanjean in the first round and likely Putintseva in the second, Seidel could set up a battle of youngsters against Eala in the quarterfinals. Given the lack of top-end players in this draw, this is a nice opportunity for an unseeded player like the 87th-ranked Seidel to make a deep run. Veronika Erjavec : Erjavec will be brimming with confidence after winning a pair of WTA 125 events in September. Both of those titles came on clay, but there's no substitute for match wins, and the 105th-ranked Slovakian has a nice opportunity to add to her momentum with a first-round matchup against the third-seeded Maria, who struggles on hard courts. Maria has lost first round in four of her last six events dating back to the U.S. Open. Erjavec would inherit a favorable draw if she knocks off the No. 3 seed, as the only other seed she could face prior to the semifinals is No. 8 P. Kudermetova. Those looking for more tennis coverage can check out RotoWire's latest tennis news , Tennis Injury Report , Tennis Events page , and Tennis Player Comparison tool . SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.

...with a fully healthy roster for 2026, something tells me Gainbridge will be rocking like never before with record attendance. They continue to raise the stakes and create a genuine “college basketball atmosphere” in a pro arena. Every home game feels like an event, like March Madness! If you don’t secure your tickets early, you may end up missing out! October 17, 2025 5 WNBA Atmospheres You'll Want to Experience in 2026 EJ Arocho Gainbridge Fieldhouse | Indiana Fever Caitlin Clark & the Fever are a prime example of “yesterday’s price isn’t today’s.” After a historic rookie season, the anticipation heading into Year 2 this May was insane. It was almost like the entire state of Indiana wanted to reserve their tickets to watch basketball’s brightest star! Though injury cut her season short, the fans in Indy rallied around dynamic duo Kelsey Mitchell & Aliyah Boston and embraced newcomers Odyssey Sims, Shey Peddy & Aerial Powers. Persevering through adversity, the Fever not only secured a postseason berth, they pushed eventual champ Vegas to OT in a Game 5 decider in the semis! Now with a fully healthy roster for 2026, something tells me Gainbridge will be rocking like never before with record attendance. They continue to raise the stakes and create a genuine “college basketball atmosphere” in a pro arena. Every home game feels like an event, like March Madness! If you don’t secure your tickets early, you may end up missing out! Michelob ULTRA Arena | Las Vegas Aces With 3 Chips in the last 4 years, the reigning champs have turned their home court into a show. The Aces are the WNBA’s most polished team with superstars & Olympians like A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Jewell Loyd & Chelsea Gray… and the Vegas crowd reflects that swagger. Between celebrity appearances, booming music and a championship pedigree, Michelob ULTRA buzzes with an energy that feels like a mix of NBA playoff intensity and Las Vegas entertainment. Having won again this season, expect fans to pack the house to celebrate another back-to-back run (2022 & 2023). Chase Center | Golden State Valkyries The Valks made a splash in their inaugural season. They set attendance records and sold out multiple games, proving that Bay Area fans are ready for women’s basketball. With a sleek arena, NBA-level production and a fresh identity backed by the Golden State Warriors brand, Chase Center promises to be one of the loudest venues in the league next season. Reigning Coach of the Year Natalie Nakase did a phenomenal job leading them to an above .500 record and a postseason appearance in Year 1. Expansion energy and hometown pride will fuel an upbeat, electric environment night after night. Mortgage Matchup Center | Phoenix Mercury New name, same X-Factor atmosphere. Phoenix has one of the most loyal fanbases, built over two decades of sustained success and legends like Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. Even in transition years, Mercury fans showed up loud and proud. The arena atmosphere often blends intensity with fun; I’m talking drumlines, chants and passionate long-time supporters who know their basketball. The crowd, nicknamed “the X-Factor” boast a unique, energetic and influential fan base that provides a significant home-court advantage. After Alyssa Thomas just led Phoenix to their first Finals appearance since 2021, expect record crowds in the desert next year. Fans come from far and wide to be a part of the loud and passionate crowd that creates a distinct atmosphere. Root, root, root for the home team! Coca-Cola Coliseum | Toronto Tempo With their debut coming in 2026, the Toronto Tempo are expected to have a strong and engaged fan base, fueled by the city’s proven appetite for women’s sports, the team’s proactive community outreach and the excitement of being Canada’s first WNBA team. They’ve already generated buzz through events and a fan club with exclusive perks, with the goal of building a national following that is expected to translate into high attendance, especially given the success of other local pro women’s teams like the PWHL’s Sceptres. The Tempo has been branded “Canada’s team,” aiming to build a fan base that extends across the country, not just within Toronto limits. The franchise has already attracted notable investors and partners, including Serena Williams and Toronto’s own Lilly Singh. Season ticket deposits and other ticketing info is already available on their official site! We all saw what the Golden State Valkyries accomplished in their inaugural season, and if Toronto is taking notes, expect big things next year. SEE MORE ARTICLES & VIDEOS About the Author EJ Arocho is Mr. Women’s Basketball and lives in New Jersey. Lives by the shore but looking to make waves everywhere!