Two Sports are Taking Up Our Screen Time This Week: The WNBA and Tennis
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Round 2: Wilson vs. Stewart in the WNBA All Star Weekend
The 2023 WNBA All-Star Game will be held this Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at 5:30pm ET. This will be the third time the home of the defending WNBA Champion, the Las Vegas Aces, will hold the event. The WNBA will also be hosting its second “WNBA LIVE” Fan Festival event, which allows fans to experience the unique entertainment and culture of women’s hoops leading up to the game.
The rosters for the teams were finalized Saturday July 8th by this year’s team captains, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. These two All-Stars were selected as team captains for the second year in a row by the fans of the WNBA. Wilson’s first pick to join her side was her teammate and Finals MVP, Chelsea Grey. Stewart’s first pick was Brittney Griner, who we didn’t get to see last season due to being detained in Russia.
The starting line-up for Team Wilson includes herself, teammates Chelsea Grey and Jackie Young, Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings), and Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever). Team Stewart’s starting line-up includes Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury), Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm), Satou Sabally (Dallas Wings), and Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks).
Our Women’s Sports Club will be attending the event, and we can’t wait to see what else WNBA All-Star Weekend has in store. With this many star players on the court, we’re in for a treat…
Tennis Fans "Love" Wimbledon
It’s that time of year again. The oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world is back. Wimbledon has commenced, starting on July 3rd and lasting until the 16th in London. Wimbledon is one of the four “Grand Slam” major tennis tournaments and is accompanied by the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open. Wimbledon includes men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
The quarter finals for men's singles are in full swing (no pun intended), as No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz from Spain and No. 6 seed Holger Rune from Denmark are only on game one, fighting for the semifinals spot. No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev from Russia is going head-to-head with unranked Christopher Eubanks from the U.S. in game three, with Eubanks in the lead. Jannik Singer from Italy and Novak Djokovic from Serbia secured their spots in the semifinals, which will take place on June 14th at 12pm ET.
The women’s singles semifinals will take place tomorrow at 8:30am and 10am ET. Unranked Elina Svitolina from Ukraine knocked off No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek during the quarter finals to lock in her spot against Marketa Vondrousova from the Czech Republic. Vondrousova, who won against the No. 4 seed from the U.S. (Jessica Pegula), is unranked as well. The United States’ Madison Keys’ underdog dream was shattered when she lost to Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka will play Ons Jabeur from Tunisia in the semifinals. Ons is the highest-ranked African and Arab tennis player in WTA and ATP rankings history.
We can’t talk about Ons Jabeur without touching on Netflix’s “Break Point.” Break Point is a TV show that follows men's and women’s pro tennis players through the four Glam Slam tournaments. The show follows 12 players: Iga Swiatek, Nick Kyrgios, Frances Tiafoe, Aryna Sabalenka, Matteo Berrettini, Ajla Tomljanovic, Taylor Fritz, Maria Sakkari, Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, Casper Ruud, and Felix Auger- Aliassime. The only players from the show that are left in the tournament are Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur, who - as mentioned earlier - will play against each other in the semifinals match tomorrow. Tennis and Netflix fans everywhere will tune in to watch some of their favorite players battle. Unfortunately only one can move on, but this match will certainly be high-pressure, high-stakes, and one for the books.
Be sure to tune in because, if there’s one thing about Wimbledon, it’s that it shouldn’t go unwatched! Here’s the finals schedule:
Mixed Doubles: July 13th at 11:30am ET
Women’s Singles: July 15th at 9am ET
Men’s Doubles: July 15th at 12pm ET
Men’s Singles: July 16th at 9am ET
Women’s Doubles: July 16th at 11:30am ET
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