| TAMPA, Fla. (February 4, 2025) – The 2025 Women’s College All-Star Game will once again take place during national championship weekend, with the event set for April 5 in Tampa. The postseason all-star showcase, which returned after a nearly 20-year absence last season, will be televised on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. ET. The Women’s College All-Star Game Watch List presented by Herbalife was also revealed today. The watch list, compiled with the help of a nationally renowned panel of media experts, broadcasters and other stakeholders, while also taking into consideration national preseason, midseason and weekly award winners, features dozens of players poised to continue their careers on the professional level. While not an exhaustive list as players have the opportunity to play their way into consideration as the season progresses, the watch list includes top players such as: UConn’s Paige Bueckers Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron LSU’s Aneesah Morrow South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao USC’s Kiki iIriafen TCU’s Hailey Van Lith Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee The complete watch list can be found here. The final event roster will be announced the week of the event. Participants in the Women’s College All-Star Game will be players that have exhausted or will for forego their remaining eligibility. Last April, 20 of college basketball’s top senior standouts converged in Cleveland to rekindle the postseason event that Intersport helped originally launch in 1998. There, five All-Americans, more than a dozen All-Conference standouts and four future WNBA draft picks competed in front of nearly 5,000 fans on the eve of the sport’s national championship game. Tickets for the 2025 event, which will take place at Tampa Prep, located one mile from Amalie Arena, the site of the women’s college basketball national championship game, will go on sale starting March 6, with the presale taking place March 5. To stay up to date on the latest ticket info and register for the exclusive presale visit www.womenscollegeallstar.com/tickets. National brands have already signed on to be part of the 2025 event, including Herbalife and Skechers. Intersport launched the inaugural Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Star Challenge in 1998, which the WBCA operated through 2006. The Chicago-based agency was also a longstanding partner with the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and ESPN to stage the prestigious Women’s Tip-Off Classic that annually featured the sport’s top programs in high-profile matchups as part of ESPN’s early season programming. Today, Intersport continues to operate major men’s and women’s college basketball events throughout the season, including the CBS Sports Classic, the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off, Arizona Tip-Off and other major showcase events. Final rosters, coaches and more details will be available online and www.womenscollegeallstar.com and by following @IntersportHoops on Instagram and X. |
Claressa Shields beats Danielle Perkins to become boxing’s first undisputed women’s heavyweight champion
darshan desai | Yahoo Sports
Claressa Shields made history in her hometown of Flint.
The “GWOAT” defeated Danielle Perkins by unanimous decision to become boxing’s first-ever women’s undisputed heavyweight champion. She also earned the accolade of being the only three-division undisputed champion, male or female, of the four-belt era.
Shields (16-0, 3 KOs) is known for her strong jab, but that was nonexistent on Sunday night at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. She explained in her post-fight interview that she was unable to use her jab because she tore a labrum in her left shoulder just nine days prior to fight night.
Shields, Uncrowned’s No. 1 pound-for-pound women’s boxer in the world, instead focused her efforts on landing the straight right hand and overhand right on the southpaw Perkins, which she did consistently throughout the fight. She hurt Perkins for the first time in Round 3 with an overhand right and almost secured an early knockout, but Perkins managed to stand up to the assault that followed.
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In Round 7, a straight right hand buzzed Perkins heavily, and Shields once again looked for a finish that didn’t come. To her credit, Perkins became more aggressive in the final three rounds, looking to get her own work off on Shields.
With around 10 seconds to go in the 10th and final round, Perkins threw a slow left hand, which Shields slipped and countered with a sharp right, flooring Perkins. There wasn’t any time left for Shields to look for the finish as the final bell rang just after the referee signaled for the action to resume.
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Shields was awarded every round on one scorecard, 100-89, nine rounds on a second scorecard, 99-90, and seven rounds on the third card, 97-92. She said in her post-fight interview that she wished to box two more times in 2025, naming a list of potential opponents, which included Franchon Crews-Dezurn, Hanna Gabriels, Savannah Marshall, MMA legend Cris Cyborg and retired trailblazer Laila Ali.
Check out full results, highlights and play-by-play of the Shields-vs.-Perkins fight card below.
More from Uncrowned
- KSI vs. Dillon Danis rebooked for Misfits Boxing 21 grudge match in March
- Canelo vs. Crawford: 5 biggest concerns heading into boxing’s next potential superfight
- David Benavidez gives Terence Crawford a ‘7 out of 10’ chance to upset Canelo Alvarez
Main Card
Undisputed heavyweight title: Claressa Shields def. Danielle Perkins via unanimous decision (100-89, 97-92, 99-90)
Heavyweight: Brandon Moore def. Skylar Lacy via 8th-round DQ | Watch video
Super welterweight: Joseph Hicks Jr. def. Keon Papillion via 7th-round TKO | Watch video
Super lightweight: Joshua Pagan def. Ronal Ron via unanimous decision (79-73, 78-74, 78-74)
Super featherweight: Caroline Veyre def. Carmen Vargas via unanimous decision (80-72, 80-72, 80-72)
Super bantamweight: Ashleyann Lozada def. Denise Moran via unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)
Nelly Korda Kicks Off 2025 LPGA Run with 2nd Place Tour of Champions Finish
US golf star Nelly Korda came out swinging this weekend, taking second place at the Tournament of Champions to launch her 2025 LPGA campaign.
The world No. 1 narrowly fell to tournament winner No. 35 A Lim Kim, with the South Korean standout picking up her third career LPGA win and her second since November 2024. Her 20-under-par result also marked her second straight win in which she never trailed at the end of any round.
Korda pulled within one stroke of Kim on the back nine, before the eventual champion surged ahead with three birdies in her last four holes. With her 7-under Sunday performance, Korda finished the tournament at an impressive 18-under.
The result marked Korda’s fifth-straight Top 5 finish, a streak that dates back to last August’s AIG Women’s Open.
“This is what I love about golf — being in the hunt on a Sunday going down the back nine,” an upbeat Korda told reporters after her final round. “I’m never going to complain finishing second in a tournament and giving it a run… There are definitely a couple putts I would like to have back, but overall I think I’m very happy with this week and excited for next week.”
Next up: Korda’s home course advantage
The LPGA next lands in Korda’s hometown of Bradenton, Florida, for the Founders Cup, which tees off on Thursday.
That home course advantage, as well as the fact that Korda won the Drive On Championship on those links last season, makes her the tournament’s unofficial favorite this year.
Fellow US star and world No. 14 Rose Zhang is the Founders Cup’s defending champion, with her win snapping Korda’s historic five-tournament win streak last year. That said, the 2024 edition took place at New Jersey’s Upper Montclair Country Club, so the Florida relocation removes the course familiarity that would normally give the reigning title-holder an assumed edge.
Korda’s preparation for the upcoming competition will be intentionally light, as she doesn’t normally practice during tournament weeks.
“Definitely some areas where I feel like I need to kind of tighten up some loose ends,” Korda said on Sunday. “Overall, I think I can’t complain about the state of my golf game right now.”
Unlike her jam-packed season start last year, this week’s even will be Korda’s last before a seven-week pause. She has opted out of three upcoming tournaments — the Honda LPGA Thailand, the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore, or the Blue Bay LPGA in China.
Korda will instead return to play at the end of March, when the Ford Championship tees off in Chandler, Arizona.
Women’s Elite Rugby prepares for lift off
Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) — the first-ever semi-pro US women’s rugby league — dropped its inaugural team branding yesterday ahead of its March 2025 kick-off.
- The Bay Breakers, Boston Banshees, Chicago Tempest, Denver Onyx, New York Exiles, and Twin Cities Gemini headline the six-team, 180-player league.
- “Rugby, its athletes, and fans are not one thing — each is multifaceted,” said WER co-founder and VP Katherine Aversano. “Our six team identities resonate with that modern complexity but are visually rooted in the bold American sports landscape.”
Big picture: With the goal of full professionalization, WER aims to both capitalize on the hype generated by Team USA’s Olympic bronze-medal run and to grow the sport domestically prior to the US-hosted 2033 Rugby World Cup.
- “For 15 years, women’s rugby players in the Women’s Premier League have played in an amateur, pay-to-play, cross-country league and the consensus is this model is no longer sustainable,” WER president Dr. Jessica Hammond-Graf said. “The mission of the WER is to be the defining standard of rugby in the United States.”
US Tennis Star Madison Keys Wins 1st Grand Slam After Epic Australian Open Run
by: Just Women’s Sports
US tennis player Madison Keys earned her first-ever Grand Slam title on Saturday, taking down back-to-back defending champ and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the 2025 Australian Open final.
On the heels of a three-set semifinal ousting of No. 2 Iga Świątek last Thursday, Keys’ 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 Saturday victory made her the first player to upset both the world No. 1 and No. 2 in the same Grand Slam since Svetlana Kuznetsova did so at the 2009 French Open. The 29-year-old is also the first to do it in Melbourne since Serena Williams in 2005.
Only three other WTA players have racked up more Grand Slam main draws before winning their first title. On Saturday, Keys tied Caroline Wozniacki for making the most Australian Open main-draw singles appearances before lifting the trophy.
Keys’s Australian Open run included five wins over seeded opponents, four of them in the WTA’s Top 10 entering the tournament. Plus, with five three-set victories, Keys tied the record for the most three-set wins at any of the four Grand Slams.
However, none of those records compare with winning her first major.
“I’ve wanted this for so long,” Keys said holding her trophy during the post-match ceremony.=
Keys’ championship was years in the making
Keys burst onto the pro scene on her 14th birthday back in 2009, and has been a Top 20 mainstay for most of the last decade.
The US star has appeared in at least the quarterfinal round of all four majors multiple times. However, she had only one Grand Slam final under her belt prior to this weekend’s championship match — a 2017 US Open loss to Sloane Stephens.
Ultimately, it took relinquishing her desperation to win a Slam to actually snag that elusive trophy.
“I’ve done a lot of work to no longer need [winning a Grand Slam],” Keys explained after her win. “I really wanted it, but it’s no longer the thing that was going to define me, and kind of letting go of that burden, I finally gave myself the ability to play for it.”
Slam win returns Keys to the WTA’s Top 10
The WTA updated their rankings early Monday, with Keys’s breakthrough performance boosting her to No. 7 — her first Top 10 slot since January 2023. The new rank also ties her career-high, with Keys first peaking at No. 7 in October 2016.
Keys’s rise also solidifies the US as arguably the nation most flush with the sport’s top talent. The US now boasts four players in the Top 10, with Keys joining No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, and No. 9 Emma Navarro. No other nation has more than one athlete in that elite tier.
That said, the WTA’s best stayed put in Monday’s rankings. Despite their Australian Open losses, all four top seeds — Sabalenka, Świątek, Gauff, and No. 4 Jasmine Paolini — retained their top spots.
X Games Aspen 2025: Chloe Kim wins Superpipe gold as Red Gerard defends slopestyle title
By Evelyn Watta | Olympics
Italy’s Miro Tabanelli made history with the world’s first 2340 to claim the men’s big air title, while Canada’s Frank Jobin won the X Games Street Style gold, and Nick Goepper dominated the men’s ski superpipe.
(Getty Images)
Chloe Kim continues to be a dominant force.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist earned her eighth X Games title in style with another stellar run in Aspen, Colorado, tying fellow American Shaun White for the most superpipe gold medals in X Games history.
The 24-year-old snowboarder returned to the Aspen slopes to defend her title alongside teammates Maddie Mastro and Maddy Schaffrick.
Kim and Mastro went 1-2 in qualifying for the finals.
Mastro thrilled the crowds with a huge score of 89.66, but that was before Kim’s first run, which secured her a historic title with 93.33 points. Japanese snowboarder Sara Shimizu finished third with 85.66.
“This one means a lot if I’m being completely honest. I wish I would’ve put down my final run but I’m so happy nonetheless,” said Kim, who has won 10 medals at the X Games since her debut at age 14.
- X Games Aspen 2025 preview: Full schedule and how to watch live
- X Games Aspen 2025: All results – complete list
Miro Tabanelli lands the world’s first 2340, Americans rule men’s ski superpipe
The day had begun with another American Olympic champion on top of the podium in the men’s snowboard slopestyle.
Red Gerard delighted his hometown fans with an incredible final run that included a switch boardslide on the up-flat-down rail, switch backside triple 1620 and a backside 18 to retain his title for the second year in a row.
“Coming back as the X Games gold medallist is obviously awesome, but a full 365 days goes by, I feel like I have short term memory loss, I forget how it goes, and I always feel like a newbie when I come here,” he said after his 92.66 points that edged out his idol Canadian three-time Olympic bronze medallist Mark McMorris who took second place with his best of 90.33. Japan’s Taiga Hasegawa 81.00 was the third best.
“It’s 10 of the best riders in the world, so it’s really hard to get back to the top of the podium, so I’m just happy with how the week went.”
Canadian Frank Jobin ended the X Games snowboard street style course on top, ahead of the American pair of Nate Haust and Benny Milam who took silver and bronze medals respectively.
American’s swept the boards in the men’s ski superpipe. Nick Goepper, a six-time slopestyle medallist in slopestyle, earned his first men’s ski superpipe title at the X Games with his best of 92.66. Defending superpipe gold medallist, Alex Ferreira, finished in second with 92.00 with Hunter Hess third with 85.66.
Italy’s rising star Miro Tabanelli brought the curtains down after 72 hours of exhilarating action with a memorable ride in the men’s ski big air. Miro landed the world’s first known 2340 in ski contest history, a fantastic ending to the weekend for the Tabanelli family after his younger sister Flora won women’s ski big air on Friday [24 January].
Tabanelli scored 98.00 with with New Zealand’s Luca Harrington settling for silver with a score of 97.00. Matej Svancer’s 96.33 earned the Austrian bronze.
X Games Aspen 2025 results – Saturday, 25 January
Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle
- Red Gerard (USA) 92.66
- Mark McMorris (USA) 90.33
- Taiga Hasegawa (JPN) 81.00
- Marcus Kleveland (NOR) 46.33
- Liam Brearley (CAN) 31.66
Women’s Ski Slopestyle
- Tess Ledeux (FRA) 95.00
- Olivia Asselin (CAN) 92.66
- Anni Karava(FIN) 90.66
- Megan Oldham (CAN) 88.66
Women’s Snowboard Street Style
- Iris Pham (USA)
- Telma Sarkipaju (FIN)
- Jaylen Hanson (USA)
- Grace Warner (USA)
Men’s Snowboard Street Style
- Frank Jobin (CAN)
- Nate Haust (USA)
- Benny Milam (USA)
- Liam Brearley (CAN)
Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe
- Chloe Kim (USA) 93.33
- Maddie Mastro (USA) 89.66
- Sara Shimizu (JPN) 87.33
Men’s Ski SuperPipe
- Nick Goepper (USA) 92.66
- Alex Ferreira (USA) 92.00
- Hunter Hess (USA) 85.66
- Finley Melville-Ives (NZL) 80.00
Men’s Ski Big Air
- Miro Tabanelli(ITA) 98.00
- Luca Harrington (NZL) 97.00
- Matej Svancer (AUT) 96.33
Madison Keys Upsets Iga Świątek in Australian Open Semifinal
In the biggest upset of the 2025 Australian Open so far, 19-seed Madison Keys defeated world No. 2 Iga Świątek in a back-and-forth three-set semifinal early Thursday morning.
Entering as the tournament’s only athlete to win every set, five-time Grand Slam champion Świątek conceded more games to Keys than in her previous five Australian Open matches combined.
Keys’s speedy serve and heavy forehand paired with a Świątek double-fault pushed the match to a tie-break decider, with the US star ultimately winning 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8).
“It just became who can get that final point and who can be a little bit better than the other one,” Keys said post-match. “I’m happy it was me.”
Keys’s victory is just the latest chapter in a 2025 Australian Open run that’s seen her beat three Top 10 contenders in Świątek, No. 6 Elena Rybakina, and No. 10 Danielle Collins. Those victories earned the 29-year-old her own Top 10 spot in next Monday’s WTA rankings.
With Thursday’s win, Keys booked her second-ever Grand Slam championship match, returning to the sport’s top stage for the first time since the 2017 US Open.
One last challenge awaits Keys
To claim her career’s first Grand Slam trophy, however, Keys will have to defeat reigning champion and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who comfortably downed Spain’s No. 11 Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday in pursuit of a third-straight Australian Open title.
In their five previous meetings, Keys has only beaten Sabalenka once, topping her in Berlin in 2021.
Sabalenka won their most recent bout in the 2023 US Open semifinals. However, that three-set slog was similar to Keys’s gritty victory over Świątek and, if she can maintain the composure and energy she displayed on Thursday, the US star’s momentum could fuel her to similarly stun Sabalenka.
How to watch the 2025 Australian Open final
Saturday’s Australian Open final between Keys and Sabalenka will take the court at 3:30 AM ET, with live coverage on ESPN.
Kelley O’Hara Debuts Just Women’s Sports Studio Show ‘Sports Are Fun!’
Just Women’s Sports alongside Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup champion Kelley O’Hara are proud to announce the debut of Sports Are Fun!, a new studio show premiering February 4th.
Presented by Intuit TurboTax, Sports Are Fun! features O’Hara and co-host Greydy Diaz discussing anything and everything from the world of women’s sports with help from a rotating cast of co-hosts and guests. Production runs through 2025.
Everything you love about women’s sports — with a little extra fun
“This is a show that will remind fans why they fell in love with sports,” O’Hara said ahead of the show’s launch. “That means tapping into all the stories, big or small, that get the group chat going. You’ll feel like you’re there with us, talking about your favorite games, teams, and athletes.”
O’Hara retired from professional soccer in 2024 after a legendary career that included winning two World Cups, an Olympic gold medal, and two NWSL Championships. She also helped secure equal pay for the US women’s national soccer team.
“The next step in the evolution of women’s sports is building out a media ecosystem that can keep fans connected around-the-clock,” said Just Women’s Sports founder and CEO Haley Rosen. “This show closes the gap when it comes to innovative, personality-driven coverage, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Intuit TurboTax as they make a splash in the women’s sports space.”
O’Hara takes to the screen in her post-retirement era
O’Hara and JWS have worked extensively together over the years. They first launching the Just Women’s Podcast with Kelley O’Hara back in 2020. Later shows included The Players Pod, 2024 Paris Olympics favorite The Gold Standard, Fast Friends with Kelley O’Hara and Lisa Leslie, as well as digital hits Kelley on the Street and 1v1 with Kelley O’Hara.
Sports Are Fun! is by no means O’Hara’s first foray into media. But it does mark the official beginning of her second career as a full-time on-air personality and content creator.
The first episode of Sports Are Fun! will debut February 4th, 2025. Catch every episode via Just Women’s Sports’ YouTube page, as well as across all audio podcast platforms.
Unrivaled shatters tune-in records
| Friday’s Unrivaled debut was an unequivocal success for TV partner TNT Sports, as the opening lineup became the most-watched women’s basketball broadcast in network history. The doubleheader logged viewership averages of 313,000 and 311,000, respectively, with the first game peaking at 364,000. Big picture: In 2022, WNBA games averaged 372,000 viewers across Disney networks, with the league later surpassing 500,000 across ABC, ESPN, and CBS in 2023, before reaching 1.19 million on ESPN in 2024.As a new-look product in its first-ever season, Unrivaled’s initial numbers are promising, particularly for a league that’s prioritizing long-term wins over instant gratification.”It’s a marathon,” league president Alex Bazzell told The Athletic. “We’re not running out there from Day 1 trying to get millions of viewers out of the gate.” |