🤸 What’s hotter than a summer day in Phoenix? A high-stakes gymnastics championship on a summer day in Phoenix! The Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships take over Mortgage Matchup Center this weekend and Hezly Rivera is chasing something only Simone Biles has pulled off in the last 13 years: back to back U.S. all-around titles. Rivera won't have it easy. Hometown hero Jade Carey returns to Nationals for the first time since the 2024 Olympics, two-time world team champion Skye Blakely is back after an Achilles tear derailed her 2024 Olympic bid, and 2025 World all-around silver medalist Leanne Wong rounds out a loaded field. Senior women go Friday, August 7th (NBCSN, Peacock, 10 p.m. ET) and Sunday (NBC, Peacock, 6 p.m. ET). Bring on the air conditioning.
🚴‍♀️ The Tour de France Femmes might be the most grueling event in women's sports, and it's happening right now. Nine stages, one per day, roughly 730 miles from Lausanne, Switzerland to Nice, France. I took a spin class this morning so I can relate. The race heads into its final four stages with a stacked field at the top: 2023 champion Demi Vollering, yellow jersey holder Marlen Reusser and 2024 champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney are all in the mix. Thursday brings another hilly stage, but Friday's the monster: a first ever Tour de France Femmes summit finish on the legendary Mont Ventoux. Putain! The race reaches Nice on Saturday before Sunday's final mountain stage starts and finishes there to crown the 2026 champion. Every stage streams live start to finish on Peacock, beginning at 9:45 a.m. ET on Thursday, at 9:20 a.m. Friday and at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, with the final two stages also airing on NBCSN.
🏀 WNBA Rivals Week tips off Saturday and the league did not ease into this thing. The weekend opens with A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces visiting Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx (1 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+), the first time these superstars will face each other this season. That's followed by Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever at the Chicago Sky (3 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+). Then Sunday brings one of the league's biggest heavyweight matchups when Wilson and the Aces head to Brooklyn to face Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and the Liberty (12:30 p.m. ET, ABC), followed by the Valkyries at the Sparks (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). Rivals Week runs through Aug. 14, but this opening weekend alone gives you Wilson, Clark, Stewart, Ionescu, Olivia Miles and a whole lot of potential playoff-preview basketball. None of these teams are easy to hate, but leagues thrive on great rivalries. Pick a side and get loud.
