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👀 Keep your eyes on our socials for a big deal coming tomorrow for Global Running Day (June 3)!

“Serena is not just a great champion. She’s a successful entrepreneur, a powerful advocate for the issues that matter – and one of the most iconic women in the world. We are thrilled to welcome her back to the WTA Tour at this hugely exciting moment for women’s tennis.”

— WTA chair Valerie Camillo on Serena Williams' return-to-tennis with a wildcard to play doubles at the HSBC Championship

Wild weather at Unbound (Mudbound?) 🚲

The big story was Sofia Gómez Villafane winning the five-way sprint to the finish for the elite title in the 200-mile. Queen Sofia has been unstoppable this year, coming straight off a win at the Traka in Europe, and leads the Life Time Grand Prix standings.

But the bigger story was the epic mud, thunderstorms, and wild conditions across the elite and amateur races. Even the pros struggled to get through the "river" crossings and deep puddles.

🌧️ What do they do about being able to see when their faces are covered in mud and look like this? Squint. Get a lot of dirt in their eyes. Ride blindly through the storms. (Some cyclists do have tearaway covers on their glasses — a innovation from mountain biking — but you only get one chance to tearaway!)

KUDOS to everyone who finished ⭐ Is it too soon to start planning the next adventure...??

😂 LAUGH: Our favorite interview from the Feisty Cycling team on-the-ground 

(Photo: Courtesy of  Unbound)

Women finally get a night match at the French Open 🎾 💥

Since the French Open first introduced night matches in 2021, there have been just four women's matches out of the 50 played in those headliner primetime spots. There were NO WOMEN'S NIGHT MATCHES in 2024 or 2025 and there were set to be NONE again this year — with the argument being that the women (who play best of three, instead of best of five) have shorter games and viewers won't get their money's worth 😒

BTW: That's what's known as structural inequity... 

That was until this year. With numbers skyrocketing for the women's games — a record 1.1 billion viewers watched the WTA in 2024 — and with the new WTA chair pushing the French Open for better scheduling, last night's primetime game featured Naomi Osaka v. Aryna Sabalenka.

Sabalenka won, advancing her to the semis and making her the favorite for the title after a number of other big names folded in surprise upsets in the heat: Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina. 

📺 WATCH: Semifinals this Thursday & finals on Saturday, June 6 on TNT/TruTV in the U.S.

🤩 WOW: Osaka's been unveiling amazing glam outfits for her matches — wish we could see what she had planned for the finals!

And the greatest show on dirt: The Women's College World Series 🥎

Now it's down to two: reigning champs Texas v. Texas Tech. 

After a wild tournament, you've got NiJaree Canady for Texas Tech (a pitcher who led Stanford to two semifinals before signing a $1 million NIL deal to transfer) &  the defending champions Texas (which means the University of Texas at Austin) with last year's Most Outstanding Player Teagan Kavan and this year's SEC Player of the Year Katie Stewart.

Who already knocked out? Nebraska's Jordy Frahm — who was named player of the year and then announced her pregnancy after the team was eliminated. And UCLA's Megan Grant — who shattered the NCAA record for most home runs in a single season *and* played on the national championship UCLA basketball team in her free time.

📺 WATCH: Finals start tomorrow night at 8 p.m. on ESPN; best of three wins!

🎀 LOVE: This deep dive into what the softball girlies are wearing

The highlight reel

• 🚲 Lorena Wiebes, who won last year's points classification at the women's Giro, was DQ'd after winning this year's opening stage of the Giro for having a bike that was .02kg under the UCI's minimum weight. Her team is now challenging the disqualification in court and Anna Van der Breggen is leading the overall GC (general classification).
  
• Olympic triathlon champ Cassandre Beaugrand won her third World Triathlon Championship Series race in a row 🥇 🥇 🥇
  
  
• 🏃‍♀️ Cambrea Sturgis won the 200m at the Diamond League meet in Rabat in 22.21 seconds, and 
  Tina Clayton led a Jamaican sweep 🇯🇲 in the 100m with a 10.85.
  
  
• 🏃‍♀️ At the high school national championships, 14-year-old Melanie Doggett won the 100m *and* the 200m — just off her age-group world record time.
  
  
• Alix Heugas won the annual downhill cheese rolling contest. 🧀 "It's best not to have a strategy."
  
  
• 🏄‍♀️ 5x world champ Carissa Moore won her first World Surf League Championship Tour event since becoming a mom.
  
  
• The NWSL ⚽ has a record number of active moms this season (28 moms!) and it's changing the understanding of postpartum return-to-soccer.
  
  
• ⚽ Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw's new record-breaking contract with Manchester City will earn her a minimum of £1.6million ($2.15 million) annually.
  
  
• 🏀 Paige Bueckers' debut WNBA jersey sold for $64,720 — a record for a WNBA jersey.
  
  
• Amanda Serrano tied the record for the most knockouts in women's boxing history 🥊 with her 32nd in defense of her unified featherweight titles.
  
  
• For the first time, the U.S. Women's Open will be held at the Riviera Country Club in L.A. 🏌️‍♀️ It's part of the expansion of LPGA events onto iconic courses. 
  
  
• Major League Volleyball 🏐 will expand to an L.A. franchise ahead of the 2027 season.
  
  
• Twelve schools were finalized for the inaugural College Swim League. 🏊‍♀️
  
  
• The FIBA 3v3 World Cup 🏀 started yesterday. 
  
  
• And the final draw of the HBSC SVNS World Championship is this upcoming weekend 🏉 — with Australia expected to win the overall 7s title.
  
  
• A new study will attempt to analyze the effect of concussions and CTE on female rugby players' brains.
  
  
• 🏒 The PWHL released a public salary guide of how much every player makes: ranging from $37,132 to $126,090. Only ten players made six-figures, while two-third made less than $60,000.
  
  
• 🎉 Flavor Flav's weekend celebration for female athletes — which started to throw a parade for the U.S female Winter Olympians — is officially planned for July in Las Vegas.

Your Feisty recommendations

🎧 What to listen to: "Is Strava sabotaging your mental game?"

📚 What to read: "The Caitlin Clark Machine is Turning on Caitlin"

💜 What we love: The crowd that showed up for the Montreal Victoire's victory parade 

🤝 What to apply for: This amazing childcare grant from FAM+ and Strava to support mothers chasing athletic goals — yes, that means YOU!

The Feist is written by Kelly O'Mara. Ads by Ella Hnatyshyn

Live Feisty Media Corporation, 770 Central Spur Rd #109, Victoria, BC V9A0G7, Canada

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