Episode 25 | Serena's Wimbledon Singles Comeback, WNBA Grows to 50 Games, PWHL Draft Drama

Serena Williams is back in Grand Slam singles for the first time since 2022, and she's doing it at Wimbledon, on the grass, with a wild card and no ranking. At 44, she's entering the draw at its most unpredictable entry point while also teaming up with Venus (who just turned 46) for doubles, where the two have won six Wimbledon titles together. The Queens Club already showed what her presence means: sellout days, a 300% spike in social media engagement, and capacity at 95%. All eyes are heading to the All England Club.This week also brings major news from the WNBA, which announced a 50-game regular season beginning in 2027, and the NWSL resumes from its World Cup break with one of the busiest transfer windows the league has seen.This episode covers:Serena's Wimbledon return: the wild card, the Venus doubles reunion, and the business case — what her presence does to ticket sales, attendance, and broadcast attention at a Grand SlamWNBA expands to 50 games: what jumping from 44 games means for scheduling, salaries, broadcast deals, and the possibility of international WNBA games on the horizonNWSL returns from the World Cup break: Sam Kerr signs with Gotham FC, Angel City fires their head coach and reshuffles the roster, Wave star Dudinha tears her ACL, Denver Summit gains Lindsey Heaps coming off her Lyon career, and Bay FC fighting to stay relevantThe NWSL's Men's World Cup moment: how the NWSL and US Soccer are using the tournament as a marketing springboard — from sidewalk stencils to Emma Hayes tactics breakdowns — and why right now may matter more than the Women's World Cup next yearPWHL Draft recap: Detroit builds a veteran powerhouse (Hillary Knight via sign-and-trade, Daryl Watts, Brenda Curl), while Seattle Torrent loses its biggest names and selects Abbey Murphy, dividing a fanbase that takes inclusion seriouslyWe also run the WNBA heat check at 15 games, break the league into contenders, challengers, and disruptors, and preview the All-Star game in Chicago on July 25th. Plus, it's Episode 25 — we celebrate with stats from 24 episodes of covering women's sports.Follow Raising the Game for weekly women's sports coverage.Instagram/Threads/YouTube: @rtg_podWebsite: rtgpod.comSubstack: substack.com/@raisingthegamepodcastEmail: [email protected]