Caitlin Clark will miss Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Sparks while she recovers from a back injury she suffered against Phoenix on Wednesday.
Indiana coach Stephanie White said Friday morning that Clark wouldn't play. Indiana doesn’t play again after Saturday until visiting the Las Vegas Aces on July 5.
“She's OK. She's going to be out on Saturday. She's doing all right,” White said. “Obviously, it's a good time as we have all week next week. Take this opportunity to get her treatment, get her healthy and get her back on the floor and see what happens.”
Clark only played in 13 games last season because of a variety of injuries. She’s missed one game this season because of her back. Clark is tied for fourth in the league with 21.2 points a game. She had 19 points in 20 minutes against Phoenix.
“Long-term health and wellness is the most important thing," White said. “I think we want her to be healthy physically, mentally, emotionally. When you've gone through injury and the traumatic aspect of injury that she had last year, it's ups and downs physically, mentally and emotionally. Making sure that she's 100% ready to go is the most important thing.”
Clark was also hit in the throat Wednesday by Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas. While no foul was called, the Mercury forward was suspended by the league for a game on Thursday for that play.
Clark is currently second in All-Star fan voting that was released Wednesday behind teammate Aliyah Boston. The All-Star Game is July 25 in Chicago.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives on Atlanta Dream guard Te-Hina Paopao (2) in the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
LONDON (AP) — Serena Williams will face an opponent less than half her age when she plays 20-year-old Maya Joint in the first round at Wimbledon for her first singles match in nearly four years.
The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion, who is 44, accepted a wild-card entry to the grass-court Grand Slam, where she’ll also compete in doubles with her older sister Venus, who turned 46 last week.
It's all part of a tennis comeback that started with two doubles warmup matches but kicked into high gear Sunday when the All England Club announced Serena would play singles. Brackets were set in Friday's draw.
Joint was born in Michigan — as was Williams — but represents Australia through her father. She is ranked No. 53 and made her Wimbledon debut last year, losing in the first round to Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-2.
“It’s an honor. I always dreamed about playing Serena Williams,” Joint said. "If you told me 10 years ago that I’d be playing her first round at Wimbledon, that’s just crazy.
“I hope it's on Centre Court, that would be pretty cool. You just have to play the ball. You can't really think about who you are playing because I’ll just get too nervous. I’ll just take it one ball at a time.”
Joint won the grass-court Eastbourne Open last year for one of her two WTA tour-level singles titles, but she was slowed by a back injury earlier in 2026.
Williams hasn't played a singles match since a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, she said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared she was “evolving” away from tennis. Her second daughter was born in 2023.
Tomljanovic said she hopes Joint “enjoys the moment."
“Especially after (Serena) officially retired four years ago, no one thought that they’d get another chance to play her,” Tomljanovic, an Australian, said Friday at Wimbledon.
Williams is “here to win," Tomljanovic added.
“You never lose that champion mentality. Her coming into the draw means that she thinks she can win,” she said.
Williams' most-recent appearance at Wimbledon was in 2022 when she lost in the opening round to then-115th-ranked Harmony Tan.
If Williams beats Joint on Tuesday, she may face rising Filipino star Alexandra Eala, who is seeded 29th, in the second round. She could meet defending champion Iga Swiatek in the third round.
Swiatek opens against Taylor Townsend of the U.S. on Centre Court on Tuesday.
In a projected quarterfinals by seedings, No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka would meet French Open champion Mirra Andreeva; No. 2 Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champion, would face 2025 runner-up Amanda Anisimova; Swiatek, the No. 3 seed, would play Elina Svitolina; and No. 4 Jessica Pegula would meet Coco Gauff.
On the men's side, No. 1 Jannik Sinner will begin his Wimbledon title defense against Miomir Kecmanovic on Centre Court on Monday.
Sinner and Novak Djokovic, the No. 7 seed, are in the same half of the draw and could meet in the semifinals.
Sinner underwent checks following his French Open meltdown — losing in the second round amid a heat wave in Paris — and said he felt physically good after an exhibition match this week in London, which also experienced high temperatures.
Djokovic, a seven-time champion at the All England Club, will play Wu Yibing of China. Djokovic could meet third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals.
Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz, who lost to Sinner in the 2025 final, will miss this year’s tournament because of a wrist injury.
Wimbledon starts on Monday.
The Williams sisters are wild-card entries in the women's doubles and will play their first-round match against Colombia's Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra of Argentina.
Serena and Venus have won 14 Grand Slam titles together in doubles, including six at Wimbledon — the first in 2000 and the last in 2016. Their first two doubles titles at the All England Club, in 2000 and 2002, came as wild cards.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
FILE - Maya Joint of Australia hits a forehand to Iga Swiatek of Poland during their quarterfinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
Novak Djokovic or Serbia attends a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Jannik Sinner of Italy smiles during a training session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Serena Williams of the United States holds a ball during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Serena Williams of the United States arrives at a training session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Serena Williams of the United States smiles after a training session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
