In the heat of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, WNBA’s schedules have been released.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Mystics have released their schedule for the upcoming 2026 WNBA basketball season, which revealed the team will open against one of the newest franchises to the league, Toronto Tempo, on May 8. Their first home opener is scheduled for May 10 at 3 p.m. against the New York Liberty.
The Mystics made their announcement on Wednesday and created a release video that embedded their opponents throughout the International Spy Museum in D.C.
The 2019 WNBA Champions will play their first five games on the road, including making a trip to Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on May 15 and then to Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings on May 18. The Mystics will then close out the season against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky on Sept. 24.
Washington’s last homestand of the season will take place between July 22 and Aug. 9 where they will see WNBA reigning champions A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury. They will also host the Fever on June 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Tempo on June 12 and Portland Fire on June 28 at CareFirst Arena.
This all comes at a time when the WNBA and its players’ association werein heated collective bargaining agreement talks. Both sides failed to meet the 11:59 p.m. Jan. 9 deadline. However, WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart told reporters earlier this month after an Unrivaled practice that both sides will continue to “negotiate in good faith.” The nuance to it is that both sides are now in a status quo period where either side can announce a work stoppage at any point, according to Front Office Sports.
On top of that, with a new CBA not in place, the two expansion teams currently don’t have a roster. Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo both have to participate in an expansion draft, which has yet to be scheduled due to negotiations still going on.
With the season officially tipping off on May 8, there’s still time to find a middle ground that works for both sides.