WNBA Tips Off Friday — 30th Season, Toronto Tempo Debuts, 216 Games on National TV

The W is back. The 2026 WNBA regular season tips off Friday, May 8 with a triple-header on ION, headlined by the brand-new Toronto Tempo hosting the Washington Mystics in the franchise's first-ever game. Portland Fire — the league's other expansion team — opens at home Saturday vs. the Chicago Sky on NBA TV.

This is the WNBA's 30th season, and the league is going bigger than it ever has. A record 216 games will air on national TV and streaming across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBC, Peacock, CBS, ION, NBA TV, Amazon Prime Video and the WNBA app — up from 175 last year. CBS alone will air 20 games on broadcast TV. ESPN/ABC has 88. NBC and Peacock split another big package. Caitlin Clark's Fever lead all teams with a record 44 nationally televised appearances.

The product is bigger than ever, the audience is bigger than ever, and now there are 13 teams instead of 12. Friday night is the start of something the W has been building toward for years.