Mercury Star Calls Out WNBA For Scheduling Problem

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Reign Amurao | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 12:47 AM ET

Phoenix Mercury star Satou Sabally is frustrated with how the WNBA fixed its regular-season schedule. On Thursday, Sabally and the Mercury had an 83-61 loss against the Las Vegas Aces at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Nevada. It was their lowest-scoring total of the regular season, and the entire roster couldn't find its rhythm offensively.

Even on the defensive end, the team committed plenty of errors. The Mercury finished the game with 13 turnovers. It was too much for Phoenix, since the opposing team limited themselves to making mistakes and only had four turnovers.

After the game, Phoenix has to travel back home for their next game. The Mercury will face the Golden State Valkyries on Friday.

Sabally Isn't Happy About the Mercury's Back-to-Back Games

Back-to-back games aren't anything new. Almost every league, especially the WNBA and NBA, has scheduling cases. Players aren't happy playing in those circumstances. In the NBA, there are star players who opt to sit out games or play for a limited time.

Mercury's Sabally released her frustration over the scheduling issue during the team's post-game interview.

“Terrible,” Sabally told the media about her thoughts on the Mercury’s schedule. “It’s like they don’t care about player safety, it’s like they don’t care about scheduling or whatever.

“I only mentioned that one time in the beginning of the season and I know people always love to comment… But at some point, there’s a sports science to it.”

She concluded by promising the fans and media that they would play the Valkyries following the league's schedule.

Sabally has criticized the league for setting each team's schedules on previous occasions. In June, the three-time All-Star even mentioned Cathy Engelbert, the league's commissioner, regarding her concern about scheduling.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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