The Connecticut Sun are bringing the WNBA to Hartford this summer with two games on the 2026 schedule set to be played at PeoplesBank Arena.
The Sun will host their first game in Hartford against Los Angeles Sparks on May 30, and UConn women’s basketball great Paige Bueckers will return to the arena where she played much of her college career when the Dallas Wings come to the state capital on July 2.
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The team is also set to return to Boston’s TD Garden for the third consecutive season, where they will also host Los Angeles on Aug. 18. Connecticut sold out more than 19,000 seats at the Boston Celtics’ home arena in 2024 against the Sparks and against the Indiana Fever in 2025.
The WNBA is set to play 44 games this season, the same number it played in 2025. The season will run from early May to late September with a 17-day break for the FIBA Women’s World Cup from Aug. 31-Sept. 6. The World Cup will be played from Sept. 4-13 in Germany.
The league is also adding two new expansion teams in 2026, the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire. The Sun will host the Fire on May 18 and play their first game in Portland on May 18 and 27. The Tempo come to Connecticut on June 19 and host the Sun in Toronto on June 10.
Pending the approval of a new collective bargaining agreement, the Sun will tip off the 2026 WNBA season on May 8 against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The home opener at Mohegan Sun Arena is set for May 10 against the Seattle Storm. The current WNBA CBA expired Jan. 9, and the parties agreed to a moratorium on the 2026 free agency period Jan. 12. Almost every veteran player is a free agent this offseason, and the new CBA is expected to overhaul the league’s salary cap and structure.
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The Sun are in a unique position with five players set to return on rookie contracts for 2026, headlined by former UConn star Aaliyah Edwards and a pair of 2025 first round picks in forward Aneesah Morrow and guard Saniya Rivers. French guard Leila Lacan, who was drafted in the first round of the 2024 draft, is also under contract, as is 2025 third-round center Rayah Marshall.
Connecticut missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016 in 2025, finishing 11th out of 13 teams in the league with an 11-33 record. The team is in the midst of a major rebuild after losing its entire 2024 starting lineup in free agency last year and will look to build around its young core in its second season under head coach Rachid Meziane.
2026 Connecticut Sun schedule
May 8: at New York Liberty
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May 10: vs. Seattle Storm
May 13: vs. Las Vegas Aces
May 15: vs. Las Vegas Aces
May 18: at Portland Fire
May 20: at Seattle Storm
May 22: at Seattle Storm
May 25: at Golden State Valkyries
May 27: at Portland Fire
May 30: vs. Los Angeles Sparks at PeoplesBank Arena
June 2: at Atlanta Dream
June 5: at Chicago Sky
June 8: vs. New York Liberty
June 10: at Toronto Tempo
June 13: vs. Indiana Fever
June 17: vs. Washington Mystics
June 19: vs. Toronto Tempo
June 22: vs Chicago Sky
June 26: vs. Washington Mystics
July 2: vs. Dallas Wings at PeoplesBank Arena
July 6: at Minnesota Lynx
July 8: vs. Minnesota Lynx
July 10: vs. Golden State Valkyries
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July 14: vs. Portland Fire
July 17: at Phoenix Mercury
July 19: at Phoenix Mercury
July 22: at Indiana Fever
July 25: WNBA All-Star Game at PLACE, Chicago
July 28: at Washington Mystics
July 30: at Chicago Sky
Aug. 2: at Dallas Wings
Aug. 7: vs. Phoenix Mercury
Aug. 13: vs. Atlanta Dream
Aug. 15: vs. New York Liberty
Aug. 18: vs. Los Angeles Sparks at TD Garden, Boston
Aug. 20: at Las Vegas Aces
Aug. 22: Los Angeles Sparks
Aug. 25: vs. Chicago Sky
Aug. 26: vs. Golden State Valkyries
Aug. 28: at Indiana Fever
Aug. 30: at Dallas Wings
Aug. 31-Sept. 16: Break for 2026 FIBA World Cup
Sept. 17: at Atlanta Dream
Sept. 20: vs. Minnesota Lynx
Sept. 22: at Washington Mystics
Sept. 24: vs. Toronto Tempo
