Liberty star Breanna Stewart plans to return to Fenerbahce Opet of the Euroleague in April as the 2026 WNBA season is uncertain.
Fenerbahce announced on Tuesday that Stewart has re-signed with the Turkish club and plans to help the club in their push for the finals in April.
Stewart is expected to compete in the Final Six in Zaragoza, Spain, from April 15-19.
Stewart’s re-signing comes at an interesting time as the WNBA’s bargaining negotiations continue to struggle.
WNBA training camps are scheduled to open on April 19, although players have until May 1 to report without penalty. The season will open on May 8. However, a possible delayed start to the 2026 season is out of the question as labor negotiations continue.
Changes to the league’s priority rules are being considered, although any changes are unlikely to take effect in the first year of the new deal.
Stewart last played for Fenerbahce in the 2022-23 season, leading the franchise to its first women’s EuroLeague championship. He was named Final Four MVP that year and made the All-EuroLeague first team.
Stewart did not play during the 2023-24 WNBA season as she and Napheesa Collier laid the groundwork for their 3-on-3 basketball league, Unrivaled, which will launch the following year.
Part of Stewart and Collier’s goal in creating Unrivaled – the Miami-based league – was to ensure that players had the opportunity to sit out the WNBA offseason rather than play overseas to supplement their income.
A representative for Stewart did not return The Post’s request for comment.
The ball is now in the hands of the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association to come up with a new CBA proposal after the WNBA finally shared a counter proposal with the players’ union in Feb. 6. Prior to that, the WNBPA waited six weeks for a response from the league.
Different opinions about what is an acceptable and fair system of allocation of funds remains one of the factors that hold discussions.
Despite the ongoing back-and-forth, Stewart recently expressed optimism about progress being made in the talks.
“I feel better,” Stewart said on a recent episode of his podcast, “Game Recognize Game with Stewie and Myles” Turner. “I feel that the owners have finally agreed and are accepting what we want and the players as well.”
Until the CBA is ratified, the WNBA cannot move forward with the two-team expansion draft, free agency and the college draft. All of those events must take place before training camp opens.
Stewart is an unrestricted free agent in the WNBA but has publicly shared her plans to re-sign with the Liberty for the 2026 season.
Last season, Stewart averaged 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 46.1 percent in 31 games for the Liberty.
He currently plays for the Mist at Unrivaled, averaging 19.7 points and 9.4 rebounds.
The Unrivaled regular season will end at the end of this month. Playoffs are scheduled to be played on Feb. 28 to March 4. The semifinals on March 2 will be played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with the rest being held in Miami.
