Ranking Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese and the 10 Best Rivalries in Sports Since 2015
The thing about rivalries is they creep in sideways. They start with a foul or a three-pointer that drops like a coin into a well. Fans can feel the air change. Even from their couch. It goes beyond competition. It’s something messier, older. Most recently, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have tapped into this ancient phenomenon, bringing unprecedented attention to women's basketball.
Since 2015, sports have seen a golden age for these strange, combustible pairings. Some have roared out of nowhere, turning a single game, match or race into a fever dream. Others have been slow and relentless, like erosion. Rivalries cut across sports, sometimes so much so, they cross the imagined boundaries between “respect” and “hostility.”
What makes them beautiful is it’s not just about who wins. This goes for the players, the fans and the media who can’t help but stir the pot. Rivalries live in the friction between all of it.
To understand the modern rivalry, it helps to have them aggregated in one place, to see the scope in which they influence competition. With that in mind, this is a list of the 10 most serious rivalries—the ones that have defined and shaped sports since 2015.
Honorable Mentions
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Ohio State vs. Michigan (College Football)
Liverpool vs. Manchester City (Premier League)
Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
USA vs. Canada (Women's Soccer)
Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen and Joe Burrow (NFL)
10. Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles
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The NFC East is never short on drama, but Cowboys-Eagles has been the division’s main event for the past decade.
This is enough to earn a nod, even if it just cracks the top 10. Since 2015, each side has traded regular-season punches. Dallas swept the Eagles in 2018 and 2021, while Philadelphia returned the favor with a sweep in 2024.
Philadelphia had higher peaks in 2018, 2023 and 2025—years ending with Super Bowl appearances as well as a Lombardi Trophy in 2018 and 2025. Dallas has posted three 12-win seasons in that span and taken the NFC East crown in 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2023, but hasn’t advanced past the divisional round since 1995.
Still, the matchups have often carried direct playoff stakes.
In Week 16 of 2019, Dallas entered Philadelphia with the division lead on the line but fell 17-9, handing the Eagles the title. Even in seasons when one team is down, these games are often a battle for seeding, a tiebreaker, or a chance to knock the other out of contention. These battles are enough to outpace honorable mentions, but not the broader reaching rivalries ahead of it.
9. Serena Williams vs. Naomi Osaka
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Serena Williams was nearing the end of her chase for a 24th major title. Naomi Osaka was still carving out her place among the sport's elite. Their first meeting in a Grand Slam final came at the 2018 U.S. Open, and instead of a smooth passing of the torch, the night unraveled into one of the most contentious moments tennis had seen in years. It was the kind of cultural flashpoint that elevates this rivalry above Cowboys-Eagles.
It became one of the most controversial matches in Grand Slam history. Osaka won straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, in one hour and 19 minutes, but it was overshadowed by code violations, a heated exchange with the chair umpire and a chorus of boos during the trophy ceremony. They met four times in total, Osaka winning 3-1.
Osaka won both of their hard-court Grand Slam encounters, the 2018 U.S. Open and the 2021 Australian Open semifinal. She also took the 2018 Miami Open. Serena claimed her only win in Toronto in 2019.
Serena’s résumé was unmatched at the time with 23 major singles titles, the Open Era record. Osaka was hitting her apex, winning four majors between 2018 and 2021. The contrast in style and career stage made each meeting compelling, though its brevity as a rivalry keeps it just behind our next entrant.
8. UConn vs. South Carolina Women's Basketball
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Geno Auriemma’s UConn empire had ruled the sport for decades. Then Dawn Staley showed up in Columbia in 2008 and started building her own South Carolina dynasty brick by brick. It became a sustained collision of power programs that showcased annual stakes.
The respect between the two coaches doesn’t dull the competitive edge. One could say it sharpens women's basketball. Since 2015, the UConn and South Carolina women's basketball teams have met 14 times. These meetings include regular-season matchups, one in the Elite Eight and two national championship games, where they have each won one. The 2022 loss marked the first championship game loss in program history for UConn, where it had previously been 11-0.
UConn has reached at least the Final Four nine times and South Carolina eight times in that span, and their rosters are stacked annually with McDonald’s All‑Americans. These games often decide No. 1 rankings and shape NCAA tournament seedings, making it a rivalry that has actively defined the sport’s modern era.
7. New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros
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If baseball has a villain, the Astros have worn that crown since 2017. And if there’s a franchise that refuses to forgive, it’s the Yankees, elevating this rivalry's rank ahead of UConn-South Carolina for its crossover appeal beyond the sport’s core fans.
The 2017 ALCS, won by Houston in seven games, became the centerpiece of Houston's sign‑stealing scandal. The Astros knocked the Yankees out again in the 2019 ALCS, this time in six. In 2022, it was a sweep with Houston winning all four games and outscoring New York 18–9.
The Yankees want revenge. The Astros seemingly could not care less. That dynamic has fueled October clashes full of tight games and late‑inning home runs. To make matters more heated, Houston has beaten New York in every postseason series they’ve played.
Since 2017, the Astros are 13-5 against the Yankees in the postseason. Until the Yankees reverse those numbers, this rivalry remains a one‑sided postseason clash.
6. Max Verstappen vs. Lewis Hamilton
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For years, Lewis Hamilton ruled F1. Seven world championships, 105 race wins and a run from 2014 to 2020 that made the Mercedes era feel unbeatable. Then Max Verstappen, a racer who was fast, fearless and unbothered by history, arrived.
Their collision course earned this this ranking because of its global reach and intensity throughout a single season. Their 2021 campaign was a fight for every point. It encapsulated 18 total wins, 35 total podiums and a title battle that went down to the final lap in Abu Dhabi.
The year saw collisions at Silverstone and Monza, standoffs in Saudi Arabia and points ties heading into the finale. Hamilton’s smooth, calculated craft met Verstappen’s relentless aggression. Mutual respect exists, but it's been tested at 200 mph more than once. Since 2022, Verstappen has taken over, clinching three straight drivers’ championships by 2024. Yet whenever they share a front row, the memory of 2021 lingers.
5. Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal
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Some rivalries are about proximity, some sustained excellence. This one has both, plus an unprecedented 60-match history earning it a spot ahead of Verstappen–Hamilton, whose battle, while fierce, hasn’t yet lasted across decades.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have played each other more than any two men in ATP history. Djokovic holds a narrow 31-29 edge. Nadal owns the clay, winning 20 of their 28 meetings on the surface, while Djokovic has the advantage on hard courts (20-7) and tied on grass (2-2).
Since 2015, their head-to-head has included some of the most significant matches in modern tennis. Djokovic stands alone as the only man to defeat Nadal at all four Grand Slam tournaments and was the first to beat him in straight sets in a best-of-five match on clay.
Nadal answered in 2020 with a dominant 6‑0, 6‑2, 7‑5 victory in the Roland Garros final to claim his record-equaling 20th major title. Their 2021 French Open semifinal was another four‑set classic, with Djokovic becoming the only man to defeat Nadal twice at Roland Garros.
Between them, they have 46 Grand Slam singles titles. No matter at what age, every meeting still carries implications for the all‑time major record and their place in the GOAT debate.
4. Alabama vs. Georgia College Football
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For years, Alabama under Nick Saban and Georgia under Kirby Smart set up a rivalry so dominant in its sport that their regular‑season collisions have played out like national title games more than once. Of course, there were actual national title games too.
Alabama’s methodical offense versus Georgia’s suffocating defense. Five‑star athletes on both sides. Since 2015, Alabama and Georgia have met eight times. Alabama took the 2018 national championship in an overtime thriller on a dramatic hookup between Tua Tagovailoa and DeVonta Smith, and Georgia returned the favor in the 2022 title game, snapping a seven‑game skid against the Tide.
Georgia has finished Top Five in the final CFP rankings seven of the last eight seasons, while Alabama has finished Top Five six times in the same stretch. Together they have a combined five national championships since 2015.
These games have regularly featured 20 or more future NFL draft picks on the field at once. Alabama’s taken nine of the last 10 matchups dating back to 2008, with SEC crowns in 2020, 2021 and 2023, while the Dawgs have won the SEC two of the last three years.
3. Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese
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It’s rare to see a rivalry grow this fast and burn this hot. Which is why it earns a spot just behind two titanic global matchups. Basketball stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have already shifted the cultural conversation around the sport.
Clark turns a 30‑foot shot into a safe bet while Reese owns the glass. Their first act came in the 2023 NCAA title game. LSU beat Iowa and Reese sealed it with a “you can’t see me” hand gesture as well as point at her ring finger, and the conversation around women’s basketball exploded into the mainstream.
The rematch in the 2024 Elite Eight didn’t disappoint. Clark went off, Iowa won, and the story shifted to revenge. This rivalry is style meets defiance.
Now they're two of the biggest names in the WNBA, on teams (Indiana and Chicago) destined to meet again and again. Clark’s groin injury keeps her out of this year’s rivalry week showcase, but that barely matters. The narrative is in motion. Enjoy the ride.
2. Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
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From 2015 to 2018, the NBA Finals were the same event, four times over. The Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Golden State Warriors was the rarest of repeat championship matchups, giving this rivalry a level of sustained, high-stakes visibility that only one other can can top.
For the Warriors: Steph Curry’s game‑changing perimeter play, Klay Thompson’s quiet assassinations and Draymond Green yelling at anything that moved. Across from them, the Cavaliers: LeBron James, dragging undermanned rosters into the fight, with the exception of Kevin Love's frontcourt play and Kyrie Irving hitting back‑breaking threes.
The Warriors took the first title in 2015. The next year Cavs answered with the most dramatic comeback in Finals history, down 3–1, punctuated by Kyrie’s shot and LeBron’s block. Then came Kevin Durant to Golden State, and the Warriors shifted from dangerous to inevitable, winning the next two matchups with a kind of bored hegemony.
Even after LeBron left Cleveland, the rivalry lingers in memory as the longest chapter of the 2010s. The styles sharply clashed. Behind Curry and LeBron’s age‑defying brilliance, it felt like the Finals were stuck in a time loop. Now, it feels like an era we might not see again.
1. Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo
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You could argue the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry peaked before 2015, but it has continued to shape the sport through its longevity, global reach and consistent excellence, which makes it the clear choice for No. 1.
Their weekly La Liga meetings are gone, yet the competition between them remains. Messi’s play is marked by patience and vision. Ronaldo’s game is defined by athleticism and precision.
Even after leaving Spain in 2018 (Ronaldo) and 2021 (Messi), they continued to rack up achievements. By the end of 2024, Messi had won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards to Ronaldo’s five. Ronaldo leads in Champions League goals, 140 to Messi’s 129, while Messi has more assists in the competition.
Ronaldo has five Champions League titles to Messi’s four. Messi won the 2022 World Cup and the 2021 Copa América, while Ronaldo captured the 2016 European Championship and the 2019 and 2025 Nations League Championships.
Their careers have defined soccer’s modern era, and the rivalry stands at the top of this list for its impact on the game.
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