Wimbledon And The World Cup

16 Jul 2026

Hear it here!

I guess we’ve been on a tennis and World Cup kick and we’re not going to stop now.

Wimbledon had its grand finish last weekend and the great world soccer extravaganza is into its semifinals this weekend and by the time you read or hear this you already know who’s playing in the championship game.

The top four teams in the world according to the FIFA rankings fought it out after all the posturing to see who might sneak in and be a surprise. All four had been previous World Cup champions and each had reached several major finals in the past decade or so.

You know and I don’t, so did France earn a spot with their star Kylian Mbappe leading the way, or did Spain with their superior defense survive? And what about Argentina and England? Headed by the irrepressible Lionel Messi, at 39-years old, Argentina was looking to be only the third repeat World Cup winner facing England, like Argentina, winning the close games, and boasting two players who could bring them home, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.

Whoever are the last two standing, the World Cup has been everything it was set up to be, a fabulous gathering of 48 teams engaging in intense competition played in the US, Canada, and Mexico. While there were no surprises heading into the final four, there were plenty of upsets and eyebrow-raisers leading up to the semis. Norway, which became the unexpected darlings of the Cup upset Brazil, perennial challengers, but not up to their usual high level. Portugal defeated Croatia who had reached the finals eight years ago and semis in 2022. And don’t forget the valiant play of Cabo Verde, or Cape Verde as commonly known, giving Argentina all they could handle. Of course, with the Cup being played in the US, there were sublime expectations that the American team would crash through and do what they have done only once, and that was back in 2002, win a knockout round match, meaning triumph in a win or go home battle after the field was narrowed to 32 teams. The hopes were that the US team would do even more and emerge as a real challenger. But that didn’t happen when Belgium smacked the Americans 4-1 in the round of 16.

There was plenty of controversy and drama involving a red card handed out to US star Folarin Balogun making him ineligible against Belgium. It was a questionable call by the officials and when the President appealed to FIFA, the governing body, the political world exploded to no one’s surprise. When it was decided that the red card foul was reviewed and then nullified allowing Balogun to play, the political atmosphere got even more heated. In the end, Balogun’s status didn’t matter as the US played horribly and exited the World Cup with a whimper. The answer to it all was the Americans were not ready for prime time in World Cup play. As simple as that.

But with football stadiums packed throughout the country, and celebrations here and throughout the globe, World Cup 2026 was its usual spectacular self.

Italy’s Jannik Sinner proved once again why he’s the world’s #1 in beating Alexander Zverev in four sets to capture his second consecutive Wimbledon men’s singles title. It was a gripping championship duel that was dead even for the first two sets, before Sinner’s amazing steady play and composure allowed him to pull away from the man whose sheer power with his serves and ground strokes challenged Sinner, perhaps beyond expectation, at the outset. Zverev had not been able to beat Sinner in the big ones. Imagine, the first service break did not occur until the 8th game of the third set. That’s 20 games with no one winning a game on his opponent’s serve. The first two sets were split, ending in tie-breakers, with Zverev taking the opening set. The German tweaked his right knee in the third set, and it appeared evident when he failed at times to even move toward a ball hit away from him, and he then was guilty of more unforced errors. But that’s not why he ultimately lost. Sinner seemed to expand his game as he took control and won going away. It was a championship worthy of the name. For Zverev, it was a solid follow-up to his victory in the French Open at Roland Garros.

Of course, the elephant in the room was someone who was nowhere near Wimbledon. That would be Carlos Alcaraz, who has been sidelined with a wrist injury that has kept him out of the clay and grass courts seasons. Alcaraz had been battling Sinner for tennis supremacy in the post-Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal era. A wrist injury is a serious one for tennis players, and Alcaraz has been working his way back. His last shot at a Grand Slam will be the U.S. Open in August. While Alexander Zverev’s showing this year has catapulted him to perhaps becoming the third strong contender for victories in Grand Slam events, the question still remains as to the condition of the 23-year old from Spain. If he’s good to go for the U.S. Open, the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry will resume and may finally be joined by the 29-year old warrior who has worked hard to get better, has opened up a gap against the rest of the contenders, but still lacks success against the world’s #1.

But if the wrist injury to Carlos Alcaraz persists, Jannik Sinner will be standing alone on tennis’ mountaintop for the foreseeable future.