Sports Bulletin July 13: Sinner retains Wimbledon title, FIFA weighs 64-team World Cup expansion

Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Wimbledon title to claim a fifth Grand Slam crown, while FIFA confirmed it will examine a proposal to expand the men's World Cup to 64 teams for 2030. In cricket, India announced injury replacements ahead of the England ODIs and Zimbabwe T20Is, while England made the surprise decision to remove Brendon McCullum as Test coach.

1. Sinner defeats Zverev to retain Wimbledon title

Jannik Sinner cemented his status as the world's best men's player after defeating Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-4 to successfully defend the Wimbledon men's singles title.

After dropping a tightly contested opening-set tiebreak, the Italian gradually wore down French Open champion Zverev with relentless baseline consistency, finishing with 58 winners against just 25 unforced errors. The victory earned Sinner his fifth Grand Slam title and his 100th career win at a major.

The 24-year-old has now won six titles this season and improved his remarkable 2026 record to 44 wins from 47 matches.

2. FIFA to examine expansion to 64-team World Cup in 2030

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed football's governing body will formally examine expanding the men's World Cup from 48 to 64 teams for the 2030 tournament.

Infantino said the proposal would be discussed by FIFA's relevant committees after the conclusion of the current World Cup, arguing that wider participation would encourage football's development across emerging nations.

The 2026 tournament is the first to feature 48 teams after the previous format of 32 nations ran between 1998 and 2022.

3. India call up Prince Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi after injury setbacks

India have named Prince Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi as injury replacements ahead of the upcoming ODI series against England and T20I series against Zimbabwe.

Prince replaces Harshit Rana, who suffered a Grade 1 hamstring injury during the England T20Is, while Bishnoi comes in for Varun Chakravarthy after scans confirmed a Grade 2 hamstring injury.

Both injured players will report to the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, while Prince earns another opportunity following an impressive IPL campaign and ODI debut earlier this year.

4. ECB sacks Brendon McCullum as England Test coach

England have removed Brendon McCullum as men's Test head coach despite publicly backing him only a few months ago following the Ashes defeat.

McCullum will continue overseeing England's white-ball teams but leaves the Test side after four years in charge, with a record of 27 wins, two draws and 20 defeats.

The decision comes after England lost seven of their last nine Tests and follows Ben Stokes' retirement, leaving the ECB searching for both a new captain and coach ahead of the 2027 Ashes.

5. Heather Knight announces international retirement

Former England captain Heather Knight will retire from international cricket after the ongoing Lord's Test against India.

Knight leaves as England's most-capped women's international player after 320 appearances across formats, scoring 7,988 international runs and leading England to the 2017 Women's World Cup title at Lord's.

The 35-year-old said she was "content" with the decision and will move into an administrative role as general manager of London Spirit in The Hundred.

6. FIFA explains historic VAR 'mistaken identity' red card

FIFA has explained the unprecedented VAR decision that saw Switzerland striker Breel Embolo sent off during the World Cup quarter-final against Argentina.

Initially, referee Joao Pinheiro booked Argentina's Leandro Paredes following a challenge, but a VAR review concluded Embolo had simulated the foul. The yellow card was rescinded from Paredes and instead shown to Embolo, who already had a booking and was therefore sent off.

It marked the first "mistaken identity" dismissal under FIFA's updated VAR protocol and proved pivotal as Switzerland eventually lost 3-1 after extra time.

7. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi enjoys first Wimbledon experience

India's teenage cricket sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi attended his first Wimbledon final alongside Yuvraj Singh, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma.

The 15-year-old revealed Novak Djokovic had been his favourite player growing up and backed eventual champion Jannik Sinner before the final.

Vaibhav described the experience of watching Centre Court live as an opportunity to learn from elite athletes competing on one of sport's biggest stages.