Joshua Robinson

London, Paris

European Sports Reporter at The Wall Street Journal

@WSJ European sports reporter. NYT bestselling co-author of THE FORMULA (2024), MESSI VS. RONALDO (2022), and THE CLUB (2018) https://t.co/EV4eU4th3P

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Articles

FIFA’s $2 Billion Soccer Extravaganza Kicks Off With a Whimper

1 week ago | wsj.com | Joshua Robinson

Miami Gardens, Fla. The idea of inventing a brand new global soccer tournament and putting it in America was always going to be audacious. Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
The $2 Billion Club World Cup Is Coming to America. Will Anyone Watch?

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Robinson

He commissioned a giant gold-plated trophy, found a way to include Lionel Messi, and even enlisted the help of President Trump to bring 32 clubs from around the globe to 14 U.S. cities for a month-long competition. This $2 billion tournament, Infantino knew, would go a long way toward defining his tenure as head of the world’s most popular sport.
The World Cup Is One Year Away. The U.S. Soccer Team Can’t Stop Losing.

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Robinson

They’re spending a fortune on a new training facility and have one of the highest-paid coaches in international soccer. But 12 months before the U.S. co-hosts the 2026 tournament, the men’s national team is mired in a slump. Exactly one year from Thursday, the U.S. men’s national team will take the field in Inglewood, Calif. to kick off its campaign at the 2026 World Cup. The Americans don’t yet know who they’ll face and they can’t say for sure who will be in their starting lineup.
Carlos Alcaraz Outlasts Jannik Sinner in French Open Final for the Ages

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Robinson

In a 5-hour, 29-minute marathon that ranks as one of the greatest championship matches in tennis history, the 22-year-old Spaniard recovered from a two-set deficit to defend his Roland-Garros titleThe match clock had ticked into a fifth hour and the stadium shadows crept all the way across the clay when the Roland-Garros crowd came to a collective realization. Here, on the edge of Paris, they were watching one of the greatest Grand Slam finals in tennis history.
Coco Gauff Wins French Open for Second Major Title

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Robinson

ParisCoco Gauff had been here before—Paris in the spring, the red clay of Roland-Garros, and the chance to become a French Open champion. Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
She’s the French Open’s grizzled veteran-at age 21

3 weeks ago | livemint.com | Joshua Robinson

Summary American Coco Gauff is back in a Roland-Garros final and will take on Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday for a shot at her second major title. This is a Mint Premium article gifted to you. Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Paris: Coco Gauff began this French Open with the rookiest of rookie mistakes. She walked on court for her first-round match without her tennis rackets.
She’s the French Open’s Grizzled Veteran-at Age 21

3 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Robinson

ParisCoco Gauff began this French Open with the rookiest of rookie mistakes. She walked on court for her first-round match without her tennis rackets. Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
The Grand Slam Semifinalist Who Escaped Disqualification Despite Hitting a Line Judge

3 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Robinson

When Lorenzo Musetti kicked a ball in frustration, it nearly saw him unceremoniously dumped out of the French Open. Instead, he came away with a warning—and a spot in the tournament’s final four. Lorenzo Musetti was playing the greatest Grand Slam of his life on Tuesday when a single moment nearly saw him unceremoniously drummed out of Paris. Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
The No. 361 Ranked Player Who Just Pulled Off One of the Biggest Upsets in Tennis

3 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Robinson

They arrived just in time. Boisson, currently No. 361 in the world, took down American Jessica Pegula, ranked 358 places ahead of her, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to book her spot in the French Open quarterfinals. Boisson, 22, is the lowest ranked player to reach a major quarterfinal since Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi at the 2017 U.S. Open. “Once it was full, it was incredible,” Boisson said in French.
The Coach Who Took a Cursed Job and Became a European Champion

3 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Robinson

Paris Saint-Germain burned through managers at a rate of one every 18 months until Luis Enrique arrived—and delivered the one trophy the club had always craved. Over the past decade, coaching Paris Saint-Germain had turned into one of the most cursed jobs in sports. Even though the club showered its managers with cash and armed them with superstar players, the bar for success seemed unattainably, impossibly high.