For lovers of tennis, the sport is more than a game. Thanks to its rich blend, tennis serves as a cultural narrative that transcends the boundaries of a tennis court. It has also influenced several athletic movies like Wimbledon (2004), Battle of Sexes (2017), and 7 Days In Hell (2015). While most of the incredible tennis movies available are themed around love and romance, others are built around competition and reaching the pinnacle of one’s career success and achievement.
Here Are Tennis Movies That Will Interest You
1. Wimbledon
Year of release – 2004
Wimbledon is a romantic movie about an English professional tennis player called Peter Colt whose ranking slipped from 11th to 119th in the world. Just when he was thinking of throwing in the towel, he met a younger American tennis player called Lizzie Bradbury on the women’s circuit. The pair fell in love and Lizzie helped Peter recapture his focus for Wimbledon. But their relationship is troubled by Lizzie’s overprotective father who believes Peter is a bad omen for his daughter’s professional career.
The film opened at number four, grossing US$7.1 million in its opening weekend at the North American box office.
The movie received mixed reviews, holding a score of 61% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 146 reviews with an average rating of 5.9/10. Moreover, American movie critic, Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review. According to him,
Wimbledon is a well-behaved movie about nice people who have good things happen to them. That’s kind of startling, in a world where movie characters, especially in sports movies, occupy the edge of human experience. What a surprise to hear conversation instead of dialogue, and to realize that the villain may actually be right some of the time
Paul Bettany who starred as Peter Cold in the movie was nominated by Empire Awards UK in 2005 as Best British Actor.
2. Break Point
Year of release – 2014
In this movie, an uncouth tennis pro is making one final crack at a major doubles tournament. However, other pros shy away from being his partner due to his drinking and on-court attitude. He’ll have no other choice than to ask his younger brother for help if he wants to succeed.
For his performance role, Jaime Eliezer Kara won the 2014 Newport Beach Film Festival for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking.
3. Battle of the Sexes
Year of release – 2017
Battle of the Sexes is a 2017 sports/comedy film directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton. The story revolves around the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs; a match that became the most-watched televised sports event of all time.
Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposite sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With her husband urging her to fight for equal pay, the private King was also struggling to come to terms with her sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive his past glories.
4. 7 Days In Hell
Year of release – 2015
Directed by Jake Szymanski, 7 Days in Hell is a sports mockumentary that explores the backgrounds of the competitors Aaron Williams (Andy Samberg) and Charles Poole (Kit Harington), two professional tennis players who face off in what becomes the longest match in history.
The film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 37 critics, and an average score of 7.6/10 on Rotten Tomatoes.
5. Match Point
Year of release – 2005
Released in the year 2005, Match Point is an interesting thriller starring Rhys Meyers who marries a wealthy family, but his social position is threatened by his affair with his brother-in-law’s girlfriend. The movie deals with themes of morality, greed, lust, and money. It also projects how people can be lucky in life.
Match Point earned $85,306,374 worldwide, of which $23,151,529 was in its North American run. The movie’s writer and director, Woody Allen was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
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6. King Richard
Year of release – 2021
Starring actors like Will Smith and Richard Williams, King Richard is an American biographical sports drama film that premiered at the 48th Telluride Film Festival in 2021. The movie was named one of the ten best films of the year by both the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review. It also earned 6 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards and won Best Actor for Smith.
In the movie, Smith who starred as Richard Williams is depicted as the father of Venus and Serena Williams. Richard armed himself with a 78-page plan on how to write his daughters into history. Training on tennis courts in Compton, Calif., Richard shapes the girls’ unyielding commitment and keen intuition. Together, the Williams family defies seemingly insurmountable odds and the prevailing expectations laid before them.
7. Borg vs. McEnroe
- Year of release – 2017
This movie’s setting is in the 1980s when Björn Borg enjoyed fame as the top tennis player in the world. The player remained resolute and determined to reach the Zenith of his career. However, there is only one obstacle in his pursuit of a record-breaking fifth Wimbledon championship and that is the highly talented but ferociously abrasive young American John McEnroe.
The film has an approval rating of 84%, based on 147 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. On Metacritic, Björn Borg has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 30 critic reviews. This indicates that the movie got favorable reviews generally.
8. 2nd Serve
Year of release – 2012
After he is dismissed from an affluent country club as a result of bad behavior, a former tennis player takes a job at a public racquet club. He trains a ragtag team of oddballs to play against a team of his former co-workers. His major aim was to get back at his former co-workers turned rivals.
According to critics, 2nd Serve Falls is an interesting movie that squarely falls amongst the litany of sports films that focus on what happens when to athletes as they find themselves past their prime,
9. First One In
Year of release – 2020
This movie stars the story of Madi Cooke who used to be an unemployed real estate agent until he was disgracefully thrown off a popular reality show. He later decides to join forces with a group of misfit tennis players in a do-or-die match against Bobbi Mason (Georgia King) who is an overachieving, real estate shark and her tennis-playing minions.
10. Final Set
Year of release – 2020
Released in the year 2020, Final Set is a French sports drama that stars Alex Lutz as a tennis player who competes in the qualifying rounds of the French Open for one last attempt at glory. Alex who portrayed the character of Thomas Edison used to be renowned as a young tennis prodigy. However, he never reached the point he anticipated in his career.
In France, the film earned $418,659, where it premiered for five weeks. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of eight critics’ reviews are positive.
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