Tennis is a sport that is universally recognized and adored globally. It is a graceful, yet hugely entertaining sport that has produced some truly spectacular moments over the years, and some of the most iconic lines (‘You cannot be serious?!’).
For many people, tennis isn’t just a sport, it is a passion and as the sport continues to grow in popularity and become even more mainstream, that trend only looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Tennis isn’t just fun to play, it’s also fun to watch, but what do you do when Wimbledon is months away, the Australian Open has been and gone, and your other favorite tournaments feel like a lifetime away? Well, you could put on your lounge pants, grab a bucket of popcorn, kick back and watch a tennis movie instead.
Because tennis is so popular, it has graced the silver screen multiple times in the past and has resulted in some of the greatest tennis movies the world has ever seen. To help you get your tennis fix, here are 8 of the best tennis movies of all time.
Wimbledon
First on our list for you today, we have the aptly named ‘Wimbledon’.
You couldn’t come up with a list of tennis movies and not include Wimbledon in there somewhere, so let’s take a look at this hugely popular tennis movie in more detail.
Wimbledon was released in 2004 and stars Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany. This romantic comedy is considered the ‘Notting Hill’ of the tennis world and is as funny as it is entertaining.
The movie centers around a past-his-prime pro tennis player called Peter Colt (played by Paul Bettany) who is now winding down his career and is preparing to retire and make the transition over to tennis coaching instead.
Colt receives a shock wildcard entry into that year’s Wimbledon tournament where he meets an up-and-coming young American tennis star called Lizzie Bradbury (played by Kirsten Dunst). In typical British rom-com fashion, the two initially “hate” each other but it’s clear there’s a romantic spark there.
Colt falls for her though her overprotective and pushy father, played by Sam Neill, is against the relationship as he fears it will harm her career as a tennis pro.
Despite being a typical romantic comedy, Wimbledon is very entertaining and is a must-watch for any true tennis fan.
Battle of the Sexes
Up next, we have the brilliant Battle of the Sexes.
If you love tennis then you have to watch this movie for the tennis match at the end, if nothing else.
The film is based on the real-life 1973 square-off between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs stars Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs and Emma Stone as Billie Jean King. King is a feminist icon, whereas Riggs is an extreme male chauvinist who claims that, at 55, he could still beat any pro-female tennis player.
In the movie, the two characters not only face off against one another but also against themselves and their personal issues. It is reported that it would take as long as 10 hours to shoot a 5-second tennis scene.
The movie may not have done well at the box office, but tennis fans praise the film, particularly for the sporting choreography.
King Richard
Yes, we know that King Richard is currently being talked about for all the wrong reasons, but if you forget what happened at the Oscars and just look at the movie itself, you can see why it is so critically acclaimed and has won so many awards.
This 2021 movie stars Will Smith as Richard Williams, father, and coach to Serena and Venus Williams, arguably the two greatest tennis players in the history of the sport.
The film shows how the sisters became two of the best to ever do it, as well as the trials and tribulations they faced as they grew up. The film has drama, amazing tennis choreography, comedy, passion, heaps of charm, and some amazing acting performances.
Borg vs McEnroe
If there’s one thing the sporting world loves, it’s a good rivalry. Whether it’s Tyson vs Holyfield, Ali vs Frazier, or McGregor vs Mayweather, a good sporting rivalry keeps us glued to our seats and eagerly anticipating a rematch.
While tennis has seen some great players over the years, it’s been decades since we’ve seen a true and fierce rivalry, which is why tennis fans can’t get enough of Borg vs McEnroe.
This movie is based on the real-life sporting rivalry between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg and is certainly not a tennis movie to watch with the children. It’s R-rated for a reason, but boy, is it a whole lot of fun.
The film is set in 1980 at the Wimbledon tournament when Bjorn Borg was at the top of his game and a young and hungry American by the name of John McEnroe was slowly climbing the ladder. The two players were hugely different, on and off the court, yet when they met each other, magic always happened.
The two players may have been sporting rivals, but off the courts, the two greats have been buddies for decades.
7 Days in Hell
Sporting ‘Mockumentaries’ have proved to be very popular over the years, stemming way back to the 1970s and George Butler’s ‘Pumping Iron’, which gave an exaggerated look at the world of competitive bodybuilding.
Decades later, and we’re here again with yet another sporting mockumentary, this time one based around tennis.
7 Days in Hell is a comedic tennis mockumentary that drew inspiration from 2010’s Wimbledon matchup between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. Why this match? Because it lasted for a staggering 11 hours and 5 minutes. 7 Days in Hell, however, asks what would have happened if this matchup had lasted an entire week?
This comedic movie stars Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Andy Samberg as Aaron Williams, the ‘bad boy of tennis’. Williams starts off as an orphan who is adopted and trained by Richard Williams (yes, that Richard Williams). His opponent is a British child prodigy named Charles Goole (played by Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington).
This movie features cameos from numerous tennis pros, playing variations of themselves as talking-head experts and, despite featuring a 7-day long tennis match, only lasts 43-minutes.
So far on our list, while we’ve had a few dramatic tennis movies, we’ve also seen plenty of light-hearted and comedic tennis movies. Will Final Set be yet another tennis comedy? Absolutely not.
Final Set
Final Set is considered an ‘undiscovered gem’ of the movie world, as it has received critical acclaim, yet hasn’t exactly lit up the box office in terms of money.
This French drama is great because it isn’t your typical cliché tennis movie, it instead helps to shine a light on how athletes cope with injuries and aging as they pass their prime and begin to wind down their careers.
Aged 37, a former teen prodigy by the name of Thomas J. Edison (played by Alex Lutz) must deal with the fact that, due to a knee injury, a lack of fitness, and the passing of time, he has fallen massively in the ranks. Despite this, he is adamant that he will make his return from injury at the French Open, and face a new 17-year-old teen prodigy.
Desperate to reclaim past glory and to turn back the clock, Edison will seemingly do anything to qualify for the Open and continue playing at an elite level for many years to come.
Match Point
Match Point is directed by the legendary Woody Allen and is most certainly not your typical light-hearted tennis movie.
It stars Jonathan Rhys-Meyers who plays a tennis instructor by the name of Chris Wilton who becomes corrupted by money, status, and power.
Wilton finds himself caught up in a love triangle resulting in violent consequences. Match Point is an R-rated movie full of twists and turns. Allen turns the psychological aspect of this movie up to 11 and he actually received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Obviously, the movie doesn’t focus solely on tennis, but there’s more than enough tennis action in here to please even the strictest of tennis lovers.
Break Point
Finally, if you want a typical cliché tennis movie where you can predict the ending right from the start, but still want to have an enjoyable ride along the way, Break Point is the movie you should stream this weekend.
Break Point is a hilarious comedy tale of two aging tennis-playing brothers who, once partners, went their separate ways but want one more crack at the glory before they call it time on their careers, with the goal of entering and winning the US Open men’s doubles.
Hot-headed pro tennis star Jimmy (played by Jeremy Sisto) comes groveling back to his estranged brother Darren (played by David Walton) whom he used to play doubles tennis with until he ditched him for a higher ranked tennis partner.
This is the classic odd-couple comedy, in that Jimmy is a foul-mouthed, violent party animal, while Darren is a mild-mannered substitute teacher. Can they put their differences aside and get a taste of victory at the top one last time? Probably, but you’ll have heaps of fun finding out.
