5 Ace Tennis Films To Prolong The Wimbledon Magic
By
5 months ago
You’re going to love these…
Wimbledon hasn’t even ended, yet we’re already feeling nostalgic for our magnificent, British tennis fortnight. While we cross our fingers for the 2025 ballot and get ready to watch tennis at the Olympics, there’s nothing quite like a tennis film to tide us over. Here are our five favourites.
5 Great Tennis Films
Challengers (2024)
The latest tennis film to grace theatre screens is Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers which – though it made headlines for its love triangle between Tashi (Zendaya), Patrick (Josh O’Connor) and Art (Mike Faist) – features some stellar tennis cinematography. If you’re interested in getting an insight to what tennis players get up to at university, and what happens after that, Challengers is the perfect flick.
King Richard (2021)
The film that unexpectedly brought us slapgate is Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Richard, starring Will Smith as Richard Williams, the father turned tennis coach of shining stars, Venus and Serena Williams. King Richard centres on the titular dad, tracing his daughters’ childhood in Compton, California as he urges them to pursue a tennis career. Trust us, it slaps.
Wimbledon (2004)
For a retro, very on the nose tennis film, try Richard Loncraine’s romcom Wimbledon, starring Paul Bettanay as Peter, an English tennis pro whose ranking has slipped from 11 to 119. When he earns a wildcard spot at Wimbledon, though, his game drastically improves upon meeting American up-and-comer Lizzie (Kirsten Dunst).
Battle Of The Sexes (2017)
From one Gwen Stacey to another, this 2017 tennis film takes us back to 1973 when the world witnessed one of history’s most monumental tennis matches: between Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell). It traces the huge amount of sexism women faced in ‘70s tennis and before, showcasing the formation of the WTA, and King’s game changing match against Riggs who claims, at 55, he can still beat any woman.
Borg vs McEnroe (2017)
It seems 2017 was a big year for tennis films – and head-to-head ones at that. Perfect for some Wimbledon nostalgia, Borg vs McEnroe traces the famous professional rivalry between players Björn Borg (played by Sverrir Gudnason) and John McEnroe (played by Shia LaBeouf) at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships, culminating in their encounter at the men’s singles final – one of the most dramatic matches in tennis history, lasting a whopping three hours and 53 minutes.
