Much to the delight of tennis fans, this sport is present all over the world, with almost every region and country having its own love for tennis. Cricket, for instance, is a largely Indian sport and wanders in the Indian subcontinent more than it does anywhere else. Not just in the form of tournaments, but also in the form of gully cricket, which provides respite to the children of the Indian cities.
With Tennis, however, there is a certain cult following as well, with people cheering on their favorite sports superstars. In that spirit, artists and filmmakers who were fans of tennis and the world around them, used the best of their talent to exhibit the love and wonder of the game. Here are some of the movies which tennis lovers should not miss:
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Will Smith, 53, is receiving a lot of Oscar hype for his upcoming biopic King Richard, which will be released in cinemas and on HBO Max on November 19. The remarkable true story of Richard Williams, the father and coach of two of the most unquestionably powerful players of all time—Venus and Serena Williams—is being directed by upcoming director Reinaldo Marcus Green. Hollywood has produced relatively few films about tennis, compared to the dozens, if not hundreds, of movies about baseball, football, basketball, and even hockey, despite the high stakes drama on and off the court. These nine tennis-themed movies, which range from absurd indie comedy to true-life dramas, will make an excellent “doubles feature” alongside King Richard.
Battle of the Sexes
The story revolves around the real-life 1973 matchup between future feminist icon Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and outspoken male chauvinist Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell, 59), who boasted that at age 55, he could defeat any female tennis player. The film was directed by Little Miss Sunshine’s Jonathan Dayton, 64, and Valerie Faris, 63. Despite being a box office failure, the movie received a Golden Globe nomination for its two actors, Riggs and King, who are practically the same age. The movie does a fantastic job of capturing all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the match, including the giving and receiving of symbolic gifts: King gave Riggs a small pig and Riggs gave him a large Sugar Daddy.
You can watch it on YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.
Match Point
You’re in for a surprise if you expect one of Woody Allen’s urban comedies: More so than Annie Hall, this vile, brutish thriller has more in common with Alfred Hitchcock. Irish tennis pro Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) works at a club in London where he meets affluent customer Tom (Matthew Goode) and soon starts dating his sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer, 50). But when Chris begins a passionate romance with Tom’s American fiancée Nola, things become complicated (Scarlett Johansson). Numerous metaphors involving tennis balls striking nets, fate, and luck follow. Attention, Succession fans: the father of Tom and Chloe is played by 75-year-old Brian Cox. There are numerous allusions to Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky throughout the movie.
Wimbledon
In this romantic comedy set in England about two tennis players at very different stages of their careers, Paul Bettany, 50, harnesses his inner Hugh Grant from the 1990s. Peter Colt, a failed British athlete, dropped from 11th to 119th place in the standings. He’s starting to confess to himself that it might be time to retire and work as a tennis pro at a swanky club despite earning a wild-card slot at the championship tennis tournament. To the dismay of her father and manager, Dennis (Sam Neill, 74), who thinks a relationship will harm her rising career, Lizzie Bradury (Kirsten Dunst), an up-and-coming American player, enters the picture. Will their romance endure? Take a wild guess because it’s a romantic comedy.
Borg Vs McEnroe
Only 14 times between 1978 and 1981 did the two tennis greats square off, but their rivalry endures to this day. That has a lot to do with their polar opposite personalities and playing philosophies, which are brilliantly captured in this Swedish biopic that traces the events leading up to their fierce confrontation at the 1980 Wimbledon tournament. The movie shows that Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) and John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf) were far more alike off the court than they thought, which may explain their real-life, decades-long friendship. Björn Borg is the cool and quiet Swede, and John McEnroe is the profanity-spewing American hothead.
Sources:
10 Reasons Why the Cookie Crumbled the Way It Did 