Tennis has never looked sexier in Challengers. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, Challengers stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis star forced into early retirement due to a devastating knee injury. Tashi coaches her husband Art Donaldson (Mike Feist) and turns him into a tennis champion. After Art suffers a few losses, Tashi signs him up for a low-level tournament to regain his confidence. The antagonist is Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), Art’s former best friend and Tashi’s old boyfriend.
Challengers is a tense and seductive romantic thriller set in the world of tennis. While Feist and O’Connor are excellent, Zendaya is the Challenger winner, delivering a stellar performance that should propel her career to new heights. We’ll see if Zendaya’s popularity will make “Challengers” a box office winner. The movie currently has an excellent rating of 95%. Rotten tomatoes .
If tennis has become your new favorite sport after watching “Challengers,” keep that newfound love for the game alive by watching these five tennis movies.
“King Richard”
The rise of Venus and Serena Williams is depicted through the eyes of their father, Richard Williams, in the Oscar-winning drama King Richard. Will Smith stars as Richard, the patriarch of the Williams family, determined to turn Venus (Sania Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) into tennis stars. Despite being from Compton, an area not known for its tennis, Richard follows his 78-page plan for success to a T as the girls become teenage phenoms.
On the face of it, King Richard is a sports movie about two of the greatest racket-catching players ever. However, “King Richard” thrives when positioned as a family drama looking at one man’s determination to create a better life for his children. Although his performance is now associated with an Oscar slap, Smith’s portrayal of Richard remains his crowning achievement as a dramatic actor.
Watch Netflix and Max
“7 Days in Hell”
While the title of greatest tennis movie is up for debate, the pick for funniest tennis movie is solidified. That title belongs to “7 Days in Hell,” a 2015 mockumentary about the longest match in tennis history. The HBO film was inspired by the marathon 11-hour match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships.
The two central figures of “7 Days in Hell” are Aaron Williams (Andy Samberg) and Charles Poole (Kit Harington), two tennis players who battle it out in a week-long match. “7 Days in Hell” plays out like an HBO sports presentation, featuring match footage and interviews with those who witnessed the story. The undercover documentary is, to put it mildly, strange. There are storylines involving a sex tape, a prison break and a feisty Queen of England (June Squibb). Oddly enough, the comedy in 7 Days in Hell is pure gold.
Watch Max
‘Wimbledon’
The actress who launched the Spider-Man to Tennis Star project was Kirsten Dunst, who played the role of Lizzie Bradbury in Wimbledon. Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) is in the final stages of his career in the top 15, Peter is now number 119 in the world. Peter meets Lizzie (Dunst), a rising American girl group player.
Lizzie rekindles Peter’s love of the game, leading to a few lopsided victories. Yet the romantic relationship becomes something more meaningful as time goes on. Wimbledon is not as erotic as the Challengers. It plays to the rom-com crowd, with Bettany and Dunst giving charming performances as the leads.
Rent/Buy on Amazon or An apple
“Battle of the Sexes”
Dunst is passing the baton from Spider-Man to tennis star to Emma Stone, who played the legendary Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes. In 1973, 29-year-old King faced off against 55-year-old Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) in a tennis match dubbed the “Battle of the Sexes.” The competition has become one of the most watched sporting events of all time.
While the match is depicted in the film, “Battle of the Sexes” focuses more on King’s life off the court, including the fight for equal pay to her sexual awakening. As a two-time Oscar winner, Stone is the perfect actress to play an innovator like King. “Battle of the Sexes” is an inspiring tribute to a seminal moment in sports history.
Rent/Buy on Amazon or An apple
Borg vs McEnroe
Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe are two of the greatest tennis players of all time – and complete opposites. Borg is cool, calm and collected on court, while McEnroe is a fiery hot head. In the 1970s and 1980s, the competitors became fierce rivals. Borg and McEnroe’s match in the 1980 Wimbledon final was the subject of Janus Metz Pedersen’s Borg vs. McEnroe, with Sverir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf playing Borg and McEnroe respectively.
Borg vs. McEnroe has the best tennis scenes of any movie on this list. The film does an excellent job of providing context for each contestant’s life. Borg lives a lavish lifestyle but faces considerable pressure to win a fifth straight Wimbledon. McEnroe is the fiery American with a chip on his shoulder and a nasty temper. This is arguably LaBeouf’s best work of his career. They say styles make the fights. The contrasting personalities of Borg and McEnroe serve as the perfect backdrop for a dramatic contest.
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