We all remember where we were when Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic to win Wimbledon in 2013–watched by an estimated 17.3 million people, their gripping, near-five hour match brought the country to a virtual standstill. But we likely also remember where we were when we first saw Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor sitting on that hotel bed in the trailer for Challengers. With its first suggestion of hot players indulging in action off the court, Luca Guadagnino’s 2024 film made tennis sexy again. Prior to that all we had was the bottom-baring ‘Tennis Girl’ Athena poster from the ’80s, our mum’s Andre Agassi calendar, and tabloid tales of Boris Becker in that broom cupboard.
Challengers is just one part of a canon of film-making that has evolved alongside the sport to fill in the gaps for fans in between tournaments–and lure a fanbase that may never go to Centre Court but will still enjoy the on-screen tension provided by a great match. With Wimbledon 2026 about to get underway, it’s the perfect time to dust some strawberries with sugar, pour yourself a Pimm’s and stream one of these smashing tennis films…
1 / 6
King Richard (2021)
This biopic stars Will Smith as Richard Williams, father and coach to the iconic tennis-playing sisters Venus and Serena Williams. Described as a “big-hearted celebration” of their incredible story, we see Richard coach both of his daughters from their modest beginnings all the way into the history books. One sceptical coach tells Williams at the start: “It’s like asking people to believe you’ve got the next two Mozarts in your house.” Well guess what? He did. Special mention must go to Beyoncé’s soundtrack addition, ‘Be Alive’.
2 / 6
Wimbledon (2004)
The quintessential tennis rom-com. Ok, the only tennis rom-com, but nonetheless Wimbledon is to summer what The Holiday is to Christmas (for some of us). Paul Bettany is Peter Colt, a fading tennis champion who is set to retire. Kirsten Dunst is Lizzie Bradbury, a rising tennis star who helps Peter up his game with some on-court pizazz and some off-court snogging. It’s got the perfect Noughties rom-com formula (awkward Brit being dazzled by a sassy American plus two songs by the Sugababes). It received mediocre reviews at the time, but by today’s rom-com standards? It’s practically Citizen Kane.
3 / 6
Challengers (2024)
We’ve already covered the “threesome” that instantly put this film on our radar–and the love triangle back on the cultural agenda for the first time since Bella/Edward/Jacob. We have Zendaya as injured tennis star-turned-coach Tashi, her disastrous but charming tennis player ex Patrick (Josh O’Connor), and her champion husband Art (Mike Faist). Challengers guides us through 13 years of their complicated relationship, culminating in one big match between the love rivals. Come for killer Zendaya lines such as, “You have a better shot with a handgun in your mouth.” Stay for O’Connor and Faist in that sauna scene.
4 / 6
7 Days in Hell (2015)
Mix Blades of Glory with Best in Show and a few scenes from any overly dramatic sports documentary, and you’ll end up with something akin to 7 Days in Hell, the mockumentary starring Andy Samberg and Kit Harington. The former plays Aaron Williams, the adopted brother of Venus and Serena Williams (who stars as a talking head) and the “bad boy of tennis”. Harington is the rather more uptight, and stupid, British player Charles Poole who is preparing to face off against Williams, but doesn’t have a strategy because he… doesn’t know what that word means. With an eclectic cast that includes Lena Dunham, June Squibb, John McEnroe and, um, magician David Copperfield, this is truly the unsung hero of tennis movies.
5 / 6
Battle of the Sexes (2017)
This critically acclaimed offering tells the true story of tennis champion Billie Jean King, played by Emma Stone, and former Wimbledon winner Bobby Riggs (Steve Carrell), whose highly publicised 1973 exhibition match became a pivotal moment in tennis history. We see King campaign for equal pay and recognition in women’s tennis, accepting Riggs’s challenge to prove that female athletes can compete on the same stage as men. While Wimbledon introduced equal prize money for men and women in 2007, more than half a century on male players still out-earn their female peers.
6 / 6
Rafa (2026)
Not a film, but an essential entry on any pre-tournament watch-list: Netflix’s four-part documentary has been praised for the intense level of access viewers are allowed into the life of Spain’s greatest ever player, Rafael Nadal. Through interviews with Nadal, his wife Maria, his opponents and coaches, as well as plenty of previously unseen footage, director Zach Heinzerling gives fans unfettered insight into Nadal’s extraordinary career–right up to his decision to retire two years ago. It’s an unsurprisingly intense watch, filled with exhaustive training and brutal injuries. And that’s why he has 22 Grand Slam titles.
This story was originally published on British Vogue.
