After ‘Challengers,’ Watch This Star-Studded Tennis Rom-Com Next

Since arriving in theaters, Luca Guadagnino’s sports-romance movie Challengers has impressed both critics and audiences. Starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist embroiled in a decades-long love triangle that centers around their tennis careers, the feature delivered a heated and drama-filled treat. However, if you couldn’t get enough of the charged tennis energy in Challengers, there is another romance-filled movie that just might satisfy your appetite for the sport. The 2004 film Wimbledon tells the tale of a jaded tennis pro who falls in love with a rising star, all against the backdrop of one of the world’s biggest tennis tournaments. This early 2000s rom-com has everything you could want from a guilty pleasure sports movie, where its emotional and competitive rollercoaster is bound to keep you hooked until its final volley.

Wimbledon

PG-13

Comedy

Romance

sport

A pro tennis player has lost his ambition and has fallen in rank to 119. Fortunately for him, he meets a young player on the women’s circuit who helps him recapture his focus for Wimbledon.

Release Date

September 13, 2004

Director

Richard Loncraine

Cast

Kirsten Dunst , Paul Bettany , Sam Neill , Jon Favreau , Bernard Hill , Eleanor Bron

Runtime

100 mins

Main Genre

Comedy

Writers

Adam Brooks , Jennifer Flackett , Mark Levin

Studio

Universal Pictures

‘Wimbledon’ Delivers Everything You Want From a Sports Rom-Com

Sports movies naturally make for dramatic highs and lows which allow the audience to root for its leads. Tennis in particular is the perfect stage for success and misery, where there can only be one winner and one loser in every match. Wimbledon capitalizes on this perfectly, showing us just enough of the games to keep us hooked. The matches are condensed to their key moments of high drama, where you still get the feeling that you’ve experienced a proper game of tennis, even in just a few short minutes.

Tennis legends John McEnroe and Mary Carillo provide the on-court commentary throughout as a treat for real sports fans, whilst the movie manages the games with enough emotional sincerity to captivate even those who aren’t knowledgeable about the basic rules of tennis. The leads are both interesting enough for the tennis to become secondary for a lot of the movie, letting the romance fuel the storyline.

Like any good sports movie, Wimbledon delivers on the expected tropes. An underdog storyline drives the plot as Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) enters the competition as a wildcard, going on to perform better than anyone expected. This is coupled with the usual battle between love and sporting professionalism, where Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst) attempts to enjoy her whirlwind romance with Peter alongside her own Wimbledon campaign. A sporting villain is also a necessity, featured here in the form of Jake Hammond (Austin Nichols) who provides a winning mix of handsomeness and bad character. Plus, Sam Neill, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, James McAvoy and Jon Favreau are part of the cast roster.

A Spectacular Cast Helps Make This Movie a Pleasure To Watch

The cast helps to elevate this rom-com to a more star-studded affair. Paul Bettany naturally shines as an affable Englishman, whilst Kirsten Dunst is both determined and lovable throughout. Notably, Jon Favreau makes an appearance as Peter’s agent, the money-loving but good-natured Ron Roth. This role precedes Favreau’s work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and as Paul Bettany notes in Assembled: The Making of Wandavision, Favreau remembered him from Wimbledon and invited him to take on the role of JARVIS. This makes the rom-com so much more than a forgettable early role for Bettany.

Paul Bettany’s charm is certainly a defining feature of the film, where this plays up to the novelty of the famous lawn tennis setting. Shots of traditional Wimbledon strawberries drowning in the rain as well as numerous mentions of the UK’s wet climate establish a comedic stereotype of British culture. In addition to this, repeated mentions of fish and chips as well as on-location shots of the Brighton coastline further the importance of the movie’s locale, where these features come together to add a touch of whimsy to the scenes of competitive sport.

This complements the film’s stand-out comedic moments, many of which are provided by the supporting cast. Peter’s parents are shown to be suffering from marital difficulties that have led his father to take up refuge in a tree house at the bottom of the garden. Meanwhile, Peter’s mischievous brother Carl (James McAvoy) is shown consistently placing bets against Peter for all his games. McAvoy is a scene-stealer in this early role, where his gift for comedy, as well as sincerity, is demonstrated.

‘Wimbledon’ Is Cheesy, Predictable, and Lots of Fun

Wimbledon doesn’t necessarily revolutionize the sports or rom-com genre. The highs and lows are predictable, and disputes and reconciliations between the main couple can be guessed at throughout. Scenes that show Peter’s internal monologue during tennis matches are somewhat laughable and unrealistic, which do have the unfortunate effect of dispelling the illusion that this is a real sporting event. Also, there is a certain lack of trepidation in the tennis-playing scenes, with the movie’s inevitable happy ending seeming like a no-brainer.

But despite all this, Bettany is so charming that you can’t help but root for his Peter Colt. It is entirely believable that Colt could so easily win the adoration and attention of the public, who would easily get behind his polite but steadfast persona. Moments of well-timed comedy and a plethora of familiar faces help to distract from the corniness just long enough for the movie to enthrall you in its world of light-hearted drama and sporting achievement.

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Challengers gave us a slightly different take on the world of love and tennis, exploring the complexities of sporting rivalry, where deep-felt emotions are entangled with competitive ambitions. Taking on an intense rather than comedic tone, the movie offered a darker look at the world of tennis than the one we’re shown in Bettany’s 2004 rom-com. But in spite of its cheesy premise, Wimbledon is still worth a watch in the meantime, especially if you’re craving a tennis-themed romance.

Wimbledon is now available to rent or buy on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

WATCH ON APPLE TV+