Tennis is the sport we can’t seem to get enough of. With Wimbledon having recently wrapped up, docu-series Break Point has been a hit on Netflix and the new Zendaya movie Challengers releasing later this year, there’s a lot of balls and racquets action right now. If you’ve still not had enough tennis, the brand new Amazon series Fifteen Love, which debuted its first episode at the end of July, is definitely worth your watchlist space.

What is Fifteen Love about?

Portraying just how intense the tennis world can be, Fifteen Love is a sports drama that has just as much action off the court as it does on.

The show centres on Justine Pearce, a sports prodigy who reached the semi-finals as a 17-year-old of the French Open. Her maverick coach who was prepared to break every rule in the book, helped her secure it. Unfortunately, Justine withdrew from the competition with a serious injury, enough to cause her to have to drop her professional tennis career altogether, in front of millions of viewers (interestingly enough similar to Zendaya’s character in Challengers).

The series catches up with her half a decade on from the traumatic event, in her early 20s and still involved in the sport at her former academy.

She may now have moved on and healed with time, but the arrival of her coach back into her life upends her peace. He has a new talent under his wing, and Justine ends up making a serious allegation about his conduct towards her and resolves to tell the truth about just how far their relationship went.

Who stars?

Justine is being portrayed by Ella Lily Hyland, a virtually unknown actor who appeared in the miniseries Intruder in 2021, but from early buzz looks to make a breakout performance in Fifteen Love.

Opposite her, and bringing the show’s main star power, is Poldark and The Hobbit’s Aiden Turner, who’ll be playing her coach Glenn Lapthorn. Both Justine and Glenn shared an intense rapport and friendship, which the rest of the world saw as one of the keys to the success they produced on the court.

It’s unclear yet as to what the allegations are exactly, but the Amazon show will explore the pressures and pitfalls of being a young athlete on the world stage- and it feels timely, with tennis stars like Naomi Osaka having brought attention to the sport’s intensity in recent years.

The British show will also feature talents like Jessica Darrow (Encanto), Anna Chancellor (The Crown) and Lorenzo Richelmy (Marco Polo.) 

When can I watch it?

The first episode of Fifteen Love landed on 21st July, with subsequent parts following throughout August, and has garned a positive buzz so far.

Culture

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