Challengers is one of the best movies we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing lately. This movie had everything: hot people, drama, steamy scenes (though we could have had more), and a very motion-sickness inducing ball POV moment. It just felt so natural to be seated in a movie theater with 100 other people on the edge of their seats throughout it all!
But now that you’ve seen it…how do you keep chasing that high? Don’t worry — we’ve got recommendations to give you that same winning feeling. Here are 15 books you need to serve yourself after watching Challengers.
It’s (Tennis) Courting Season
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Let’s just go ahead and get this one out the way! In true TJR fashion, we get a slightly insufferable female main character (big Tashi energy) who is one of the world’s best tennis players. Carrie Soto is looking for one last match, one last title, one last slam and comes out of retirement to get it. But the world of tennis has changed. There are younger and fitter athletes, the media still not her biggest fan, and the one man she almost let take her heart has to be her trainer, but Carrie comes back.
This is truly one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I’m not even the biggest TJR fan. But I was hooked. I appreciated how much background she gave the sport of tennis and really made it digestible for people to understand. I think this did a better job of setting up the world of tennis, unlike in Challengers where I felt like we were just thrust into it and expected to get distracted by the love plot without asking questions — not this girl!
Need one more match point to pick this one up? There is a slight crossover in the Evelyn Hugo universe, so you’ll see some familiar names!
Match Point by Katherine Reilly (June 20)
Kieran O’Sullivan knows this year is his last chance to win a Grand Slam. The sport’s bad boy is looking to hold the cup one more time before he thinks about what comes next.
Flora Hendrix is ready to get out of her flat for the summer. She needs a new start, and why not make a little money while she’s away? She lives in Wimbledon, so it’s easy enough money during the two week tournament. What she doesn’t expect is for her summer travel plans to unravel, and what she really didn’t expect was for her house guest to refuse to leave.
Kieran and Flora agree to a somewhat roommate truce for the time being, but this match sparks some scores off the court.
This book is out June 20 and perfect for fans of Icebreaker and The Fake Out.
A Weekend in New Yorkby Benjamin Markovits
Paul Essinger is ready for his last match. He’s played tennis for decades, and he’s just tired. Going out after the US Open is his perfect way to end his career. His family isn’t necessarily on board right now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be.
As his parents and siblings gather in their Manhattan apartment for the match, it takes one weekend to bring family tensions to a boiling point. Paul’s sister is having a crisis and his brother is sharing the chances of him even making it past the first round. As Paul gets ready for the match, he realizes his biggest game isn’t on the court, but with himself.
The Only Story by Julian Barnes
Age gap romance? A steamy summer affair? Yes, please!
Nineteen-year-old Paul is home for the summer from university, and after a lot of nagging encouragement from his mother, joins her tennis club. He’s partnered with Susan Macleof, a 48 year old confident, witty, absolutely fine, and definitely married woman. Despite all the circumstances that should keep them apart, they fall in love.
Decades later, Paul reflects on his relationship with Susan and how it might not have been as sweet and innocent as he remembers.
The Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger
Lauren Weisberger is known for The Devil Wears Prada, and this gives us the same feels!
Charlotte “Charlie” Silver is a tennis sweetheart and perfect good girl, but she needs to get to the next level of her game. She hires a new coach, Todd Feltner, who's known for being brutal and sort of the worst person ever.
Charlie continues to rise in the tennis world, learning the life of celebrity stylists, private parties, “charity events” on mega yachts, and dating some of the top names in Hollywood. As her day turns into a life she doesn’t recognize, Charlie starts to think how far she’s willing to go to reach the top.
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
Let me start by saying Liane Moriarty is one of the best at confusing the hell out of you with characters and plots, but man can she bring it all together. Please pick up The Husband’s Secretby her — it’s not about tennis, but it's SO. GOOD.
Okay anyway!
Joy and Stan Delany are loving life. They have a great tennis academy and grown up children who are pretty decent players themselves — what more could you want out of life? Well, after 50 years of marriage and selling the academy, Joy and Stan realize they're actually miserable.
One night, a stranger shows up on Joy and Stan’s doorstep asking for help, and their lives are never the same. Joy goes missing, Stan is the prime suspect, and the children are grappling with what to believe. As tensions and the desperation to find Joy rise, the Delaneys have to examine their family history in a new light.
This is also available as a miniseries on Peacock!
Serving Sports Romance
The Rule Bookby Sarah Adams
Nora Mackenzie is ready for her first client, but she did not expect her super hot college ex-boyfriend to be the one to hold her career in her hands. Nora and Derek Pender's relationship didn't end particularly well, but surely he doesn’t hold a grudge, right?
Wrong.
Derek is ready for a little bit of comeuppance. All he has to do is make Nora’s life miserable, which is easy enough — it’s easy being a diva. When the two have a “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas” moment and wake up married, revenge and life as they know it goes up in flames. Could this rematch be true love?
Fangirl Downby Tessa Bailey
Josephine Doyle is Wells Whitaker’s biggest fan, even before he was golf’s hottest rising star. Even when he broke his clubs. Even when he plays so hungover he can barely see the ball. Josephine is there, cheering him on from the sidelines. But Wells can’t take the life anymore and lays down his putters once and for all… at least he thought.
Why did he want to quit in the first place? Wells can’t remember, but he knows he needs a new caddy, and Josephine is just the person to do it. Plus it comes with some killer prize money.
As the two travel together, spend most of their time joined at the hip, it doesn’t take long for conversations about golf to get hot and heavy (plus golf is boring).
Cleat Cuteby Meryl Wilsner
Grace Henderson has been in the soccer spotlight since she was 16 years old. After a decade of being the US Women’s National Team’s star, she’s sidelined while recovering from an injury. Enter Phoebe Matthews, a talented jokester who sees the joy in and off the field. Phoebe has always looked up to Grace, and one bold kiss after practice leads to romance on the sidelines.
A casual locker room hookup starts to lead to more, but there’s too much at stake. Grace tries to focus on recovering from her injury as the World Cup approaches, but she doesn’t want to take her spot on the roster if there’s not one for Phoebe too. The two start to find a way to play together on the field, but off the field? That’s a game plan they need to figure out.
Collide by Bal Khabra
Summer Preston doesn’t want to work with hockey captain Aiden Crawford, but she’s so close to becoming a sports psychologist and this assignment is what she needs.
Aiden was looking forward to all the perks that came with being hockey team captain at his college, but he wasn’t necessarily excited about taking the fall for a team after a prank goes haywire. His coach signs him up to be a subject in a research paper, thinking maybe that will teach someone some responsibilities.
Obviously — as all enemies-to-lovers stories go — Summer and Aiden butt heads the whole time. Aiden is too laid back, and Summer is too uptight, so why are there butterflies after a few meetups? Why does Aiden suddenly look very kissable, and when did Summer’s attitude become sort of hot? This story is perfect for fans of Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker series!
Classic Love Triangles
Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert
Katee Robert is one of the reigning queens of modern Greek myth retellings. I’ve talked about Neon Gods before, but this one is steamy. It’s in the Dark Olympus universe, so you’ll see some names from previous books, but this one is a sinfully sweet retelling of Achilles, Patroclus, and Helen of Troy.
Achilles Kallis is determined to do whatever it takes to be one of the Thirteen in Olympus’ inner circle. He clawed his way up from nothing and became one of the city’s most dangerous and fearsome soldiers. When a competition is announced to have a seat at the table, he enters with his partner Patroclus Fotos — after all, two heads are better than one.
Meanwhile, Helen's played her part as Zeus’ sister long enough. She's ready for her own future, but when she’s a prize to the winner of the competition, she’s done being a pawn and plays the game herself. You can’t trust anyone while playing the game, but they never said you couldn’t have hookups with two of the hottest men in the world at the same time!
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Celestial and Roy are on top of the world and feeling every bit of newlywed bliss. Roy is a hotshot executive, and Celestial is right on the edge of catching her big break as an artist. But the two get ripped apart when Roy is arrested and sentenced to 12 years for a crime they both know he didn’t commit.
As Celestial goes through life without her better half, she finds comfort in Andre, her childhood best friend who was also her husband’s best man at their wedding. Time passes, and Celestial’s love for Roy sort of does too. After five years, Roy’s conviction gets overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to live their life together. Celestial, Roy, and Andre start to reckon with the past to move forward — but this trio has a lot to unpack.
Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler
Natalya Fox only has a day to make a life changing decision: stay in NYC for the summer with her dad, or move out to LA with her mother. There are pros and cons: in NYC she can try to convince herself to talk to the girl she’s been crushing on, but in LA she can work on a relationship with her mother… well maybe there are only pros to staying in NYC.
So she does what any sort of delulu teenager might do — she plays out the different scenarios in her head. In one place, she’s exploring the city, working on the relationship with her mom, and talking to the girl she’s always wanted. In the other, she’s exploring the city, working on the relationship with her mom, and goes for the guy. What's a bicoastal girl to do?
Sit, Stay, Love by Amy Hutton
Sera is living a girl’s dream — she owns a pet rescue shelter. Yes, it can be difficult to pay bills and have a life outside of work, but she can always rely on her local vet Toby, who is conveniently her best friend...and also in love with her (not that she knows!).
Cut to, hot shot movie star Ethan entering Sera's life with his new canine co-star. Ethan is terrified, but this is the role of his career, and no dog phobia will keep him from it. As dog walks turn into more, Sera finds herself catching feelings. What she didn’t expect was Toby to be jealous. How can Sera juggle dogs, kittens, barn animals, AND two men trying to fight for her attention?
Ralph’s Party by Lisa Jewell
You may be familiar with her other work: The Night She Disappeared, The Family Upstairs, or her latest hit, None of This is True. But let’s throw it back to Lisa Jewell’s first book ever — to no one's surprise, she made a name for herself after this one.
There are six residents at 31 Almanac Road. Ralph is an artist who is in love with his new flatmate Jem. Smith is Ralph’s best friend who's already putting to moves on Jem, but he really has his eye on Cheri who lives upstairs. Karl and Siobhan are across the hall, trapped in an unhappy marriage and starting a flirtation with Cheri.
Got all that?
Things get heated between the six tenants and it all gets revealed at… yep, Ralph’s party.
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