For the first time, the tennis world championship would be held for just one week and in a city: Madrid. Eighteen teams strove to win the prized “salad bowl” trophy. Lead by Rafa Nadal, the Spanish team were this year’s favourite until they suffered a serious setback.
Using fascinating archive from Andy Murray’s life and career, this programme is an in-depth exploration of his incredible journey from Dunblane to becoming a sporting legend.
Told in his own words using interviews spanning from the 1980s through now, father and tennis coach Richard Williams retraces his family's journey from the courts in Compton to the grass at Wimbledon, defying every custom of the lily-white tennis establishment and fighting back against a system of oppression to raise two of the greatest champions in history - Venus and Serena Williams.
The lives and careers of the tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams are documented, with special attention paid to the training techniques of their father Richard Williams.
The first time Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova stepped onto a tennis court together, the world scarcely noticed. Only a few hundred spectators saw the pert 18-year-old beat the scrappy 16-year-old Czech in 1973. “I remember that she was fat,” Evert recalled. “She was very emotional on the court, whining if she didn't feel she was playing well. But I remember thinking, if she loses weight, we’re all in trouble.” Said Navratilova, “My goal was for her to remember my name.” Eighty matches later – amid the extraordinary growth of women’s tennis – Evert not only remembered, but became a tried and true friend and confidante, remarkable considering the two appeared to be polar opposites in upbringing, life styles and personal relationships. Through a series of personal conversations, this documentary will tell the story of one of the greatest one-on-one sports rivalries and capture these two extraordinary athletes’ views on tennis and an ever-changing world.
On the eve of the 2022 Championships, here’s another chance to relive what happened at Wimbledon last year. It was another thrilling tournament, with Novak Djokovic claiming his sixth title at the All England Club, coming from behind to beat Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in the final. Meanwhile, Ash Barty became the first Australian champion in the women’s singles for 41 years, and teenager Emma Raducanu announced herself on the world stage with a run to the fourth round as a wild card. (BBC)
Documentary film about the protests against the 1968 Davis Cup tennis match between Sweden and Rhodesia, in Båstad, Sweden. In a series of interviews, demonstrators and members of the Swedish government give their views on sport, politics and civil disobedience.
The Official Wimbledon Film 2018 delivers an engaging insight into the very best action, on and off the court, at the most famous and revered tennis tournament in the world. Documenting the progress of former champions, challengers and eventual winners as they progress through the fortnight, witnessing the shock results unfold and delving into Wimbledon's unique attributes across the grounds.
The Argentine Miracle of Tennis
"Renee" tells the story of Renee Richards' battle to enter the 1977 U.S. Open as the first transgender tennis player. Simultaneously, it follows her today as she struggles to cope with a life of contradictions and personal conflict. Through interviews with tennis legends, family, friends and experts from the transgender field, a story of perseverance, breakthrough and hardship unfolds.
An immersive film essay on tennis legend John McEnroe at the height of his career as the world champion, documenting his strive for perfection, frustrations, and the hardest loss of his career at the 1984 Roland-Garros French Open.
A documentary film that tracks the tennis star’s devastating injury journey between 2017-2019. From the front lines of surgical theatres, to the intimate corners of his home, we live alongside and witness Andy at his most vulnerable. Considered Britain’s greatest sportsman ever, we see why Andy puts himself through the unimaginable to get back to the sport he loves.
Under pressure to continue a winning tradition in American tennis, Mardy Fish faced mental health challenges that changed his life on and off the court.
The incredible true story of how Jelena Dokic became a tennis star while surviving war, bullying and extreme domestic violence at the hands of Damir Dokic, the tennis father from hell.
Follows the life and career of Arthur Ashe.
"Boris Becker - The Player" is a rousing and emotional portrait of one of the greatest German sports heroes ever! It shows us the person Boris Becker up close: We experience him as a privateer, trainer, businessman and as a loving husband and father.
The Williams Sisters. Dominating the game for over 3 decades, Serena Williams and Venus Williams, winning every title imaginable. From inexperienced teenagers to seasoned vets nobody could have predicted the sisters' careers.
Althea Gibson’s life and achievements transcend sports. A truant from the rough streets of Harlem, Althea emerged as a most unlikely queen of the highly segregated tennis world in the 1950s. Her roots as a sharecropper’s daughter, her family’s migration north to Harlem in the 1930s, mentoring from Sugar Ray Robinson, David Dinkins and others, and fame that thrust her unwillingly into the glare of the early Civil Rights movement, all bring her story into a much broader realm of the American story.
This documentary shows the struggles of making it on the ATP World Tour with rare, behind-the-scenes footage featuring tennis super stars Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Patrick Rafter, Goran Ivanisevic, Jim Courier and others.
THE POWER AND THE GLORY tells Serena Williams’ remarkable story from a Compton prodigy to the greatest female tennis player of all time.