They learned to play tennis in one of the worst American ghettos and still reached the top of the world rankings, dominating the women’s game for decades. The story of Serena and Venus Williams is one of overcoming sexism and racism to transform the sport
The remarkable story of Jelena Dokic – an elite tennis star who beat the best in the world with a mental toughness few could match. Jelena survived the turmoil of being a refugee, the pressure of centre court, and the burden of a volatile father.
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.
For more than forty years, Argentinean sportsman Guillermo Vilas, a tennis legend, has tirelessly demanded that the official rankings (1973-78) be revised in order to finally be recognized as the best player in the world. Eduardo Puppo, a sports journalist, making Vilas' demand his own, fought for more than ten years against a powerful sports corporation to prove that Vilas was indeed unfairly displaced from the top of world tennis.
Coming into the tournament, there was a particular significance to the defending champion, Novak Djokovic's bid for a third title. Thirty years earlier his coach Boris Becker had won the first of his three singles titles. Meanwhile women's world No.1 Serena Williams had her sights set on something really special - completing her hold on all four majors at once for only the second time in her career. There were some surprise early round exits. Fourteen-time major winner Rafael Nadal and defending champion Petra Kvitova were beaten by the qualifier Dustin Brown and former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic respectively. Britain's Heather Watson was two points away from victory over Williams before the American clawed her way to survival; while Novak Djokovic survived a dramatic five-set encounter against Kevin Anderson from South Africa.
A look back at 2019’s Wimbledon Championships, where storylines included both Roger Federer and Serena Williams aiming for history and the emergence of a new young star in Coco Gauff.
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.
Legendary "bad boy of tennis" John McEnroe finally tells his side of his storied career and famously hot-tempered performances on the court in this engrossing documentary revisiting the record-setting career of one of the all-time greats.
Wimbledon 2010: The Grandest of Slams. This is the definitive story of the 124th Championships. In the Men's Singles, the world number one Rafael Nadal returned to SW19 having missed Wimbledon last year with knee injuries. He was determined to recapture the crown he had won in 2008. In the Women's Singles defending champion Serena Williams was attempting to win her 13th Grand Slam title.
Exploring the interweaving lives and narrative of female tennis royalty as told through the words of the players themselves, Unraveling Athena provides an extraordinary insight into the mind of the professional athlete and the ultimate exploration of what it takes to make a champion.
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.
¡Qué suerte hemos tenido!
An intimate portrait of four-time Olympic gold medalist and international sports icon Serena Williams, focusing on the external pressures and vulnerabilities Williams faces in her quest to achieve four Grand Slams in a row.
"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.
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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.
Roland-Garros, 1981: For the very first time, a documentary team is allowed to shoot sequences in the backstage of the French Open of tennis of Roland-Garros. William Klein's camera takes us on the heels of the greatest players of the time: Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Chris Evert-Lloyd, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Yannick Noah, Guillermo Vilas... Miles of film. Historical pictures, a thousand and one details, a thousand and one unusual scenes. A declaration of love from a tennis lover.
The incredible journey of an Argentinean tennis player, going from the humility of their country, reaching the top of the world.
Unstrung exposes the dramas of the juniors tennis world, hitting the road with a handful of teenage competitors as they head for the national championship.
Forza Jannik pulls the curtains back on the tennis renaissance taking place in Italy. This isn't just a story about tennis; it's a tale of national pride, of young athletes against the odds, and of a country's relentless quest to dominate the sport.