Tennis on Film: Rating Battle of the Sexes (2017), the best tennis movie that no one watched

One of the biggest surprises of the 2025 film awards season was seeing the way Challengers (2024)—a film starring Zendaya set on the lowest rungs of the professional tennis tour—was completely panned by the Academy of Motion Pictures.

Despite all the buzz around its Golden Globes-winning techno soundtrack created by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the Luca Guadagnino film didn’t receive a nomination in any category—triggering waves of online discourse among movie fans.

Read More: ‘Challengers’ star Josh O’Connor reacts to film’s Academy Awards snub

For tennis fans, though, that’s just par for the course: Even the most highly acclaimed films where tennis plays a significant role seem to get regularly overlooked by awards committees. The biggest one in recent years, King Richard (2021), finally broke the joyless streak when Will Smith won an Oscar for his performance as Serena and Venus Williams’ father and coach.

In this Baseline series, our editors break down what makes a ‘good’ tennis movie by dissecting some of the sport’s cult classics through the lens of a fan—continuing with the 2017 biopic Battle of the Sexes.

More Tennis on Film: Rating Match Point, another tennis drama snubbed by The Academy

Battle of the Sexes (2017)

• Directed by Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
• Starring Emma Stone, Steve Carell

Synopsis: Based on the true story of the 1973 tennis match between women’s world champion Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and retired champion Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell), which became the most watched televised sports event of all time. Battle of the Sexes follows each of their personal journeys leading up to the highly publicized title clash, from the private King coming to terms with her own sexuality to Riggs’ struggle with his gambling demons. The stakes are high, with the future of the nascent Women’s Tennis Association—and the women’s sports movement—hanging in the balance.

Rating the tennis: 4/5

Dramatic umpire confrontation? No

This is usually the most jarring part of any tennis movie for fans of the real-life sport, but refreshingly this film’s on-court scenes are a joy to watch. “Finally, a film that does court action right,” read a *TENNIS.com* recap from 2017. The action was brought to life by doubles Kaitlyn Christian and Vince Spadea, current and former professional players, so all the tennis sequences look fluid and realistic as a result.

Rating the on-court fashion: 5/5

Are the outfits believable? Yes

Costume designer Mary Zophres took great care to recreate the iconic tennis outfits by Ted Tinling, who also gets a memorable minor role in the film played by Alan Cumming. The famed fashion designer was enshrined into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, with some of his dresses featured among the exhibits—so the film’s attention to detail doesn’t go unnoticed. Stone hits the court at the Astrodome in a perfect representation of King’s real-life white and blue sequined look, even down to her signature blue and white Adidas sneakers. The costuming was so accurate that when King herself visited the set, she asked, “How did you get the dress?”

Rating the soundtrack & score: 3/5

Exaggerated tennis grunts? No

The score was composed by Nicholas Britell, who also co-wrote an original song with Sara Bareilles, "If I Dare" which features in the credits. The movie’s commitment to authenticity means there are no exaggerated tennis grunts here; it features moments where real-life audio is used, like a 1973 clip of young Chris Evert predicting a victory for Riggs, as well as the original recording of the late Howard Cosell’s commentary of the big match.

Critical Reception & Box Office Performance:

• Rotten Tomatoes score: 84/100 (critics), 71/100 (audience)

The film received mostly positive reviews from audiences and critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes, especially for its costuming and superb performances from Carell and Stone. Ultimately, though, the movie was a commercial failure as it grossed only about $18,600,000 worldwide—$12,600,000 in the U.S. and Canada—from an estimated budget of $25,000,000, according to IMDb. A combination of its limited release on debut and the timing of the film, released more than 40 years after the real-life events took place, could have turned off audiences.

Accolades, Awards & Nominations:

Battle of the Sexes received two nominations at the Golden Globes, Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) for Carell and Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) for Stone. The pair lost in their categories to James Franco (The Disaster Artist) and Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), respectively. Both actors also earned Critics Choice Awards nominations for their performances, with Carell getting another nod from the Screen Actors Guild. But, like Challengers, the film was panned by the Academy and didn’t get any nominations on Hollywood's biggest night.

Verdict:

Does it pass the tennis fan test? Yes

Eight years after its release, the film is still much loved among tennis fans for its true to life details, from the meticulously recreated dresses and tennis outfits to Stone and Riggs spot-on performances. The film has earned permanent cult favorite status among tennis fans, while also being a great feel-good crowd pleaser for all fans of a good sports movie despite its commercial failure.

Want more tennis drama? Watch Daniil Medvedev go off on chair umpire after receiving a time violation in Rotterdam