5 Sport Movies That Are Also a Great Valentine’s Day Watch

Sport movies are usually the ones to strike its viewers with high tension and make them root for their favourite in a fierce competition, but this kind of flicks can also do exactly the same thing with its romantic subplots.

In fact, it’s now quite a compelling mixture since last year’s Challengers and its love-triangle story suddenly turned everyone into tennis fans. Filled with the adrenaline of sports, these movies introduce love stories that just can’t go on at a normal pace, and viewers are definitely here for it.

Wimbledon (2004)

Starring Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst, Richard Loncraine’s sports drama follows an unlikely romance between two successful tennis players ahead of the Wimbledon tournament and a potential retirement of one of them.

Labeled as a sports romcom, Wimbledon isn’t just about love you can encounter while doing your work; the movie primarily focuses on more profound issues like frustration because of career failures and personal growth that gives you a second chance to redeem the position.

Challengers (2024)

Another tennis drama, Luca Guadagnino's long-awaited movie stars Zendaya as aspiring tennis player Tashi Duncan whose path crosses with Art and Patrick, best friends and also tennis players that will eventually have a huge impact on her life and career.

Started as a mere competitive sports drama, Challengers soon evolve into a heated romantic drama fuelled by the love triangle between the lead characters, with all of them adapting a different personality that has its own issues with the other two.

She’s the Man (2006)

Probably not the highest-rated movie of its genre, She’s the Man is still a romcom that’s worth visiting, especially since it touches upon several issues that remain relevant almost 20 years later.

The movie stars Amanda Bynes as talented soccer player Vila who decides to disguise herself as her twin brother to get into the boys ' soccer team and then ends up falling for the team’s captain and her roommate.

Despite a predictable storyline and sometimes trivial humor, She’s the Man is still a powerful message about gender roles in modern society, female empowerment and a girl’s persistence on her way to making the dream come true.

Bend It Like Beckham (2003)

The movie’s title says it all, and Bend It Like Beckham is another soccer drama that explicitly says: girl, you got it.

The film stars Keira Knightley in a supporting role and follows young British Indian girl Jesminder who strives for getting herself a place in a local women’s soccer team, despite realising that cultural differences might take its toll on her presence there.

Though the flick’s title alludes to a man’s sports achievements, Bend It Like Beckham is yet another powerful story about female determination to reach success in a male-dominated field no matter what.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Starring Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger, the movie has its storyline revolving around a sports agent who, after being fired from his previous workplace, embarks on a mission to have an agency of his own, which he just can’t do without some help from single mother Dorothy.

Combining drama, romance and sport-ish adrenaline, Jerry Maguire is another perfect watch for those who look for more powerful stories hidden behind big sports’ curtains.