Romances with football–soccer for our US readers!–or tennis players?
This past weekend was a biggie for sports watchers. (Just ask Tom Cruise–he was seen at the Wimbledon finals AND at the Euro 2020 final game.) Novak Djokovic won at Wimbledon which gives him a record-tying 20th Grand Slam victory. (You know he’ll pass Nadal and Federer for the most Grand Slam victories ever over the next year.) As I type this, England and Italy are battling it out for the Euro 2020 final.
How do I know this? Two of my sons and my husband are serious sports fans. (Later tonight we’ll be rooting for the Bucks as they battle the Suns in game three of the NBA finals.) I have spent what feels like years of my life watching–mostly–men play with balls on TV.
I’ve never been a fan of American football (and baseball is so dull I can’t understand why my nation loves it) but I love watching tennis and, as long as I’m doing something else at the same time, I think soccer is pretty fun. And yet, all my favorite sport romances feature football and baseball players. Where are the love stories with pro soccer players? Grand Slam tennis winners?
If you’ve got one to recommend, hit me!
I really enjoyed Sara Rider’s For the Win. It’s about two Seattle soccer players (m/f) who get involved in a battle of the sexes competition after their disastrous first meeting. The soccer seemed realistic (from my meagre soccer mom experience!), the hero is very appealing, and I liked that the heroine was a skilled athlete too. There’s a second book about the women’s team too.
We have a soccer tag! soccer
These are the rest of our sports tags at the moment. sports romance, Olympian heroine, Olympian, athlete, athlete heroine,baseball, rugby, Football (American), hockey romance, ice skaters
I can’t think of any football (soccer) or tennis books, except for the previously mentioned Kulti by Mariana Zapata.
But if you’re looking for a rom-com film, I’d recommend Wimbledon with Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst, both of whom play professional tennis players. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen it, but I remember being charmed by Bettany’s performance. And lovely to see in the lead role; he so often plays supporting characters!
There are tons of rugby romances thanks in no small part to Amy Adams.
For rugby, there is also a series by Penny Reid and L. H. Cosway:
the hooker and the hermit****
the player and the pixie**.5
the cad and the co-ed**.5
the varlet and the voyeur***
Our family are huge tennis fans and players and my grandson will be spending his fourth year as a ball boy at the US Open. Matteo Berenttini from Italy who lost to Djokovic is positively swoon worthy! I have not seen a good romance about tennis. However even though I am not a big hockey fan I do enjoy the hockey romances. I have also enjoyed Rosalind James Rugby series even though I have never seen a rugby game other than in that wonderful movie INVICTUS.
He is totes swoonworthy. And he dates a (slightly) older woman!
I dislike most sports, but I do remember seeing a football series by Amy Daws Harris Brothers; there’s Charlie Novak’s Off the Pitch trilogy and I’ve heard good things about Avery Cockburn’s Glasgow Lads series. I don’t generally pick up romances because they feature sports, but rather in spite of it! (I love Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, but I didn’t start reading it because the characters were hockey players!)
Oh, and there’s Olivia Dade’s 40-Love (I haven’t read it so all I know about it is that it’s got tennis in it!)
40-Love by Dade was the one I thought of right away. The hero is a former tennis pro, now teaching tennis.
S Login
Nora Roberts wrote a tennis romance called Opposites Attract back in the early days of Silhouette publishing. She got some of the tennis facts incorrect, however. It’s been awhile since I read it, but I think she had the hero & heroine playing on grass in either the Australian or US Open, when the real-life tournament had changed to hardcourts by that time.
I was born & raised in England—and there is much sadness in my extended English family this morning. I remember watching England win the World Cup in 1966–and I’d hoped the ghosts of Bobby Moore, George Best, and the Charlton brothers were watching over our boys…but, alas, it was not to be. As my brother said, “Perhaps in another 56 years.” (For the record, I’ve been in the US for over 50 years and have been a US citizen for over 40. And I LOVE baseball!)
And now, books—
Julie Kriss’s THE PLAYER features a professional soccer player hero. The heroine is his step-sister—if this is or isn’t an issue for you (the book makes it clear the h&h have only been step-siblings a few years and have never really lived under the same roof and are now in their 20s). There’s also an interesting secondary plot line about the hero’s self-sabotage because he’s tired of playing. I always hoped Kriss would write a romance featuring the hero’s rival/frenemy, a European player named Sebastian, but she has not revisited that storyline.
https://www.juliekriss.com/the-player
My least favorite kind of football game is one decided by penalty kicks–yesterday’s game was a heartbreaker.
I am your oppo, DDD – born and raised in the US but have lived in the UK for 42 years. Yes, too bad about Euro 2020 but the DH and I are not footie fans at all and instead follow Rugby Union (not League). On Saturday England wiped the floor with Canada 70-14!!! (Sorry to any Canadians!!) However, there are few things I truly, truly miss about California but one for certain is my beloved LA Dodgers. When I was a kid, my dad’s firm had a box just next to first base at Dodger Stadium and I was an avid fan and, when playing softball, was a damned fine shortstop myself!!! I remember the era of Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Frank Howard and that fab arch-rival, the San Francisco Giants and Say-Hey Willie Mays. Those were the days and I even found out that Vin Scully is still around and does the occasional special occasion game announcing – wow – how many nights did I fall asleep with him calling a game into my transistor radio when I was 10?
I lived in the L.A. area for 20 years and I saw innumerable games at Dodger Stadium, Angels Stadium, even occasional visits to San Diego for Padres games or to Bakersfield & San Bernardino to see the minor league teams play. Right now, the closest MLB team to us is the Houston Astros (about a six-hour drive), so whenever we travel, we try to find a way to squeeze in a baseball game at the closest major league stadium. Yes, Vin is still with us (sadly, we lost Tommy Lasorda a little while back). That man is a national treasure and I have very fond memories of listening to him call Dodger games while I fixed dinner or gave my kids their evening baths.
Even the Durham Bulls don’t allure me despite my profound love for Bull Durham.
https://speakola.com/movie/kevin-costner-bull-durham-1988
A coworker once asked me if I was going to watch the Maple Leafs game.
I said the way I remembered the particular teams was this. Blue Jays are small birds, so they have to play with a little ball, so the Blue Jays are a baseball team. Now velociraptors would be good at jumping, with those muscular hind legs, so the Raptors had to be a basketball team. Therefore, process of elimination, Maple Leafs must be hockey.
My coworker blinked and said, “That’s a lot of effort to put into remembering which team is which.”
“Exactly,” I said, “which is why I’ve never watched a game and probably never will.”
In other words, elaine, until you mentioned it I didn’t know Canada had a rugby team, and I’m certainly not disappointed at the loss. Glad you enjoyed the game! :)
You forgot the Tour de France! Yesterday we had the first American stage winner since 2011! AND Sepp Kuss is a babe who always posts SM about his amazing girlfriend. Love him. I’m obsessed with the tour every year. Wishing he was headed to the Olympics!
I started with biking, skipped to tennis, back to watch Sepp win, then out for errands, soccer, then basketball. Last week I had the Stanley Cup final to watch as well. I LOVE ALL THE SPORTS. I’ve been studying for a big exam and it’s the perfect background noise.
Recs? I’ve got nothing in tennis or soccer! Well, I’ve read a bunch but none I would recommend right now. I’m eager to see what books our readers can recommend!!!
Lance broke my heart and I no longer watch the Tour. It’s just too depressing now. But my brother is obsessed so I always here about the top guys from him. He too loves Kuss.
Haven’t read anything feat. a pro soccer player, but I checked my Goodreads tags, and this one features a heroine playing soccer on an amateur level (it’s not a huge part of the plot, but it’s more than a throwaway line): Knock Me Off My Feet by Susan Donovan.
Since I read it for the first time last month, I’ll suggest Kulti by Mariana Zapata. Also, Ted Lasso on Apple+ features soccer and a swoony romance.
I love Ted Lasso! Also a big fan of most of Mariana Zapata.