\u2014 Variety (@Variety) June 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n According to Variety<\/a>, which on Monday shared a first look from co-producers Studiocanal, the film begins with tennis phenom Sacha Gallo as he trains with his father to win an important trophy in Paris. But when a new rival arrives on the scene, Sacha begins to question everything he knows\u2014or thought he knew\u2014about himself and the sport he holds dear. <\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time, he faces an opponent of an entirely different nature\u2014love,\u201d reads the film’s synopsis, per Variety. \u201cA force as exhilarating as it is destabilizing\u2014and far more dangerous than anything he has encountered on the court.”<\/p>\n Producer Hugo S\u00e9lignac further described the project as a \u201csensual, romantic and deeply moving romantic fable and coming-of-age story\u201d regarding the \u201cdemands of high-level sport, and everything that lies beneath the surface … led by outstanding performances.\u201d<\/p>\n The film will release theatrically in France on Nov. 25, 2026.<\/p>\n The project notably arrives on the heels of Heated Rivalry, the HBO Max and Crave series that took the world by storm<\/a> at the end of last year. Starring Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, the Jacob Tierney-created drama (also based on a popular book series by author Rachel Reid) chronicled a pair of hockey rivals-turned-lovers as they fell privately for one another over a ten-year period.<\/p>\n Forty Love also follows the success of the 2024 Luca Guadagnino film Challengers, which documented a similarly decades-long love triangle between fictional tennis players Art Donaldson, Patrick Zweig and Tashi Donaldson, played by Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor and Zendaya, respectively.<\/p>\n What both Challengers and Heated Rivalry made clear to audiences\u2014and to Hollywood, as well\u2014was that sports make for an excellent setting to explore more erotic narratives, as well, with tension beyond just who wins and who loses. Hockey, in particular, has proven a popular breeding ground for this kind of story both on screen and on the page, what with the success of Prime Video’s Off Campus and Netflix’s forthcoming Icebreaker<\/a>. <\/p>\n Tennis, however, hasn’t seen too, too much in the way of Hollywood romance. And now, we’ll get an arthouse drama that meets the moment, and features one of the biggest surnames in the world of sports to boot.<\/p>\n
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