Game, set, match! Netflix is bringing the #1 New York Times best-selling tennis-themed novel Carrie Soto Is Back to the screen with a series adaptation. Adding to the excitement, tennis legend Serena Williams has joined the project as an executive producer. Want to know more about the upcoming series and Williams’ role? Read on.
Serena Williams to executive produce ‘Carrie Soto Is Back’ series
Carrie Soto Is Back hit shelves in 2022, telling the story of 37-year-old Carrie Soto, a former tennis pro who comes out of retirement to defend her career record.
Williams retired from professional tennis in August 2022, capping off a nearly 30-year career filled with historic, game-changing achievements.
While Soto isn’t directly based on Williams, fans couldn’t help but draw parallels between the two fierce, determined athletes. Even author Taylor Jenkins Reid has acknowledged that the 23-time Grand Slam champion helped inspire the character.
“My incredible respect for the Williams sisters is part of what makes me interested in tennis,” she told Good Reads. “I wouldn’t write a book about tennis without the influence of just the absolute glory that has been their journey, but also specifically Serena’s quest to get as many Grand Slam titles as she has managed to do.”
In addition to inspiring the book, Williams will also play a key role as a tennis consultant for the series, much like the production team of last year’s Challengers by Luca Guadagnino, who brought in renowned tennis coach Brad Gilbert to advise on-set tennis scenes.
Williams joins the project as an executive producer alongside Caroline Currier, producing through Nine Two Six Productions in collaboration with Picturestart.
The series is currently in the early stages of development, with casting details and premiere dates expected to be announced by Netflix over the coming year.
About ‘Carrie Soto Is Back’
In Carrie Soto Is Back, Jenkins Reid introduces readers to Carrie Soto, a former professional tennis player who retired as the most decorated athlete in the sport’s history, with 20 Grand Slam titles and multiple records to her name. Coached by her father throughout her career, Carrie is known for her relentless drive and unapologetic pursuit of greatness.
Six years after retiring, Carrie watches as her long-held record is challenged by rising star Nicki Chan at the 1994 U.S. Open. Determined to defend her legacy, Carrie, now 37, decides to come out of retirement for one final season. She returns to training under her father and reluctantly teams up with Bowe Huntley, a fellow player with his own reasons for returning to the game.
The novel follows Carrie’s comeback journey as she faces physical, emotional and public challenges in her attempt to reclaim her status at the top of the tennis world. Carrie Soto Is Back explores themes of ambition, legacy and the personal cost of elite athletic achievement.
Serena William’s prior executive producer credits
Carrie Soto Is Back won’t mark Williams’ first foray into the film industry. The 43-year-old previously partnered with her sister, Venus Wiliams, as executive producers on the 2021 biographical film King Richard.
The film chronicled the Williams sisters’ early lives and rise in the world of tennis, guided by the vision and coaching of their father, Richard Williams.
The sisters reportedly agreed to join the project after Will Smith was cast to portray their father in the lead role.
