Tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams and half-sister Isha Price are set to executive produce a film adaptation of The Match, a book about a unlikely athletic pairing of a Jewish woman and a Black woman at the 1956 Wimbledon tennis tournament.
And screenwriter Liz Maccie, who penned the script for Stephen Chbosky’s fact-based comedy feature Nonnas for Netflix, will turn The Match book into a feature film. The project from 1Community, Access Entertainment and Four Daughters will adapt author Bruce Schoenfeld’s sports history account, The Match: Althea Gibson & Angela Buxton: How Two Outsiders – One Black, the Other Jewish – Forged a Friendship and Made Sports History.
Althea Gibson was Black, and Angela Buxton was Jewish. And in 1956, they faced prevailing racism in the UK and changed the face of professional tennis by winning the ladies’ doubles trophy at Wimbledon. Gibson went on to finally win the ladies singles title at Wimbledon in 1957, and also formed a lifelong friendship with Buxton.
The feature film brings Maccie back together with the 1Community team behind Nonnas. The project also originated with the Four Daughters duo, Richard Stern and Navid McIlhargey, along with Julie R. Snyder who are set to produce.
Emily Blavatnik and Danny Cohen will produce for Access Entertainment, which developed and co-financed the Oscar-winning Conclave drama. Scott Budnick and Ameet Shukla will produce for 1Community, with Saúl Delcompare overseeing the project.
Price and the Williams sisters will executive produce The Match adaptation, with Caroline Currier overseeing the project for Serena Williams’ Nine Two Six Productions.
