SET POINT

Tennis prodigy Inés Costa is looking for a comeback after an injury sidelined her. Chloe Murphy is the hot new name in tennis, but her tantrums on the court often result in salacious headlines. Inés and Chloe have faced each other on the court before; Inés still carries the losses with her. But what the public doesn’t know is that they also share an off-court connection: a scandalous kiss that neither can seem to forget. When they’re paired for a doubles match during a charity event, Inés and Chloe begin to soften, establishing a mutually beneficial relationship. Chloe will help Inés on her road back to the U.S. Open and Inés will work with Chloe on approaching her matches with a more level head. This is a rivals-to-lovers story with high stakes; careers and international public opinion are on the line. The cast, at times, is confusingly large, tying in characters and events from Jones’ previous tennis romances. Chloe is a talented player, but her actions on the court are often aggressive, mean, and arrogant. She yells at officials, breaks rackets, and gives pompous sound bites about her opponents to the media. Her redemption arc feels too sudden, as if she’s only making amends because she’s suddenly in forced proximity with people she’s offended and wants to smooth things over rather than because she’s reckoned with her behavior or is facing real consequences. Inés has a massive chip on her shoulder. Her dislike for Chloe is mostly reasonable, though it often emerges in cruel and punishing behavior. These hard edges are softened through their romance, but they pose a large hurdle to push past at the start.