The familial nature of sports teams lends itself well to romance series that turn the spotlight on various players. Plus there’s so much opportunity for conflict. I will admit, though, that I’m rather picky about my sports romances. Because let’s be real, both romance and sports can and do uphold lots of societal ills: racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, and toxic masculinity, to name a few. I’m always on the hunt for romances that celebrate the best of what sports has to offer. I want the pursuit of excellence, fierce competition, and above all, drama. So I’ve rounded up a fun collection for you. I took care not to overlap with fellow Rioter Silvana’s truly excellent list of sports romances. Each romance in my list also represents a different sport, in an effort to convince you of the truth of the very first sentence of this article. We’re all looking for different things in our sports romances. I hope you’ve found a bunch that piqued your attention here. Still, if you’re in it for the enemies-to-lovers vibes, we’ve got more recommendations there. If you really just want a romance reminiscent of Ted Lasso, they’re out there! I’ll be over here trying to stump my search engine with “random sport + romance novel.” Today I learned that pickleball romance exists! Feel free to recommend me your favorite niche sport romance over on Twitter.
