Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best selling tennis-themed novel “Carrie Soto Is Back” has been taken in for development by Netflix, Deadline reports. Tennis legend Serena Williams is set to executive produce the project from Fifth Season and Picturestart. Williams confirmed the news in a post to her Instagram Stories as she shared a screenshot of the Deadline article and tagged her production company.
“Carrie Soto Is Back” follows fictional tennis legend Carrie Soto, whose determination to win at all costs has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. Six years after her retirement, her world record might be taken from her by a brutal, stunning player named Nicki Chan. At 37 years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record.
While Carrie Soto is not based on Williams, the character evokes the 23-time Grand Slam winner, and Reid has spoken of the Williams sisters’ influence on the book.“My incredible respect for the Williams sisters is part of what makes me interested in tennis,” she said in an interview at the time of the book’s 2022 release. 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.
The news makes Carrie Soto Is Back the latest of Reid’s bestselling books to be adapted for the screen. Her 2019 Fleetwood Mac-inspired novel “Daisy Jones & the Six” was adapted into the 2023 smash hit Prime Video series of the same name, starring Riley Keough and Sam Claflin. Additionally, 2017’s “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” is also getting a Netflix movie adaptation.
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.
