Fifteen-Love: This new tennis drama is guaranteed to be your next obsession

Set in the competitive world of elite tennis, Fifteen-Love stars Irish newcomer Ella Lily Hyland as Justine Pearce; a dynamic young sports prodigy who had a meteoric rise to fame in the world of Grand Slam tennis. Glenn Lapthorn (played by fellow Irishman Aidan Turner) was her maverick coach, with whom she shared an intense rapport. 

Together, they reached the semifinals of the French Open. However, tragedy struck on the court when Justine’s dream of sporting glory was cut brutally short by a devastating injury… resulting in a shattered wrist and the end of her athletic career. 

Five years on, now aged 22, Justine is a physiotherapist at her old tennis academy Longwood, and it seems like the scars of the past – both physical and psychological – have finally healed… until Glen turns up at the academy for his new job and old wounds begin to reopen. 

When Justine makes an explosive allegation against her former coach, those around her are forced to reconsider everything they thought they knew about Justine and Glenn’s past success. Their battle over the truth of what really happened between them reaches new heights as they both seek glory at the Grand Slam grass-court event of the year, and the stately world of professional tennis is rocked by lies, deceit, and a desperate bid for control.

Sounds great doesn’t it? If you haven’t watched it yet, I can confirm it’s as gripping as it sounds. I sat down with Ella to talk tennis, #MeToo, and who she’d love to work with next. 

Fifteen-Love is a gripping and sensitive exploration of trust, power, and obsession, and just how much can be lost when you’ll do anything to win… what drew you to this project initially? 
I actually initially got a blurb-like description of Justine into my email and I was like, ‘Oh my god, she sounds amazing’. And then I taped for it and stuff, and they were saying how she’s messy and unpredictable and I guess, not like a typical victim or how a victim is portrayed. And I thought that was so fun. I was also really drawn to her athleticism. I thought the idea of learning a sport and training your body and finding strength was really interesting. As a female as well, it was very appealing to play someone who was trained to be very strong, like physically and muscularly very strong. I felt like that was just such a treat, you know? I think she’s very instinctive and has a kind of primal instinct, but in the series, her mind plays catch up to that instinct that she has from being an athlete and being trained in that way – to listen to her goal and to, you know, feel something and do it. So when I got the episodes and got to read them, I think it’s similar to watching it, like there’s kind of a pace to it. It has a beat, that really powers through. 

Did you have to do a lot of training before filming started? 
Yeah, we trained for maybe three months beforehand. I actually started doing tennis lessons when I first auditioned… I don’t know why I did that but I did do that, so if I didn’t get the role I would have been raging! I met so many incredible trainers – Naomi Cavaday who played at Wimbledon was overseeing the tennis so she had us out on these incredible courts. All of that was research by osmosis because we were just in that environment chatting to people. There was loads of training but it was great, I loved it. 

Were you a tennis player before? Or was this all new?
All new!

Would you say you’re like Justine in real life or was playing her something completely different for you?
No, I think we’re very different. Obviously, there are elements where I’m just like, ‘Oh, I’d love to be more like that’ or something. But yeah, I think I have a kind of Irish politeness that she doesn’t!

Lots of female athletes have been speaking out in recent years on topics ranging from mental health to sexual abuse; why do you think it’s important to tell these stories?
Well, I guess, you know, it makes people feel seen and recognised. It’s giving them a platform for these stories to be told so that people feel inspired to be brave and courageous and not feel so alone. You know, in situations like this that have power dynamics where someone’s on the lower end of the power dynamic, that athlete or that person, their mental health is on the line, their identity is on the line. I think stories and telling stories allow us an opportunity to safeguard people and give them support and let them know there are people listening and people here. 

You studied at the Lir Academy in Dublin, was there any piece of acting advice that has stuck with you since then?
There’s so much! The teachers there are so incredible. A big thing we learned is to be free to fail. And to allow yourself to fail and mess up. I guess that all links into letting go of your ego and allowing yourself to be a bit of an eejit. You know what I mean? Just like to not watch yourself so much. It’s okay to fumble into things. As long as you’re trying things and being brave, then you’re good. What I remember from the teachers there is them telling us to just go in and try something. Just try something. If you’re trying, you’re good, you know? And we can laugh about it or we can cry about it but at least you’re trying. Something will happen if you try. 

There’s an incredible cast involved with this project. Is there anyone on your dream list that you’d love to work with in the future? 
Everyone! I can’t be telling you my favourites!

How did you all bond on set? What was the atmosphere like?
It was just lovely. It was summer and everyone was in great form. I was super close with all the crew as well. And I think because you’re in there every day, they become like family, you know? We were just laughing and messing and chatting, there is a lot of darkness to the story, so I think we just laughed so much when we were together. You have to laugh, you just have to. It just gets all of it out – the giddiness and the sadness, all of it. 

This series is also about the grey areas in relationships, the power dynamics that exist… do you feel like you learned a lot from playing this character?
Yeah, so much. Especially because of the journey Justine goes on. My note at the beginning from the directors was ‘Justine is in love with Glen’ and it just drove me through the whole piece. Because I got to find out what I felt was right and wrong and what she felt was right and wrong as different new twists and turns would happen and as she was remembering more and more stuff. Now, I feel like if I’m in a conversation with someone where they say something that’s clearly wrong or clearly doesn’t really take into consideration the grey area of consent, I feel really equipped to stand up for that now. Because sometimes you feel something about a certain topic politically, but you don’t know how to articulate it, but now I feel like I do which feels great. 

Stream Fifteen-Love on Prime Video now.

Photography by Amazon Studios.