Game, Set, Matched: Not all games start at love

by Ivy Bailey

A tennis-inspired YA romance, perfect for fans of Challengers, The Summer I Turned Pretty and Carrie Soto is Back.

Billie and her twin brother Tom have been playing tennis together since they were kids. The junior doubles final at Wimbledon. But when Tom collapses just before their local qualifier, he insists Billie find a new doubles partner and play on.
 
Enter Harley, her coach’s nephew and the neighbour she’s hated for as long as she can remember. Harley is everything Billie won’t stand for – a lad’s lad and friend to Billie's best friend's awful boyfriend – but right now, he’s her only option.

The more they play, the worse things get. Billie despises Harley’s lack of work ethic, and the more irate Billie gets, the more Harley digs his heels in, determined to teach her how to relax and (literally) take her eye off the ball. And all the while, the doctors can’t figure out what’s going on with Tom.
 
Can Billie and Harley make it all the way when seeing eye-to-eye feels impossible? And might there be something more to the tension that grows between them . . .?

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Sports Romance, Sports, Contemporary Romance

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 5, 2025

Reviews

[Amélie · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this in one sitting during sunbathing and it for sure got me out of my reading slump

[Emily Race · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read during my first Wimbledon season. Simple, easy, and timely.

[Roos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit is echt zo’n heerlijk YA tussenboekje. 3.5 ster voor mij! Denk ik echt perfect voor als je in een (romance) slumb zit. Zaten verschillende leuke plots in, vond de groepschat heeeeel vermakelijk en sowieso las het echt mega lekker weg. Romance zelf was ook heerlijk en tennis vond ik best leuk om over te lezen🎾

[Marije · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is fine.
not good, not bad, but fine.

[Katie (Kitkatscanread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5/5 Kitkats

This was a really cute YA novel about junior doubles in Wimbledon.
There is a hate to love romance involved.

[Quinty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oeeeh vind dit echt een hele lastig en zit echt tussen de 3-4 sterren in. De karakters in het boek behalve Bards zijn echt heel erg leuk. Ook wat diepgaande onderwerpen. Wat het voor mij meer een 3 ster dan een 4 ster heeft gemaakt is dat ik op een gegeven moment het irritant vond hoe snel de romance ging. 2 dates en het was al helemaal gebeurd. Maar verder erg vermakelijk

[books (samaira's version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes I’m being very generous but it was soooo fun to read. The (kind of) enemies to lovers was really cute. The sibling dynamic was the absolute best, and I loved Billie’s best friends!

And of course (extremely swoon worthy) Harley.

[Milz · Rating 4 out of 5]

first book of 2026

[Arwenna Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book!

[Kiddayy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cheesy but also strangely fun to read. Extremely quick to finish too. I didn’t like an aspect of the ending though, which dampened the book for me.

[Josefin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still do not understand what Tom's issues were😭

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up by chance because I’ve been looking for more ya sports romances and this one was right there like it was screaming at me from the shelf and with Wimbledon starting that exact week, I decided I couldn’t leave it behind and I’m so glad I didn’t because this was incredible. I already knew I loved Ivy Bailey’s writing but there’s something specifically about this book that I’m completely obsessed with.

Game, Set, Matched follows Billie and Harley, forced into a doubles partnership to make it to the Wimbledon Junior Championships. This book is so well paced and the descriptions of the tennis matches are so easy to follow it feels as though you’re watching rather than reading. There’s just the right amount of it that you feel invested but not overwhelmed and the rest of the plot is so fun!

I truly never wanted this book to end and I love these characters so so much I could read a thousand more pages of them. They’re just so lovely and I wish we could see more relationships in books where the characters completely get each other and communicate healthily rather than having overcomplicated misunderstandings.

[Ellie Burgoyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

I really enjoyed this, I have had this book on my tbr for a few months now and im so glad I picked it up . I enjoyed billie and Harleys relationship , their banter made me laugh so many times, however there was a bit of miscommunication that did annoy me a little bit, however they did have a conversation about it and all was cleared up in the end.

We follow Billie who is our fmc and her brother tom who plays tennis ever since they were younger and billie has always wanted to go to tournaments and be in the championships etc. however tom has an accident which leaves billie with no partner to play , then comes along Harley, who's uncle is billies coach and sets them up together to play. that's when their relationship forms and they start to get to know each other . I adored billies friends , they were so funny !!

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So eine tolle YA Sportromanze! Ich mochte die Kombination aus Tennis – einem Sport, den ich wirklich mag – und Romance so sehr. Sowohl die Romanze als auch das Tennis waren so gut geschrieben! Die Geschwisterliche Beziehung zwischen Billie und Tom war herzerwärmed und ich habe auch die Darstellung der toxischen Beziehung zwischen Kat und Bards sehr genossen. Es ist auch wichtig, das Bewusstsein für toxische Beziehungen zu schärfen, damit jemand, der in einer steckt, sie bemerkt und beendet.
Das Buch ist etwas kürzer, aber die Romanze fühlte sich trotzdem so echt und wahrhaftig an. Ich habe mich oft in Billie wiedererkannt und Harley war ein so lustiger Charakter. Ihre Geschichte zu lesen hat so viel Spaß gemacht ☺️ Ich habe nichts zu beanstanden 🫶

[Lizzie Marsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I loved this book!! So cute and cosy, and a perfect little sports romance.

I saw this at the library and picked it up on a whim, and what a book. The enemies to lovers, rivals to lovers, second chance romance. Wow.

Billie Dawson is a twin to Tom, her talented Tennis brother. Billie has always had the mindset that she will never be good enough in her father’s eyes and that Tom is the best.
When Tom gets in an accident 3 weeks before the Wimbledon doubles, she has to think fast or risk it all. But when Harley, cocky, handsome, sassy, untrustworthy Harley walks in, and offers to help, Billie has no choice. He’s her coaches nephew after all.
After MANY ups and downs… the two eventually find their way…

Such a memorable cosy romance FILLED with drama!

[Seri_ously · Rating 4 out of 5]

For YA- this was probably a 5 star but for all books in general, a definite 4. I loved the chemistry between Billie and Harley!!! So cute- exactly what I needed. The Bards side plot was also surprisingly good- It's cool to see and remember that sports people have real lives outside of their sport too. Also really liked the way Bailey wrote about Billie's POV on her mum's death and how the pressure transferred onto her. HOWEVER. The reconciliation with the dad wasn't a happy ever after, BUT, it felt realistic. So did Billie's sibling dynamic. Also I felt like we needed more self growth on Harley's side...not much going on with him huh? Overall, a great read- wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another winner from Ivy Bailey. A short and sweet sports romance where both characters are athletes, which is so refreshing. I love the way Billie and Harley are complementary for each other, Billie makes Harley put effort, while Harley helps Billie find a bit more fun to take risks in her game.

There’s also a side plot involving intimate partner violence with a side character that I appreciated. It’s a heavy subject but I think it’s dealt with sensitively though I think it ended far more cleaner than I would’ve thought happens in real life. But I liked that it was tackled because it happens in teenage relationships too.

I look forward to more YA sports romance from this author.

[Burcu · Rating 2 out of 5]

forgot to add this to my CR. read this as an audiobook in a few days.

I keep giving sport romances a try in hopes I'll like something.

For this one, I think the main character was great to follow. Not a recommendation for the audiobook though: the fmc grits her teeth alot when she speaks and the narrator doing it put me on edge.

The male love interest was annoying. If a guy was like this, I'd absolutely stay away. His past and romantic actions were all so cookie cutter basic.

The sub plot of Kat and the toxic bf was so unnecessary. I wouldn't be surprised if the author makes this a series and puts Kat as the next fmc. It's just so formulaic.

[Poppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

this followed the exact recipe for a good ya contemporary DOWN. it had wit, it had snark, the banter was good, flirting was top notch, minimal miscommunication that made up the third act but i didn't mind! billie was the perfect ice princess. she stood her Ground. harley did not back down. i want a guy this obsessed with me.

now for the bad: sooo many plotholes. the ending was abrupt. did harley go to America? how did they keep up their relationship after uni started? that kat and bards break up happened in a blink of an eye. i am not convinced bards cheating had that big of an impact on harley. all in all, things needed to be stretched more. i still had fun!

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm ngl this book was devoured in one sitting. It was incredibly easy to read and a nice switch-off-your-brain book

The main character was slightly irritable at the start but by the end she was tolerable.

The love interest is charming in your typical rom-com way yet is also annoying at times.

The romance felt underdeveloped and the reasoning behind interactions felt forced. This may have been due to the pacing of this book being as fast as turbo. There is no time to breathe in between *plot points* (then again that might be how fast I read it)

[CJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible!!! I love Tennis Romance and fully believe that there needs to be more Tennis Romance’s. The Tennis was accurate the romance incredible. The MMC: Harley is the love of my life. He’s amazing in so many ways. The FMC: Billie felt so real and a believable character. All the story arcs and characters even side characters like Kat had convicting stories. This might just be my new favourite book.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

prima voorspelbaar verhaal. Als je een simpel boek waarin niet al te veel spannendst gebeurd dan is dit zeker een aanrader. zelf werd ik niet echt gegrepen door het verhaal en vond het eerder neigen naar zaai.

[Heidi Pasque · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a really fun read and i finished it in only like 3 days i just didn't like how it was kind of a slow burn and usually the last few chapters make up for it but the last chapter was not the best

[Gaella Montalto · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5🌟

[asteria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Du sport, un enemies to lovers, une romance ado toute mignonne : j'ai bien aimé!!

[Ava Start · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite book
This book was so good I really enjoyed it

[Sharlotte141 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was not fav it started all right but the ending felt rushed

[Trian · Rating 3 out of 5]

AB. You know what? This was a sweet book with a predictable plot but it delivered it well. I did enjoy this.

[Amber van Baal · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it, really cute and Light summer read. read it in one session

[ℳ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up randomly, couldn’t put it down. Easy read, tennis, enemies to lovers, banter..