Lifetime
When is a Christmas movie not really a Christmas movie? When it’s Lifetime’s final ‘It’s a Wonderful Lifetime’ movie of 2025, A Pickleball Christmas. Don’t let the title fool you. Yes, there is pickleball, but the Christmas is more of an afterthought, something that was added to the movie after the network took the pitch and someone said, ‘Can we add big Styrofoam candy canes wrapped badly in salmon-colored ribbon to make this a Christmas movie?’ The producers said yes, and here we are. But we are mixing things up a bit because while it seems the majority of this year’s Lifetime and Hallmark Christmas movies were set in snowy Chicago, this one takes place in … sunny Miami.
James Lafferty stars as Luke Hollis, a tennis pro fresh off the biggest win of his career. After his win he makes a surprise announcement — he’s retiring (the plan has always been to go out on a big win) — and heads home to Florida for Christmas, only to discover his family’s racquet club is on the verge of being sold. Hoping to use his name to drum up business, Luke is not happy that tennis courts are giving way to pickleball courts (because they are bringing in more money), and the pickleball instructor acts like she owns the place. While the two initially butt heads (because Luke is a bit of a butthead), Luke teams up with Caroline (Zibby Allen) and reluctantly agrees to compete in a high-stakes holiday tournament that could save the club. Luke calls in some favors and actually gets a nationwide pickleball network to sign on to televise the tournament but Luke is made to see that no one wants to tune in to see the tennis great as a moderator. He must compete … which puts his whole ‘retiring on a high note’ legacy at risk. If he loses a pickleball game, that will be his legacy … and he will single-handedly lose the club his parents founded. No pressure. The only problem is Caroline, who makes it her mission to knock him off his pedestal so he can actually see what’s at stake (her job is on the line as well). Thinking pickleball can’t be any harder than tennis, Luke has trouble committing to Caroline’s training, but once he realizes nothing is as it seems, he has to focus on the game … and Caroline. As sparks fly both on and off the court, Luke realizes the greatest victory might just be love, family, and a new chapter at home.
In reality, A Pickleball Christmas could have just been titled A Pickleball Romance or Love on the Pickleball Court or something in that vein (but then it would have also aired on a different network, like Hallmark since half the cast are known from Hallmark movies). Christmas here is just background decoration (and the day of the tournament — people are that serious about the game to give up the holiday with their families?). There are wreaths on fences, a tree in the lobby of the club (along with a totally in-the-way ping-pong table), and the aforementioned Styrofoam candy canes, one of which Luke is made to carry around just to remind us this is a Christmas movie! Other than that, the holiday really does not factor into the story. But there is pickleball. A lot of pickleball between training and matches. There are people who exemplify the best (Barb and Nancy) and the worst (Isaac and Phoebe) sportsmanship. I did have to laugh, though, at Isaac and Phoebe refusing to play on one particular court, calling it ‘haunted’ because they lost a game on it. Unfortunately, the script by Blake Rutledge doesn’t really give us many characters to root for or connect with. It takes a long while for Luke to not be a jerk. Caroline, while her heart is in the right place, also comes off as a bit of a mean girl. Luke’s sister Jordan is a bit of a smart-ass, at least to her brother, full of resentment that after all the work she’s done to keep the club afloat he just sails in and steals her thunder with his stardom. At least parents Burt and Donna are better, but Burt won’t even give up his 6:00 AM exer-cycle sessions in what used to be Luke’s bedroom … where Luke now has to sleep. Then there’s Tobey and Tinley Grace Thicke, the actual ‘villains’ of the piece because Tobey once beat Luke at a game of tennis and has never let him forget it, so now he’s going to ram a pickleball win in his face as well (at least that is the plan). Isaac and Phoebe are an awful mother-son team who deserve whatever bad things come to them (in the tournament), while the only real likeable characters are seniors Barb and Nancy, who are serious about their game but also love to have a little fun playing matchmakers for Caroline and Luke. Then, of course, there is the ‘big misunderstanding’ that has to factor into causing a rift in the romance, but ridiculously to the point that Caroline would intentionally throw the match — and the entire tournament — to Tobey, of all people, jeopardizing the survival of the club and the livelihood of the people who have put some much trust in her, just to stick it to Luke because of a conversation she overheard, without context. This is the one time we can actually sympathize with Luke because he has no idea what Caroline’s problem is, and she won’t tell him until he calls a time out and drags her to the dirty old shed where they’ve been doing the nasty in secret (well, Barb and Nancy know because the place is definitely not soundproof). Once Luke resolves things and they go to town on the court, we’re supposed to be happy that it’s all going to work out but … we’re not that forgiving. Are we? It all just left me feeling a bit meh.
Lifetime
For the most part, the performances are decent. James Lafferty, best known for his long-running role on One Tree Hill, plays the self-centered jackass well to the point that, if things weren’t so serious, Caroline would not have spent more than a few minutes trying to coach him. But Lafferty can still make Luke likable because he can bring some humor to his foibles. Zibby Allen certainly made it seem like her Caroline knew everything she needed to know about the sport of pickleball, but she always seemed to have a chip on her shoulder, even after she sort of warmed up to Luke, always seeming like she was delivering her dialogue through tightly gritted teeth. The one time she lightens up is when she takes Luke to a community pickleball court where all the people are friendly and they all love Caroline because she gives back to that community. But the rest of the time it feels like she forcing herself to pretend to like Luke in a romantic way. Tess Atkins plays Luke’s sister Jordan perfectly as the sibling who feels she’s always getting pushed to the side whenever Luke shows up. She has poured a lot into saving the club, and she gets little thanks for it, and her resentment to Luke and his behavior is authentic. John Cassini and Lynda Boyd are also very good as the Hollis parents, very realistic in how they want to keep the worst news from their kids so they don’t worry. Matty Finochio is funny and over-the-top as Tobey, eager to stick it to Luke again, and Sari Mercer has little or no dialogue as Tinley Grace, but she speaks volumes with all of her facial expressions.
Zahf Paroo and Brandi Alexander are also funny and over-the-top as the commentators for the pickleball network, Paroo delivering his lines with the highest amount of excitement, while Alexander does a perfect spoof of a co-host with her line readings and crazy facial expressions. She was stealing every moment from Paroo in their scenes together. Mason McKenzie and April Amber Telek, as Isaac and Phoebe Gorelick, play their roles with the perfect amount of snobbishness, thinking very highly of themselves and you should too, but really the worst human beings (at least they get a little redemption after a match where they are cordial to Luke and Caroline), and Patti Allan and BJ Harrison are a hoot as the seniors with no filters, unafraid to say whatever is on their minds. They need their own movie.
In the end, A Pickleball Christmas follows the usual formula for these types of movies, but if you’re expecting any holiday magic or character you can really fall in love with, you will need to look elsewhere. If you’re in it for the pickleball, you’ve come to the right place.
A Pickleball Christmas has a run time of 1 hour 27 minutes, and is rated TV-PG.
A Pickleball Christmas | Trailer
Lifetime