An ardent middle-ranked professional tennis player, Willy Novinsky, meets her match in Eric Oberdorf, the handsome rogue she drubs in a pickup game in Riverside Park. Eric is charmingly gracious in defeat, and his casual confidence takes her in. Low-ranked but untested, Eric, too, aims to make his mark on the international tennis circuit. Willy beholds compatibility spiced with friendly rivalry, and discovers her first passion outside of the tennis court. They marry.

Conjugal life starts well on the Upper West Side. But animated shoptalk and blissful lovemaking soon give way to full-tilt competition over who can rise to the top first. Driven and gifted, Willy maintains the lead until she rips her knee ligaments in a devastating spill. While Willy recuperates, her ranking plummets - just as her husband's career takes off. Eric becomes the upstart darling of the tennis circuit; Willy founders, plagued by injury and self-doubt.

Due to her anguish at falling short of a lifelong dream, Willy's devotion to her husband grows tragically twisted with resentment of his success.