10 Sports Romances That Need TV Shows After Netflix's Finding Her Edge

Finding Her Edge is the most recent sports romance to hit streaming, and it could inspire many more book-to-TV adaptations within the genre. While it's only gaining onscreen representation recently, the sports romance book genre has been booming throughout the 2020s.

Sports romance books can range from mildly sensual, like Finding Her Edge, to extremely spicy, like Heated Rivalry. However, the common thread is that athletics and competition play a role in the love interests connecting. The tension feeds perfectly into the romance genre.

Luckily, onscreen sports romance TV shows have been largely successful. Heated Rivalry was a worldwide phenomenon. The YA Netflix original show has quickly gained popularity, as Finding Her Edge is flawed but deeply entertaining. Given the success, streamers should consider bringing these ten sports romance books to the small screen.

Off The Ice By Bhal Khabra

The Off The Ice series by Bhal Khabra is an exciting quartet of books that explores the lives of hockey players and their romantic partners. Each story is compelling, and they could easily be woven together, though they stand alone.

In Collide, hockey captain Aiden Crawford and aspiring sports psychologist Summer Preston are forced to work together on a research paper. In Spiral, a newly recruited hockey player, Elias Westbrook, and an aspiring prima ballerina, Sage Beaumont, decide to fake date to change their reputations.

In Revolve, a former Olympic skater, Sierra Romanova, must partner with a hotheaded former NHL player, Dylan Donovan, to get back into figure skating after an injury. If they had to choose a single book, I think Revolve would be the most popular with Finding Her Edge fans. In Embrace, a hockey player named Kian Ishida tries to finish his degree with the help of Scarlett Kilner, his study partner and the coach’s daughter.

Chess Not Checkers By Annah Conwell

The cheerleader-and-football-star romance has been told many times, but Chess Not Checkers by Annah Conwell is not the usual version of this story. They don’t bond over their usual sports. Instead, they bond over their shared love of chess.

An overachieving college student and cheerleader, Jasmine Chamberlain, is determined to be the best at everything, including chess. However, at the chess club, she gets paired with the flirty quarterback, Shepherd Kingsley, who is shockingly better than her at chess. Their chess rivalry ignites romantic sparks, but cheerleaders and football players are forbidden from dating.

Chess Not Checkers is a closed-door romance, but they still manage to have sexual tension despite only kissing, similar to Brayden and Adriana in Finding Her Edge. Plus, it has all the witty banter, rivalry, and chemistry that a rom-com fan could want.

Kiss & Cry by Kiera Andrews

Most skating-related romance books focus on hockey or a hockey/figure skating pairing. It’s less common for two figure skaters to appear as romantic interests. Kiss & Cry by Kiera Andrews, an LGBTQ+ rivals-to-lovers rom-com, is one of the most compelling with two figure skating love interests.

Two Olympic skaters with opposite personalities must train together at the same rink. Henry, a Canadian, is technically proficient but rigid. Meanwhile, party boy Theo, an American, has gravitas but struggles with technique. Theo is determined to win over his competitor, and sparks fly.

Keira Andrews puts great attention into making the skating feel realistic, understanding what happens from practice to competition, which could bring figure skating fans to a TV adaptation. Theo and Henry are irresistible main characters who could command a TV show. Plus, there are plenty of areas to explore in their relationship, which could lead to maybe two or three seasons.

Fated Skates By Victoria Schade

Fated Skates by Victoria Schade only came out two weeks ago, and it’s not only a perfect way to get hyped for the 2026 Winter Olympics. It’s also a show that a streamer absolutely needs to pick up the sports romance book for a TV adaptation.

The second-chance romance follows Winter Olympic skater Quinn Albright, who connects with Olympic speed skater Bennett Martino during the event. However, he ghosts her disastrous performance. Four years later, Quinn is determined to compete again and win gold. However, things get complicated when the sports writer assigned to follow her story is none other than Bennett.

The writing reflects Schade's passion for skating and the research that went into the story. She describes interactions and routines with such detail that it would be easy to translate for the screen. Plus, Faded Skates includes a much-needed exploration of physical and mental health in figure skating.

The Prospects by K.T. Hoffman

Author K.T. Hoffman sets out to write hopeful queer stories, and he absolutely succeeds. Truthfully, I never thought I would enjoy a baseball romance, considering I don’t actually like baseball. However, The Prospects absolutely won me over with its endearing trans, gay love story.

Gene is the first openly trans and gay man in minor league baseball, and he loves the sport more than anything. His undying optimism has just one exception: Gene has an unequivocal hatred for his college teammate-turned-rival, Luis. However, everything changes when Luis is drafted to Gene’s AAA-level team. Their tension transitions from animosity to romantic, causing Luis to question his sexuality.

The Prospects isn’t a stereotypical trans romantic tragedy. Instead, it’s full of hope, love, and found family. Luis and Gene are absolutely lovable main characters. It would be exciting to see this kind of energy on the screen.

Deep End By Ali Hazelwood

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While Finding Her Edge is a YA story, there are plenty of adult fans who would enjoy more sports romances that lean older. Deep End by Ali Hazelwood is a romance along the lines of the Netflix original show, with the spice of Heated Rivalry.

The story follows Scarlett “Vandy” Vandermeer, a neurotic competitive diver at Stanford who is trying to pursue med school and get back into diving after an injury. Meanwhile, Lukas, the popular star swim captain and Vandy’s best friend’s ex-boyfriend, seems to have it all. The two start a friends-with-benefits relationship while training for the Olympics, but things get complicated when feelings get involved.

Deep End is Ali Hazelwood’s best-written book, and the slow-burn romance is extremely compelling. The characters are developed enough to feel like they exist outside the pages. Plus, the passion for swimming is obvious.​

First Position by Melissa Brayden

Netflix’s Finding Her Edge focuses on ice dancing, a sport that doesn’t get enough credit for the athleticism and dedication required. Similarly, the Sapphic sports romance First Position highlights ballet, another sport that gets dismissed.

Anastasia Mikhelson is a classically-trained rising star at the New York City Ballet, who sacrifices everything in her life to be perfect at dance. However, her place as the star is threatened when they bring in Natalie Frederico, a ballet prodigy who prefers modern dance and prefers to live by her own rules. The two ballerinas work side-by-side, and sparks start to fly.

The relationship between Anastasia and Natalie is electric because they’re opposites, but they somehow work. Both characters have compelling backstories that make them sympathetic. The comedy and banter also feel extremely natural.

It’s A Love/Skate Relationship By Carli J. Corson

Adriana and Brayden have a tense relationship from the start of Finding Her Edge, and they turn from enemies into lovers. This is a similar dynamic in It’s A Love/Skate Relationship by Carli J. Corson, which deserves a TV adaptation.

Charlie, a queer hockey player, causes a brawl that injures a figure skater and destroys a statue, leading to her expulsion from Cranford High. She then enrolls at Winthrop High, needing money to replace the statue. By chance, she joins tryouts for Alexis’ figure skating partner and agrees to the role to pay off her debts. As they work together, they start to fall for each other.

It’s A Love/Skate Relationship feels exactly like a 2000s YA rom-com except not problematic and with Sapphic main characters. The story feels cozy, thanks to its small-town setting, and it’s absolutely captivating.

The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon

The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon is part of The Boyfriend Project series, and it would be a great focus for a TV show. The adorable rom-com has so much to love, offering readers flirty repartee and a romance in which both characters grow together.

The story follows former NFL player Jamar Dixon, who needs a personal trainer to help him get back onto good teams. He recruits Taylor Powell, an excellent personal trainer who’s desperately in need of money to keep her business afloat. Jamar wants to keep his training a secret, so she agrees to fake date him.

Jamar and Taylor feel like the ideal couple, each with flaws but also with strengths that complement each other. Their relationship feels extremely realistic and vulnerable.

Rock Bottom Girl by Lucy Score

While most sports romances focus on the players, Rock Bottom Girl is a rom-com that centers on two coaches. What’s more, despite not having a TV or movie adaptation, it already feels like it was written for the screen. It includes all the zaniness and spitfire dialogue of a modern screwball comedy.

Marley, a 38-year-old woman, returns to her small hometown after being dumped and fired. She faces gossip about a Homecoming dance she ruined twenty years earlier. To make ends meet, she becomes a temporary high school soccer coach and gym teacher. She teams up with Jake Weston, a rebellious teen turned good track coach and teacher, who helps her learn coaching in exchange for her teaching him about relationships.

Rock Bottom Girl is the perfect choice for a sports rom-com TV show because there are a million ways to expand the plot and characters without ruining the story.