MOVIE REVIEW:
Challengers


by Anwaya Mane
Cast: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor // Written By: Justin Kuritzkes // Directed By: Luca Guadagnino // Photos Courtesy Amazon MGM Studios
Tennis serves as both a front and metaphor in this hormonally charged triadic romance.
If one had to make an elevator pitch for Challengers, it would go something like this: a former tennis star-turned-coach is tasked with mentoring her tennis player husband as he competes against his ex-best friend—who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend, with whom they once had a near-threesome. It’s a juicy premise, straight out of one of those anonymous internet confession pages, right?
Indeed, Challengers is that—and much more.
Luca Guadagnino’s latest, Challengers, takes this classic trope and delivers an equally exciting and frustrating romance-sports drama.
Starring Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a rising tennis star with immense potential; Josh O’Connor as the flamboyant Patrick Zweig; and Mike Faist as the more calculating Art Donaldson, the film explores the tangled web of their complicated relationships.
Tashi Duncan is a rising tennis star who catches the attention of two childhood best friends and doubles partners: Patrick Zweig and Art Donaldson. The trio meets in Art's hotel room, where an almost-threesome encounter leads to Tashi promising to give her phone number to whichever of the two wins the following day's match. Patrick wins, beginning a relationship with Tashi. However, their differing personalities, along with Art’s manipulative influence, lead to their breakup.
After Tashi injures her ACL during a match, forcing her to retire from her promising tennis career, she grows closer to Art, finding comfort and stability in him. Art also ends his friendship with Patrick, and the two begin a romance.
Years later, Tashi and Art are married with a daughter. Art is one U.S. Open title away from completing a career Grand Slam, but his age, injury, and diminishing commitment to tennis hinder both his performance and his marriage to Tashi. Frustrated by his lack of dedication, Tashi finds herself increasingly drawn to Patrick, who continues to reappear in their lives.

Tashi enters Art as a wild card in the New Rochelle Challenger event in New York, hoping to reignite both his career and their marriage. Patrick is also competing, and now, in the finals, he’s set to face off against Art.
However, just before the finals, Patrick attempts to reconcile their friendship, but Art rejects him. Tashi then tries to convince Patrick to let Art win the tournament, believing it will boost his career and potentially save their marriage. The two engage in a heated argument before ultimately having sex inside Patrick's car.
The film ends on an ambiguous note, with Art and Patrick embracing each other on the court. Meanwhile, a bewildered Tashi shouts, "Come on," leaving the audience to interpret the characters' futures and the complex dynamics between Tashi, Art, and Patrick.
Personally, I’m not a big tennis fan, but I can imagine that, like many individual sports, it’s lonely, demanding, and all-consuming—much like the dynamics of empty, loveless relationships and marriages.
Marriages, in many ways, are like a great game of tennis. You start with a clean slate.
In tennis, it’s called "love" instead of zero. I serve, you serve—passion, fervour, and intensity building together, with eyes focused on the ball and on each other.
Some thrive on clay courts, others on grass. You learn to play to your strengths, adapting to the conditions, your partner, and the challenges ahead. If you're fortunate, a Grand Slam can be just as thrilling and fulfilling as great sex.
Patrick and Art are two sides of the same coin—fiercely rivalrous yet inseparable, as one cannot exist without the other. They also embody qualities essential to a great sportsman, particularly in tennis. Patrick is fiery, zesty, and passionate. He approaches the game with a flirtatious energy, his forehand as smooth as butter, much like his charm when he first wins over Tashi. He remains an omnipresent force in her almost-faded marriage with Art. Josh O’Connor brilliantly brings out Patrick’s flirty and cheeky nature, making his character captivating to watch on screen.
On the other hand, Art embodies the consistency, dependability, and stability needed for both a successful tennis career and a lasting commitment, like marriage. Unlike Patrick, Art is more reserved, waiting for the right moment to strike, his backhand as smooth and precise as a polished mirror. This is reflected in how he ultimately provides Tashi with a steady shoulder to lean on, wins her heart, marries her, and achieves a more stable, successful career than Patrick. Mike Faist excels at portraying Art’s quiet, calculated energy, making his character both compelling and grounded.
There's no denying that the film truly belongs to Zendaya, who portrays Tashi Duncan with the talent of a seasoned veteran.
At a certain point, it becomes clear that the two men's actions are secondary, as Tashi propels both the narrative and the game of tennis forward. It is her complex love-hate relationship with tennis and the two men that forms the core of the film, creating a dynamic that is both thrilling and frustrating.
After her ACL injury, Tashi imagines living vicariously through Patrick and Art, constantly torn between passion and perseverance, flirtation and finesse, as well as courage and commitment. It seems she is crafting her own post-injury, imaginary tennis career by taking on the role of coach and mentor to her husband, Art. While she is focused and detail-oriented in her coaching, she is also unafraid to indulge in occasional flirtation and sex with Patrick, reigniting the passionate, youthful tennis player within her.
Tennis transcends being just a sport; in Challengers, it serves as both a metaphor and a façade.
It becomes a language, a mode of communication through which the central characters—Tashi, Patrick, and Art—express a range of emotions: love, friendship, frustration, anger, hurt, betrayal, greed, ambition, determination, and even envy. Challengers exudes a sexy, seductive, and tantalizing vibe. It’s not so much about the themes or subjects explored in the film, but rather the way the content is presented and treated.
The ambiguous ending leaves the audience feeling frustrated, craving more—wanting to know what happens next, seeking clarity on Patrick and Art’s rivalry, Tashi’s reaction, and whom she will ultimately choose or not. In this sense, the film serves as both a beginning and an unresolved conclusion to the complex dynamics between the three characters.
Zendaya embodies Tashi with quiet determination, elusive charm, and simmering rage, using her marriage and the two men as a means to channel her crushed dreams and abandoned ambitions.
As both a viewer and critic, I feel the film could have benefited from a more consistent pace and a reduction of about 20 minutes to maintain steady momentum. However, Zendaya's outstanding performance is what truly drives the story forward. She isn’t the prize to be won; she is the challenger in this narrative.