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“You don’t know what tennis is—it’s a relationship”
This is one of the first lines Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), the tennis wunderkind, “going to turn her whole family into millionaires”, coquettishly uttered to Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) in Luca Guadagnino’s sensual sports romance, Challengers. The boys (who were dubbed ‘Fire & Ice’ during their teenage years thanks to the dynamic doubles act that swept the tennis circuit) don’t know it yet, but this observation will be the tether that not only defines their careers but their lives.
Guadagnino’s body of work is rife with references to quiet intensity—see: the tension between the audience and Timothée Chalamet’s ‘Elio’ in Call Me By Your Name as the credits roll over the held frame of him weeping by a fireplace–and overt intimacy. Let’s also not forget that infamous peach scene, as well as the profoundly carnal cannibal love story, Bones And All.
In Challengers, though, Guadagnino turns the tables on desire by putting power in the spotlight and asking: What does it look like to want to win at all costs?
Centre to this story is the destructive ménage à trois binding Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach to her husband Art, the champion on a losing streak, and Patrick, the naturally gifted but washed-up ex-best friend of Art and ex-boyfriend to Tashi determined to come out on top. In a standoff between past and present, Art and Patrick face off (and face the consequences of their actions) in a ‘Challengers’ competition, a standalone tournament open to amateurs.
With each backhand (both figurative and literal), a volley of extreme dominance unfolds before viewers. Off the court and in a private room in one of Sydney’s luxurious hotels, this kinetic energy is palpable between the cast, too. “We say it’s ‘Codependency: The Movie’,” Zendaya jokes. “Tennis is the metaphor we use to express that.”
For the 27-year-old, her character’s strength derives from her control—control over her future in the face of a career-ending injury and control over the people around her. (Tashi uses a $431 Augustinus Bader cream to smooth her ACL scar, if that’s any indication of her rigour and obsession.)
The trajectory of the trio’s whirlwind relationship sets its course one night when Tashi surprises Art and Patrick in their hotel room for a bout of underage drinking, a seductive flex in her ability to manipulate people, and a lesson in the queer undertones of male dorm room antics. “That scene where there’s a three-way kiss… puts them in this tornado that allows them to be incredibly nasty, act badly, act brilliantly, compete and push each other,” Josh O’Connor tells me during the press conference.
I ask the actors—all in the early stages of their lives but at the top of their game—how they brought the competitive nature on set, embodying characters who stop at nothing to get what they want. O’Connor responds on behalf of his cast mates. “The competitiveness is out of having an obsession with each other,” he answers.
“All three of them are desperate for connection, whether it’s Art seeking to restore the love in his marriage or Tashi to restore this three-way love affair. Likewise, the tennis to [Patrick] is the utmost connection. He’s always trying and searching for that with Art and Tashi. So, competitiveness comes secondary to that.”
Credit: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures.
So, where do the lines between ‘the love of tennis’ end and ‘love’ and ‘tennis’ begin? Ultimately, the two-hour run time is propelled by three factors: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ techno score (not too dissimilar to the dirty drums featured on Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater” that plays in the film’s trailer), Guadagnino’s titillating visual language and each character’s motivation to capture and captivate Tashi.
Zendaya plays Tashi’s awareness of her “two little white boys” attempts to win her like a grand slam with masterful acuteness. But as Furtado sings and Guadagnino posits, you may “wish you never ever met her at all”.
“The obvious thing to do is read Tashi and be like ‘She’s unlikeable, she’s too much, she’s messy.’ You judge her immediately. My job was trying to find her gooey centre.”
“While she’s ruthless, and I love [that], there’s something to her. I think it’s grief… grief of a career and a life that she never got to live. Her one true love was always tennis and she’s trying however she can to be close to it, to touch it, to do it. She uses people to get that feeling because she can’t do it on her own anymore.
“That becomes very real once her tangibility and closeness to tennis is threatened by the fact that her husband is ready to be done. These people are lifelines to her. They’re holding herself up and keeping her alive. So, I think it was figuring out her nuance and not making her just bitchy because I don’t think she is. There’s a reason behind everything she does.”
The latter quality can also be attributed to Zendaya. Undoubtedly one of Hollywood’s strongest voices, you’d struggle convincing anyone that this was the actress’ first leading credit in a theatrical release, given the calibre of her filming credits.
There’s a tactical ease to how Zendaya navigates her on-screen evolution, especially with Challengers marking the first time we see her play a mother. In person, the assumption of Zendaya’s adolescent veneer as a former Disney child star (as she exhibited in her award-winning portrayal of ‘Rue’ in Euphoria) fades away. All that remains is a warm, captivating and commanding powerhouse of a woman.
Rachel O’Connor, a producer on Challengers who was also in Australia to promote the film, had the privilege of witnessing this deft transformation first-hand. (She first met Zendaya on Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming when she was only 19). “It’s just incredible to see,” O’Connor told GRAZIA on the red carpet at the Sydney film premiere. “She’s as formidable, hardworking and talented behind the camera as a producing colleague as she is in front of the camera as a star,” she added. Zendaya herself doesn’t see it that way.
“[Tashi] enjoys power in a way I don’t think I would ever be comfortable with, I have an uncomfortable relationship with that idea,” she divulged.
But where Tashi seduces to enact her destiny, Zendaya has a secret power of her own to command a room: fashion. (And her image architect, Law Roach, of course.)
Join GRAZIA on the red carpet at Challengers Sydney premiere and global opening.
“[Premieres and press conferences] can be daunting and scary, so for me, clothes are a way to create a little shield,” she said of her signature ‘method dressing’ approach to red carpet style. “I create a character so you’re not really yourself out there, you’re someone else. This time we’re gonna have fun with whoever this tennis lady is I’m creating.”
On the ‘tennis lady’, Zendaya imparted a stern warning: “Don’t judge her.” “I say ‘don’t judge’ because your opinions will change every time you watch it,” she added.
“The fun part about the film is you never have the answers you want. That makes you question everything and question yourself.”
Challengers will be released in Australian theatres on April 24. For more on the film, watch the trailer below.
