Smashing it. That’s what director Luca Guadagnino does in his new film set in the world of tennis, Challengers. It’s a different spin on the classic love triangle tale.
Starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, with a dazzling script written by Justin Kuritzkes and a driving score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Challengers follows the trio from their early playing days in high school, then college and onto the pro circuit.
It all starts with two guys trying to win the affection of a girl. But Zendaya’s Tashi Duncan is not really looking for the love of a man. She’s in love with the sport of tennis, and the lure of professional tennis greatness.
As the movie’s tagline goes, “Her game. Her rules.”
At a news conference in Beverly Hills before the film’s American debut, Zendaya talked about falling in love with the script and the character.
“Tashi is a complicated character, and the film is funny, it’s drama, it’s tennis. It’s not a sports movie, yet it’s exhilarating,” she said during the session alongside her castmates, director, writer and the film’s producer, Amy Pascal.
In the previous weeks, they’d been on a global tour with premieres in Rome, Paris and London, all with Zendaya slaying the red carpet, often in tennis-themed designs chosen with her stylist, Law Roach.
Zendaya, who’s currently also starring in Dune 2, said that going into the film, the only thing she knew about tennis was Venus and Serena [Williams]. Tennis training lasted six weeks, and just when she thought she might have it nailed, her balls would go into the bushes.
“Every shot was story boarded and approached like choreography,” she said. “I synced up with a tennis double and her footwork and that was my entrée into looking like a tennis player,” she admitted.
She also delved into playing a female character that many see as villainous, although others see her as ambitious and driven. “A female doesn’t have to be likable or ask forgiveness for herself. The character changes and that’s the beauty of it,” she said.
For O’Connor, who was recently seen portraying a young Prince Charles in Netflix’s The Crown, playing Patrick was scary because the character is so confident. “It’s not comfortable for me to not hide,” he said. But the actor perfectly nailed the overly confident bad boy tennis player the role required.
Faist, who plays Art, more easily adapted into his role. “The idea of a person falling out of love with his craft leapt off the page,” he said. “I understand this.”
As much as the story is about Duncan at the center of it all including time shifts between different periods over about 20 years, the film focuses intensely on the relationship and the rivalry between Art and Patrick, whose once-deep friendship is seemingly turned into aggressive hostility as they compete in a qualifier to enter the U.S. Open.
Even as the film’s final match comes to its dramatic conclusion, you’ll never look at tennis the same way again.
Challengers opens in theaters nationwide April 26.
