Tennis and desire face off in Challengers

Reel Impressions is The NewsHouse’s weekly film review. Contributors Francesco Desiderio and Travis Newbery cover everything from new releases to trending classics. 

What is tennis? Hitting a ball back and forth over a net with a racket? Challengers attests that it’s all about the relationships found between the players… but within Challengers, let’s just say these relationships have a good chance of being called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Released earlier this year, Challengers is directed by Luca Guadagnino and stars Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor. The plot follows best friends and doubles partners Art Donaldson (Faist) and Patrick Zweig (O’Connor) from their teens to their late professional careers after fellow star player Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) pops into their lives like a fast serve.

After winning the US Open junior doubles title, Art and Patrick are preparing to play each other in the final the next day when they get a chance to talk to Tashi, whose unmatched tennis skills and good looks are all the boys have been thinking about all day. They invite her back to their hotel room, and what ensues could be a championship match in teenage love triangle sexual angst. But before a winner can be declared, Tashi leaves, deciding that she will let the boys’ final tomorrow be a competition for her companionship.

If the heart of Challengers is tennis, its blood is sex. The film pits the trio against each other in a volley of sexual tension and desire, seeing Art and Patrick take big swings to win over Tashi, as she fires right back with her own backhands of complex motivations. Each character and their intentions are tightly wrapped up with the other two, on and off the court and in and out of the bedroom. 

The whole thing plays out as a tennis match, too. No, literally. The film is structured as a back-and-forth between Art and Patrick as they face off towards the end of their careers. The plot constantly bounces around in time but always orients itself with the gameplay of that final match. So when Patrick is initially successful in courting Tashi, he wins the first set, and vice versa. That might seem confusing, but this complex device is executed so coherently and accessibly that we can only thank screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes.

The attention to detail in the character writing within Challengers is clear. Early on, Tashi calls Art and Patrick by their duo nickname, “Fire and Ice,” and while we are never given a clear answer on who is who, the answer isn’t hard to deduce. Patrick is sharp, daring and passionate, and he always manages to find a spark of opportunity when he needs one. Art, though, is more quiet, calculating and sensitive, playing the long game and keeping everything more passive. 

Tashi’s interloper character is perhaps the most nuanced out of the three. Finding herself in the middle of this duo of best friend suitors, she never fails to make a snap game-time decision and come out on top. She plays Art and Patrick off of each other, using their relationships with her to rekindle their relationship with each other. “I’m taking such good care of my little white boys,” she declares at one point – truer words are rarely spoken. 

Challengers also has a lot going for it technically. The cinematography is bold and dynamic, going from extreme close-ups of Art and Patrick drenched in sweat in the midst of their grand battle, to beneath the tennis court they stand on as they hit the ball back and forth, to a truly electric POV shot of the ball itself. And the score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is simply to die for. Between the bouncing, clubby beats you’ve probably heard across TikTok this year and the moody, mysterious tracks found in quieter, more subtle moments, the composing duo behind the soundtrack is as on top of their game as ever.

Whether you were brought to Challengers as a tennis fan or just to see these budding young actors go at each other in more ways than one, it’s hard to deny its entertainment value. Guadagnino is known for his horny, subversive classics — instant and cult — and this is no different. Game, set, match.

Watch the official trailer for Challengers here!: