Zendaya plays a romantically challenged tennis pro in the new ménage à trois sports drama from Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, I Am Love, Bones and All, A Bigger Splash), co-starring Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist. One of the most feverishly anticipated films of 2024 (especially after its delayed release following the 2023 US actors’ strikes), Challengers is scripted by playwright Justin Kuritzkes (Guadagnino’s repeat collaborator on the upcoming Queer), sound-tracked by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and promises to be a punchy, sensationally watchable blend of romance, comedy, tennis and high drama, both on and off court.
Zendaya is Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy-turned-coach and a force of nature. Married to Art, a champion on a losing streak (Faist), Tashi’s coaching strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when she signs him up for a ‘Challenger’ match against the washed-up Patrick (O’Connor) – Art’s ex-best friend, and Tashi’s former lover. As the trio reunite, memories of their youthful love triangle arise and new feelings of jealousy, lust and betrayal come to the fore. Tashi must ask herself: what will it cost her to win?
