Teguan Harris

Challengers (2024), starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor, was released in cinemas last month. Many fans dubbed the film a ‘threesome movie’ since it involves a kissing scene between the three stars. However, there is more to this movie than many people think.

Challengers was released in cinemas last month, but it still remains the topic of discussion among film fanatics. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film centres around a love triangle that spans 13 years between three tennis stars.

Zendaya stars as Tashi Duncan, the tennis star whose career ends after an injury during a tennis match. She becomes involved in the love triangle after two tennis stars grow infatuated with her and compete for her affection.

Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor also star as Art Donaldson and Patrick Zweig, two tennis players who compete for Tashi’s affection. Their friendship falls apart after Patrick starts dating Tashi in college before Art and Tashi become a power couple in the tennis world. Darnell Appling and Shane Harris also appear in the movie.

“It’s a film about power, influence, and, most importantly, tennis.”

However, Challengers is about so much more than its romance plot. It’s a film about power, influence, and, most importantly, tennis.

Tashi Duncan: The ultimate player

Challengers opens in the present day, with Tashi and Art as a strong couple and Patrick struggling. However, the real story starts in 2006, when Art and Patrick meet Tash at a tennis match. The moment Tashi lays down and watches Art and Patrick passionately kiss – as they think they are kissing Tashi – is when she becomes the game master.

Tashi knows the boys are infatuated with her, which she uses against them. She challenges Art and Patrick to a match, where the winner gets her number. Patrick beats Art, so he not only wins the game, but he wins Tashi, too. Tashi and Patrick were never much of a couple, as Tashi did not love him.

Things take a turn for the couple when they argue before Tashi’s fateful match.  Tashi tries to give Patrick tennis advice, which he does not appreciate. Tashi plays the match in anger but injures herself, which ends her career. Patrick tries to visit her, but she angrily rejects him.

Even when Tashi and Art become a power couple, that does not stop Tashi from having her eye on Patrick, his former friend. Patrick asks Tashi to be his coach before the Challengers match, which she angrily rejects. Even though things ended badly between them, Patrick never stopped longing for Tashi.

Art’s Infatuation

Although Tashi and Art ended up as a strong couple in the present day, they had more of a coach-and-athlete relationship previously.

“Art’s weak spot was Tashi, which she used against him”

Tashi uses his infatuation for her to gain what she wants – and that is a win. Tashi’s obsession with winning leads her to use Art and Patrick as pawns. Art loves Tashi, which he tells her, and her response is, “I know.” Art’s weak spot was Tashi, which she used against him when he said he wanted to retire.

In Challengers, Tashi makes it very clear that she isn’t there for love – nor does she love Patrick or Art. She only falls in love with what she could do to them or turn them into – and that was star tennis players. Tennis is Tashi’s first and only love. Men – particularly these men – are never her priority.

So who wins the Challengers?

The movie is about Tashi’s power and influence on the men. However, this is not the only element; the tension between Art and Patrick draws the audience’s attention in the Challengers match. The cinematography of the Challengers match also infuses the tension. Both of the men have something to play for—and that’s not for themselves.

For Art and Patrick, tennis is more about Tashi than it is about the game itself.

Key Takeaways

“The sport becomes the invisible fourth person in the triangle”

Challengers is not just about winning a tennis match. It’s all about winning over Tashi. She is not only the game master; she is the game. There are four key characters in this love triangle – Tashi, Art, Patrick, and Tennis. The sport becomes the invisible fourth person in the triangle, as Tashi’s love for tennis fuels her to use the boys for her winning gain.

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Featured image courtesy of Valentin Balan on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image licence found here.

Writer and journalist. University graduate in English Literature. Book reader, word lover and Notion enthusiast.

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