Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Luca Guadagnino’ Challengers.
While director Luca Guadagnino is no stranger to success, Challengers is arguably his best movie yet. With a trio of Oscar-worthy performances by Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist, Challengers is a sports game like no other, where tennis is secondary to the intricate web of human emotions Guadagnino weaves on the silver screen.
As the movie’s title betrays, the story occurs in a Challengers tournament, where tennis players compete to get to the qualifiers of big professional tournaments. On one side of the field is Patrick Zweig (O’Connor), a struggling player who never got a chance to play in the big leagues. His opponent, Art Donaldson (Faist), is one of the top players in the world, attending a small competition to build up his confidence before going for the US Open. In the crowd, there’s Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), who watches closely as the duel between Patrick and Art escalates.
Instead of sticking to the present moment, Challengers uses extensive flashbacks to explain the complicated relationship between the movie’s three main characters. In doing so, Guadagnino reveals what’s really at stake – and it’s not a trophy.
What’s really at stake in the final match?
Tashi was a fierce tennis player who signed an Adidas contract before beginning her professional run. She was destined to make tennis history, but an accident during a match robbed her of her glory. Now, Tashi is married to Art, who she coaches to achieve everything she can’t. By winning the US Open, Art will get his Carrer Grand Slam, which in tennis lingo means winning all four major international championships in the same season. Winning is everything for Tashi, who pushes Art to the brink so he can get what she never could.
In turn, Art worships Tashi and sacrifices his individuality to make his wife happy. He wants to quit tennis and pursue other dreams but keeps playing because that’s what Tashi thinks is better. It’s tragic, as Art trades his happiness for Tashi’s glory. Meanwhile, the fact that Art never challenges her pushes the couple apart since Tashi needs more than an obedient servant. Despite their success and beautiful daughter, the power couple drowns in resentment and regret, all in the name of tennis victory.
To make matters even more complicated, Patrick was once Art’s best friend and Tashi’s lover. Patrick is wild, impulsive, and always stands his ground. He excites Tashi, and they have a primal sexual connection. However, she needs to control her partner, which Patrick can’t accept. That’s why they eventually broke up, and Tashi ended up with Art. As for Patrick and Art, their unbreakable bond was shattered because of Tashi, with Art taking her side on the separation and feeding his jealousy for years. Art knows he can never fulfill Tashi’s needs as Patrick did. This fact turns into a bitter grudge after Art sees things that raise a red flag about Tashi and Patrick having an affair, burying the two men’s friendship.
Tashi did cheat on Art with Patrick eight years before the Challengers competition. She does it again on the evening before the finals when Art and Patrick will face each other for the first time since they were teenagers. Tashi tries to convince Patrick to lose the match on purpose so Art can boost his ego and win the US Open. Patrick agrees but underlines that it is a bigger treason than just having sex with his former best friend.
That’s what’s at stake in the final match of the Challengers. Art wants to prove himself and beat his old friend, which he never did when they were young. The victory would prove Art is a true champion. It would also symbolize Art’s ultimate triumph against Tashi’s lover, who’s always casting a shadow over their marriage.
On the other hand, Patrick must beat Art to get his last chance as a professional tennis player. However, we want to keep his word to Tashi, as he still feels terrible about everything that went down in their past. Finally, Patrick wants Art to have his glory, so he tells Tashi he will put up a challenge before forfeiting the match.
Tashi is playing with the fate of Patrick and Art to get what she wants, and she wants it all. Nevertheless, things don’t go as planned, with all three characters meeting a surprising ending.
Who wins the Challengers tournament?
The short answer could be: Art. Yet, things are more complicated than that, and we could argue everyone wins.
After an intense match, Patrick intentionally misses a couple of shots to give Patrick the victory. However, when Art is one point away from victory, Patrick changes his mind, making a hand signal that reveals he had an affair with Tashi. Art is furious and lets Patrick score some free points so they can both be one step away from victory. The rules are settled. The differences must be solved in the field, and no one will give up this time.
An exhilarating montage follows in which Patrick and Art show their tennis prowess. The ball ricochets from one side of the field to the other as each player lets all their rage melt away all the walls they built between them. Art performs a mighty blow that wins him the victory, and the two old friends lock their arms in a warm embrace. From the stand, Tashi screams with joy, celebrating Art’s victory.
When Patrick decides to tell Art the truth in the middle of the game, he shows how much he respects his old friend. Patrick cannot do what Tashi wants because he understands Art must be free to achieve his goals regardless of his wife’s desires. Patrick is tired of seeing Art as Tashi’s puppet, and he pushes his friend’s limits to set him free. That’s precisely what he gets.
Art wins more than the Challengers’ trophy in the match. He rediscovers his tennis passion, which he first found when he played with Patrick as a friend. Years of duty and obedience shatter, and he feels joy playing for the first time in many years. He also understands the gift Patrick is offering him and realizes how foolish he has been for shunning away his friend. Art and Patrick’s bond is stronger than Tashi’s grasp, and their embrace heals all old wounds, turning them into brothers once more.
Finally, while Tashi has dedicated her life to becoming a champion, she yearns for a tennis match in which the sport reveals the truth about the players. That kind of connection got severed due to her injury, and she never again witnessed the intensity of the sport — at least until the Challengers’ final match. When Patrick and Art play the final set, they bare their souls in front of the audience, a spectacle that reminds Tashi of how she felt while playing. It’s a moment of utter jubilation for Tashi and the thrill she needs to feel complete.
Tennis is just a ball, two players, and a few rules. Yet, Guadagnino turned it into a beautiful and intense festival of raw human emotion.
