Zendaya is on the tennis courts in Luca Guadagnino’s latest romance.
The “Euphoria” Emmy-winning actress plays tennis player and coach Tashi, who oversees her husband Art’s (Mike Faist) career. But when Art finds himself on a losing streak, he finds himself up against his childhood best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend (Josh O’Connor), sparking a strained love triangle with queer undertones.
In Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, Zendaya stars as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy-turned-coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her play on and off the court. Tashi is married to a champion on a losing streak (Faist) and Art’s strategy to make amends takes a surprising turn when he finds himself up against a downtrodden Patrick (O’Connor).
The film was written by Justin Kuritzkes.
Director Guadagnino revealed that the cast spent three months training with former professional tennis player Brad Gilbert, who served as a consultant on the film. The Bones and All filmmaker added that none of Zendaya’s body doubles were used in the final cut of the tennis scenes.
“I think these three characters in this film are beautifully complex and really shitty people who I love very much. And a sports film, why not?” The Oscar winner previously told IndieWire. “It’s hyperkinetic and I make films so it’s awesome.”
According to Guadagnino, Challengers is his “first comedy” to be produced in Boston. Guadagnino, Zendaya, Amy Pascal and Rachel O’Connor are producing the film, which the director calls “pretty sizzling, sexy” and is executive produced by Bernard Bellew. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are behind the music, and United Artists is distributing it.
Guadagnino’s last film was Bones and All, which screened at the Venice Film Festival in autumn 2022. Challengers is also expected to be shown at the Lido, which regularly screens Guadagnino’s films.
Challengers hits theaters on September 15th. Check out the trailer below.