Challengers: A Rude and Sweaty Love Triangle in the World of Tennis

Swiss tennis hopeful Anna Müller has no chance. She is best known by Tashi Duncan. The young American literally sweeps her opponent off the court. Tashi, 18 years old, is a college tennis star.

Patrick and Arthur are surprised in the audience; the two boys have just won the junior doubles tournament together. Now they set their sights on the next cup: “She’s the hottest woman I’ve ever seen,” Patrick drools.

Later they talk to Tashi at the party. You almost had to feel sorry for Anna Müller, says Arthur. “You don’t have to feel sorry for her,” replied Tashi. The Swiss woman is an old woman, “and a racist gal”.

The Swiss racist woman remains a side note. It’s about the winner with the dark vision, Tashi Duncan, a kid from the working class, hardened like no other. But Arthur and Patrick also like to play dirty: whoever gets Tashi’s number, they dig.

Soon everyone kisses at the same time

The two could be brothers: rude faces, there’s a lot of shit behind them. They have been sharing a room at boarding school for years, and together they can be particularly pubescent without restraint.

Director Luca Guadagnino likes it a little naughty; Sexual arousal is attractive to him. The scene with Timothée Chalamet and the peach as a sex toy is unforgettable from Guadagnino’s great gay romance movie “Call Me by Your Name” (2017): The two here, Patrick and Arthur, are in the same mood.

At the party, Tashi makes fun of the famous boys who fight for her: she doesn’t want to destroy their mutual love, she says. “I’m not a homewrecker.” It doesn’t destroy anything yet. The night ends with the three of them in the room, Tashi smoking first with one and then with the other. Soon everyone is kissing wildly.

Tennis is available in singles and doubles. But here tennis is now also available as a threesome. In his new film, Guadagnino tells about a love triangle within the world of sports in a rude and sweaty way that only he can do.

An amazing series of three

You must be so rude, the starting point is the most shameful trash novel: two tennis players are fighting against a woman who controls where the balls land. Because it is the boss who decides whether you should win or lose. And not always on the next return or the forehand winner. You’ll spoil yourself on the court, but just as well off the court: “Challengers” is a sports and erotic film of the highest order.

What is initially a bright love triangle gradually begins to have rough edges. Guadagnino doesn’t tell the story over and over, he jumps back and forth in the comical three-sentence set: The preview was in the room with Tashi, and a good ten years later the final takes place on the court: Arthur versus Patrick . A game that decides everything. Career, friendship, love.

A reunion of childhood friends takes place at a small tournament in New Rochelle, New York. The careers of Arthur Donaldson and Patrick Zweig could not have been more different. Art is now one of the best in the world. But it’s in decline now, nothing works anymore. At the third level tournament on the east coast, he should regain his confidence for the US Open.

Art was always the more ambitious of the two. Awesome player, one-handed back-up type. Good footwork, strong server, also smart tactically. He is not unlike Roger Federer in the game system. Patrick, on the other hand, did nothing with his talent. Too hasty, inconsistent accent in a sleeveless T-shirt, temperamentally somewhere between Nadal and McEnroe. Just completely unsuccessful.

Pádraig barely keeps up with the Challenger tournaments, in which third-tier players qualify for the Grand Slams. He still has 70 euros in his account, but the hotel refuses to accept his credit card. The first night he sleeps in the car in the tennis center park. For the second, he looks for a one-night stand on Tinder.

Meanwhile, Arthur, his old roommate from boarding school, spends the night in a luxury hotel – with Tashi, as she is now not only a wife, she is also his coach. After a serious knee injury, Tashi had to give up her own career. Now she trains her husband, guides him and runs his foundation. Without him, Arthur is lost. Tashi has not only ruined the unmatched bung, she has introduced him to a lap dog. But now it hurts her. At the same time, she did not get away completely from the invisible playboy Patrick.

Produced by the “Euphoria” star.

Hollywood actress Zendaya shines in the role of this mysterious player. The “Euphoria” star co-produced the film and is happily venturing into the industry. She shows Tashi as a quick bee who can be a manipulative gal. Tashi grabs the men with the rackets. She is not concerned with morality. And Guadagnino doesn’t. This makes the film a surprisingly frivolous delight.

The Italian is a leader driven by happiness like no other. So with “Bones and All” he succeeded in an unlikely genre, a cannibalistic youth romance. Eating each other was taken literally here. But Guadagnino’s films are always like that: very meaty.

Cinema can still be enjoyable. Anyone who watches “Challengers” will see again what has changed in film in recent years: the art of film is increasingly drying up. Especially in streaming, the content lacks awareness. The narrative has become economic, filmmakers continue to make and forget romance. Or to put it quickly: cinema is hardly generic anymore.

Besides Guadagnino. His films are shrouded in mystery. You have to think of the maestro that way: embodying the dolce vita. A few years ago he came to the Zurich Film Festival and the meeting with him had a lasting effect on the young film journalist. Stars usually receive brief audiences in impersonal hotel rooms. Guadagnino asked to enter the restaurant where he had just had lunch. As soon as you sat down, he asked if you wanted to share dessert with him. One plate, two spoons.

He is not afraid of contact, and that touches his cinema. He seeks near, smell, taste, bodies. In “Challengers” the camera (directed by the Thai Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, “Memoria”) likes to stick to the short tennis shorts, and Guadagnino also goes into the showers. Or the big debate between the last opponents takes place in the sauna. The towels are loose, the conversation is right.

The athletics make the esthetics

The sport of tennis is a metaphor for the filmmaker: what happens on the court reflects the dynamics around it. “Tennis is a relationship,” as 18-year-old Tashi describes it. And like all relationships, tennis is at the same time banal and very complicated: What is going on with the opponent? Does he break a dead ball or go for a winning shot? Guadagnino manages to turn the simple relationship box into a sophisticated psychological thriller.

The British Josh O’Connor, who plays the young Prince Charles in “The Crown”, goes wild in the role of terrorist Patrick Zweig. And after his performance as the leader of the Riff gang in “West Side Story” by Steven Spielberg, Mike Fist is now very focused as Arthur Donaldson: both of them are physically similar to tennis. In every way. “Challengers” is a film without fat anointing.

The athletics make the esthetics. Guadagnino has style, but he doesn’t lose himself in stylistic exercises. It does not handle anything. His films also allow for a spontaneity that is largely absent in American cinema. This leader shoots from the hip. As in tennis, not every shot lands in the court. Sometimes the camera looks for an angle and moves away. But it is precisely these risks that define “Challenges”. A movie that is alive. Luca Guadagnino wins with the simplest tactic: he shows up to play.