When you watch CHALLENGERS for the tennis...

Challengers (2024) directed by Luca Guadagnino starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor is an interesting tennis love drama movie that is surprisingly more about tennis than I expected.

[@LuthandoDlomo]

Im so obsessed with this movie i dont know why, i played tennis casually over the years, but the psychology of the characters is what drew me in, very passionate and flawed and so human in the best and worst ways. Love your take on this!! You still have a tennis prep style about you 😂

[@JessInDreams7]

Haha thanks! I was skeptical about it at first, but it was surprisingly good how it weaved the tennis mentality in with the psychology of the characters and built tension by linking what was at stake on the court to their relationship off the court.

[@LuthandoDlomo]

@@JessInDreams7 Absolutely!! You put that into words so beautifully 😭 could listen to you talk for hours!

[@misterkevinoh]

I don't play tennis at all but I still felt like I connected with this movie because it's about people who love their passions and let it drive them.

[@JessInDreams7]

Oh yes! This movie is very much about many aspects of life that can be relatable in any context 😊

[@ncrahlav579]

yeahh tashi didn’t have money to fall back on unlike the other two. she was most likely the sole income of their household when she active. so going to standford was for her stability and her families stability. that’s also probably a reason for why she married art. he gave her stability and she could live her tennis through him.

[@cfbg]

Loved this movie. Love your thoughts on it. lmao at Art being way too pale. I noticed him looking at his hands and they were pristine. Think it’s a commentary on how he was falling out of love with tennis and not giving it his all and then that Challengers final happened and he fell in love with it again. Phew. What a movie.

[@JessInDreams7]

Thank you 😊 Yea, I got the feeling that Art was never really that into tennis, which is interesting because career-wise he ended up being the most successful on paper. Maybe he was passionate about it at some point, but then his focus shifted to Tashi and it seemed like he was really only playing for her. I think it would've been cool if they showed a bit of that 13 year period where he was at the top of his game being trained by Tashi and winning those slams. But I guess because he was doing it to get validation from her, it was inevitable that eventually that fire would die down. It did tie well to the ending where he finally found that spark again through his rivalry with Patrick.

[@alexmayorov795]

Loved your review! ❤ As a side note, white boys like Art (strawberry blond) don’t usually tan at all. So that part is realistic.

[@MattEveland-cy9yr]

he doesn't even have a farmers tan or something, lol. though, jesus, that picture... it looks like someone stuck you in the oven. but also, wooo florida! haven't lived there in years, but good god. I think all sports are harder in florida... well at least the outdoor ones.

[@JessInDreams7]

🤣 Yea, that Florida sunshine is pretty intense.

[@MattEveland-cy9yr]

@@JessInDreams7 non-floridians will never understand though that it's the humidity that will really get you. i couldn't own white shirts for years, b/c you could literally take a shower. walk outside and sit in the shade at night, and 5min later you'd feel like you needed another shower.

[@JessInDreams7]

@@MattEveland-cy9yr Ah yes, the humidity. It did wonders for my dry skin for short periods when visiting the state, but it was a nightmare to be in longterm.

[@MarkLearns]

hey I also played tennis ... table ... tennis ... 😅 went to national youth tournament & seriously considered going pro at the age of 10 (for like a day 😂) before saying nahhh. im so glad i didn't and enjoyed life😂 Tennis has always been fun though every time i tried it! such a "visceral" sport that really moves your whole being lol (prob not doing something right cuz didnt learned from a coach?

[@JessInDreams7]

🤣 Table tennis was probably the first sport I ever played. I don't remember why I was never super into it as a kid, but my parents love it. Tennis is somewhat similar, but on a larger scale, so it does take more energy 🤔 You sound like you're putting your heart and soul into it though lol

[@weiss240]

Are Tennis players really like this? 🤨

[@JessInDreams7]

Not really 😅 Although I think Tashi’s competitive and obsessive mindset is pretty realistic for a tennis player, I don’t think the two guys were very convincing tennis players haha.

[@weiss240]

@@JessInDreams7 I feel like movies like these (vast generalization ik) tend to expand on the fantasies of the ego surrounding a tennis player that people fantasize/glamorize about as opposed to exploring a deeper idea or the technicalities around the sport; like if this was a food, the protein/carbs/various macros represent truth in one form or another, and there isn't much of it; but it's filled to the brim with sugar; all the superficial/egocentric aspects that probably don't even constitute that much of the actual experiences of the players it claims to portray.

[@weiss240]

I also didn't watch the movie but this probably resonates lol

[@JessInDreams7]

@@weiss240 Oh yea, it's definitely not about tennis as a sport, but it surprisingly did a good job portraying how the sport of tennis can affect the people playing the sport in different ways and how that can further influence their relationship with other people/things outside of tennis. Or at least that's how I saw it, but I think a lot of people watched this for the three way love triangle plot 😅 So like you said, it did glamorize certain aspects, but the bulk of it was pretty realistic in terms of the parallels between tennis and relationships in life.