A few days ago Luca Guadagninos Challengers – Rivals has been released in German cinemas and unfolds a bitter rivalry between two men on and off the tennis court who are fighting not only for victory, but also for Zendaya’s heart. The match between Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor serves as the framework for the film, the history of which is told to us with the help of various flashbacks that put the individual pieces of the puzzle together.
But the film is just full of things metaphorical carrying power, in which sport mixes with interpersonal relationships. At the end there is a gripping final scene that leaves us with uncertainty from the film. But how are the individual elements connected? Who wins the match and which of the characters has which intention? We want to break the whole thing down in more detail and give you a possible reading.
In Challengers, tennis represents sex and relationships: the nastiest scene reveals the tone of the film
When Art and Patrick meet Tashi Duncan at a party for the US Open Junior about 13 years before their final match, both begin to vie for the attention of the young and talented tennis player. They wait together until the end of the celebrations so that they can talk to her in more depth. During their conversation on the beach, Tashi’s match with her opponent from the day before, Anna Müller, also comes up. Tashi explains to the two boys that tennis represents a deep bond for them with their counterparts when they both completely lose themselves in the game. Be it for 15 seconds on the tennis court with her opponent in a relationship or even been in love – no matter how the two get along off the pitch.
Warner Bros.
Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor in Challengers
Tashi is then invited to their hotel room by Art and Patrick, where the two young men tell her about a shared masturbation experience. A foundation for homoerotic subtext is laid here, which Tashi also recognizes in the friendship between the two and which will continue to run through the film. She recognizes the potential of the game that can be sparked between them on and off the court. When the three begin to kiss and Tashi slowly leans back to watch the two, it becomes clear that she is the one Threads in hand holds.
Tashi pursues her very own intentions right up to the end. The film shows her torn between the two men, but the game always seems to be the focus here. She inspires Patrick to perform at his best when the two of them are together for a few months during Tashi’s time at university, but also Art, for whom she acts as a trainer years later after her injury. When he tells her shortly before his final match with Patrick that he wants to retire, she threatens to leave him. For Tashi, however, Art’s tennis success is vital to her survival, because this is the only way she can continue to maintain her own right to exist in the tennis world despite her injury. Her relationship with Art is only sustainable as long as he is there for her on the tennis court.
Of course, Tashi is not the only one pursuing her own interests. Both Art and Patrick repeatedly use unfair means to get Tashi’s attention. Ultimately, she has to make a choice between someone she has to constantly worry about and someone she can’t completely trust. Who can blame her for sticking so doggedly to her career?
Who will win the match? The winner is second in Challengers
The final match between Art and Patrick divides the film into different sets and sections, in which Art and Patrick are ahead for a certain period of time or catch up with the other. The corresponding flashbacks during the sentences show who is currently ahead at Tashi. While Patrick wins the first set, Art catches him in the second set. Ultimately, the two go head-to-head, culminating in an incredible sequence of wild tracking shots and subjective shots.
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The film largely leaves open who wins the match. Because while Art takes a spartan jump and smashes the tennis ball over the net with full force, the point is taken away from him because he touches the net. So the game isn’t actually over at this point. Much more important than the clear victory, however, is that Art and Patrick find a connection again on an interpersonal level, which is underlined by their embrace. With Tashi’s betrayal, which Patrick can communicate to Art through her secret sign, the two men finally end up back together at eye level.
So in the end Patrick, Art and Tashi have the chance to renew their relationships after this final match to redefine. What exactly that looks like is up to the cinema audience.