Challengers trailer: Zendaya commands the tennis court and the hearts of men in Luca Guadagnino’s new film

As if the summer isn’t hot enough, Luca Guadagnino (Bones and All, Call Me By Your Name) and Zendaya (Dune, Spider-Man: No Way Home) are turning up the heat with today’s Challengers trailer, featuring a young throuple with stars in their eyes and knives in their backs.

Challengers stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist – West Side Story), Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against the washed-up Patrick (Josh O’Connor – The Crown) – his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself, what will it cost to win?

In the Challengers trailer, Zendaya’s Tashi Duncan brings boss bitch energy to the tennis court, where she dominates the competition with swift movements, bursts of power, and coordination that’s unmatched. When Tashi injures her knee, she finds herself taken out of the game. However, Tashi’s not taking the loss lightly and decides to stick her finger in a volatile relationship from her past. When hearts collide on and off the court, Tashi begins playing a different kind of game where she’s the only winner, and the men she’s playing with are nothing more than puppets on her strings.

According to the film’s official logline, Challengers follows “three players who knew each other when they were teenagers as they compete in a tennis tournament to be the world-famous grand slam winner and reignite old rivalries on and off the court.”

Guadagnino says Zendaya trained with tennis coach and former player Brad Gilbert for three months. During that time, Zendaya sharpened her skills on the court, learning to use momentum to her advantage, track a tennis ball with pinpoint accuracy, and smash any challenge with determination. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the film’s score, adding tension and drama to the backdrop of this steamy love story.

Challengers hits the court in theaters on September 15, 2023. What do you think of today’s Challengers trailer? Would you be willing to face Zensaya in a one-on-one tennis match? Let us know in the comments below.