Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach is married to a champion on a losing streak. Her strategy for her husband's redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against his former best friend and Tashi's former boyfriend.

Challengers is the new film from director Luca Guadagnino and it is a captivating, funny, sexy and frustratingly inspiring film exploring the lives of three people whose existences revolve around each other around tennis. Buoyed by a terrific, driving and at times hypnotic score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, especially when in concert with the inspired approach to how the camera should capture a game, or a moment within a game of tennis, Guadagnino has achieved something truly memorable in Challengers.

Challengers examines tennis’s hold over the lives of talented sportspeople, but also possibly how certain kinds of people are attracted to that life. The three leads Zendaya (Tashi), Josh O’Connor (Patrick), Mike Faist (Art) are all brilliantly cast, they are so effective in painting how strong their characters feel about tennis, and also in how they really feel for each other (and how clearly they really shouldn’t be in each other’s lives as a result).

Tashi is driven, manipulative and arrogant; Patrick is an egotistical, self-aggrandising talent; Art is focused, talented yet susceptible to manipulation. These aren’t three well rounded people, and Zendaya, O’Connor and Faist create them so vividly you’ll feel frustrated that Art makes the same kinds of choices, that Tashi doesn’t move on from her trauma and that Patrick doesn’t grow as a person even after spending years on the outside looking in.

Challengers is a captivating film, Luca Guadagnino directs terrific performances from leads Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, who explore thoroughly the nexus between high level tennis and flaws in character of people at that level.

★★★★