Jonathan Mendelsohn
Zendaya is further proving herself as a serious actress in the sensual new trailer for the romantic sports drama film, Challengers. Challengers spans multiple years and follows Zendaya’s Tashi, an up-and-coming tennis star who gets involved in a love triangle in her late teens with Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor).
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Years after an injury interrupts her career, Tashi becomes the coach of Art, her now-husband and a tennis star on a losing streak. Things start to take an unexpected turn when Patrick comes back into their lives. Soon, Art finds himself in an epic tennis match against his former best friend, and his wife’s former lover.
Challengers Trailer Brings The Heat
The trailer begins with Tashi as an older teen, meeting both Art and Patrick for the first time. A voiceover from Patrick explains Tashi’s current position as a rising tennis prodigy, saying, “Tashi Duncan, she’s gonna turn her whole family into millionaires.”
Soon, Tashi finds herself in the boys’ hotel room, asking them, “How often does this happen? Going after the same girl?” They tell her that it is actually a rare occurrence, and they don’t usually like the same type. Then, the three have an intimate encounter that will impact their lives forever.
As the trailer continues, tensions between the three heat up, especially between Art and Patrick. Things come to a head when Tashi injures her leg during a tennis match, ending her career as she knows it.
Around the halfway mark of the two-minute and 15-second long trailer, a jump to a few years into the future occurs, depicting Tashi and Art as a married couple, and Art as a successful tennis player whose star may be beginning to dim. Soon, Patrick comes back into the picture, and the rest of the trailer showcases an intense battle of wits between three people that will be connected for the rest of their lives, whether they like it or not.
Challengers hits theaters on September 15. An official synopsis for the film reads, “From visionary filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, 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.”
