‘Challengers’ ending explained: So, who wins the race?

“Challengers” tells the story of Tashi (played by Zendaya), a former tennis prodigy turned coach married to Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), a champion on a losing streak, Tashi tries to redeem him. However, his recovery strategy takes an unexpected turn when Art must face Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), his former best friend and former friend of Tashi’s.

The film, directed by Luca Guadagnino, was one of the most anticipated of the season and has given a lot to talk about, especially because of its open ending.

Before continuing, please be aware that there will be spoilers for the film.

‘Challengers’: Zendaya Movie Ending Explained

The movie “Challengers” climaxes at a point of great tension: the meeting between Art and Patrick is a tie, and Tashi is more excited than ever when the shot fades to black and the credits begin to roll. So we don’t know who won the game or the coach’s heart in “Desfiantes”. This closure was done on purpose.

Entertainment Weekly points out that the real focus of the film’s ending is not the outcome of the fight, but the emotional development of the protagonists.

The film’s director, Luca Guadagnino, commented in an interview for the aforementioned magazine that the ending tried to show the importance of reunion and the connection between the characters, referencing the moment they shared in the hotel the first night they met. : “ Finally, with the rivalry at this elevated level, the (love) triangle finally found itself sitting in the same position, but now on the field. I needed to visually reinforce that and really sink it in so the audience could understand how much it meant to them not to beat each other, but to be back together.”

For his part, screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes commented in a question-and-answer session at a screening of “Defiants” in New York that the film’s open ending reflects the idea that when the characters have come to a mutual understanding and played their best tennis of their lives, the outcome of the fight becomes irrelevant: “They’ve gotten what they need from each other, and they may or may not get over this situation.”

Actor Josh O’Connor agrees that the score of the tennis match between Art and Patrick was not relevant to the outcome of the characters: “At the end of the movie, they met. Everyone was trying to find their way in different ways. For Art, it might be giving up tennis and being with his family, reconnecting with his wife. For Tashi, it’s about finding that satisfaction in tennis that he lost when he saw his career end. For Patrick, it’s also about finding that sense of flow when he was playing tennis with Art when he was little or watching Tassie play tennis when he was little,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

Is the movie ‘Challengers’ based on a true story?

Despite the similarities to some real-life tennis players, the film is not based on a true story.

However, screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com revealed that the idea for the film came from watching a tennis match between Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.

The writer also revealed that he was inspired by many real tennis players to create the characters of Tashi, Art and Patrick.

The story of the character Tashi, for example, has similarities to that of tennis player Roger Federer’s wife, Mirka Federer.

During the Wimbledon match in 2019, Kuritzkes noticed Mirka’s “strained” expressions while her husband was competing against Novak Djokovic and wondered why someone with so many achievements and resources would be so stressed. He then discovered that Mirka had been a professional tennis player until an ankle injury forced her to retire in 2002, just two years after facing Roger Federer at the 2000 Summer Olympics, since then she became Federer’s manager and was instrumental in his success .

What are critics saying about ‘Challengers’?

The film has been widely acclaimed by both critics and audiences at large.

On ‘Rotten Tomatoes’, for example, ‘Challengers’ has an approval rating of 88% from experts and 75% from the general public.

Have you seen the movie ‘Callengers’ yet? Let us know in the comments what you think of the ending.