The tennis community and Zendaya-stan community has been abuzz about Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers for what feels like years? Zendaya was showing up to tennis tournaments and doing research with tennis people and even practicing on some well-known tennis courts. All for this: to play a teenage tennis prodigy turned tennis coach, who also happens to be in the middle of a deliciously sordid love triangle with two white boys. I love everything about this trailer, including the janky Adidas poster, Mike Faist’s character wearing Uniqlo and Josh O’Connor looking HOT.
First, Zendaya: seeing her thwack a forehand is sexy, even if her form is a little bit off. Her “KAMAN” was very Serena Williams/Danielle Collins. Her character’s clothes (not tennis kits) are apparently all Loewe, but considering the prominent placing of the Adidas poster, I would assume Adidas did Zendaya’s tennis kits. Fascinating.
Secondly: let this be the end to the discussion about whether Josh O’Connor was the wrong actor to play Prince Charles in The Crown. Josh absolutely was wrong for the role: Josh is much too cute, much too sexy and much too watchable to play a young Charles. My boy looks GOOD. Especially when he’s got some facial hair and there’s all of the sexual tension.
Now, I don’t know much about Mike Faist, but he’s doing something here. I think it’s interesting that the story is that following Tashi’s injury, she becomes her husband’s coach. That’s actually pretty rare in tennis, to see a man being coached by his wife. The last guy who maybe did that was Roger Federer? I will absolutely die if the first line of the movie is “Based on real events, aka Roger and Mirka Federer.” Anyway, this looks hot, fun, dramatic and interesting. Finally, an original drama! A sexy drama about tennis pros!
No one:
Danielle Collins at 1-0 0-15 in the first set: pic.twitter.com/DF8CKX34M4
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) June 20, 2023
Zendaya’s forehand swing is immaculate pic.twitter.com/SHHwOYNUMM
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) June 20, 2023
Screencaps courtesy of the ‘Challengers’ trailer.
