‘Challengers’: Zendaya serves up tennis and sexual tension

Life and Art from FT Weekend

Forhecz Topher

Tv & Film, Arts, Society & Culture

4.6 • 601 Ratings

🗓️ 3 May 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Is the buzzy new film Challengers about tennis, sex or just hitting middle age? This week, Lilah invites the FT’s resident film buff and our US sports expert to talk through it. The film stars Zendaya, is directed by Luca Guadagnino, and features a love triangle, a low-level tennis tournament and three sweaty bodies. Our guests today are the FT’s deputy arts editor Raphael Abraham and US sports business correspondent Sara Germano.

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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at [email protected]. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And do share this episode with your friends!

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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):

– Challengers is in cinemas now. Here’s the FT’s review by Danny Leigh: https://on.ft.com/44pYpcs

– Raph Abraham’s recent interview with 22-year-old Italian tennis sensation Jannik Sinner: https://on.ft.com/4dhKxoN

– Sara Germano’s piece, ‘Taylor Swift, the NFL, and a new wave of female sports fandom’: https://on.ft.com/3wg8PPu

– Sara Germano is on X @germanotes

More or Less:

– Sara recommends Inside the NBA, hosted by Shaq and Charles Barkley on TNT.

– Raph wants more original content. Here’s an FT Weekend piece on poptart film Unfrosted: https://on.ft.com/4aUu7kT

– Lilah wants less worrying about small talk. Here’s Jo Ellison’s column which that she mentions: https://on.ft.com/3Wk5Vnv

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Life and Art from F.T. Weekend. I'm Lila Raptopoulos, and this is our Friday chat show.
0:09.6	Today, we are talking about the buzzy new tennis film Challengers. This film, at its core, is a love triangle.
0:17.0	At one corner is a tennis star named Tashi, played by Zendaya, whose career-ending knee injury
0:23.0	has turned her into her husband's coach. Over the years, Tashi has made her husband,
0:28.0	Art, played by Mike Feist, into a Grand Slam world champion. But Art is off his game, so Tashi
0:34.9	has entered him into a lower-level challengers tournament just to get his confidence back.
0:40.1	At that tournament, they are confronted by the third in the triangle, which is his ex-best friend Patrick, played by Josh O'Connor, who's also Tashi's ex-boyfriend.
0:50.3	What ensues is a lot of tennis, conniving, sexual chemistry, and sweaty little shorts.
0:56.9	Art's got his coach, Tashi Donaldson, who also is his wife.
1:00.4	I'm playing for both of us, Tashi.
1:04.9	I think maybe disturbed by the fact that she could have been in a song like me.
1:09.0	When we were teenagers.
1:10.6	When were teenagers?
1:12.1	Hey, I love you.
1:16.1	I know.
1:18.8	This movie is directed by Luca Guadano of Call Me By Your Name Fame.
1:23.5	It has attracted tremendous hype for its steamy trailer, and critics so far are loving it.
1:29.2	So let's get into it. I'm Lila, and I'm dancing to Nellie's Houghton here from the very beginning to the very end.
1:34.9	Joining me from London is the F.T.'s deputy arts editor, our film expert, Raff Abraham. He is also a big tennis fan, and today he's trying to sell his signed racket for a free hotel room.
1:46.0	Welcome, Raff.
1:47.2	Thank you.
1:47.8	Good to be here.
	...

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