After months of anticipation since its first trailer dropped, Zendaya’s latest film Challengers finally hit the theatres on Friday, 26 April. As it opened to rave reviews, the actress has been heralded as the heart and soul of the movie by fans and critics alike. However, many viewers also have a couple of pertinent questions on their minds — is the movie a real-life adaptation? And what is the Challenger tennis tournament that bestows Challengers with its name?
To answer the first query, no, the plot is not based on any real-life incident. Making a fictional tale life-like is an extension of American playwright Justin Kuritzkes’ genius. The brilliance of Oscar-nominee Luca Guadagnino as a director simply adds to the charm.
Now coming to the second question, the Challenger event that provides the Zendaya-starrer with its platform for the climax is, in fact, a real tennis tournament. We will talk about it in detail, but first, here is…
A quick synopsis of the plot of the movie ‘Challengers’
For childhood friends Patrick Zweig (played by Emmy-winner Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (portrayed by BAFTA-nominee Mike Faist), life was going great, especially when the two high schoolers won the boys’ junior doubles title at the US Open. However, their journey took an unexpected turn the moment they met Zendaya’s Tashi Duncan, a tennis prodigy, leading to a messy love triangle.
When in college, Tashi and Patrick first got involved romantically. However, there was considerable tension in this love triangle. One fine day, Tashi’s tennis career took a huge hit when she suffered a knee injury that prematurely ended her career as a player. Her relationship with Patrick was also severed as a result.
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A few years down the line, Tashi and Art got married, and she even became her tennis coach. Under her tutelage, Art became a successful tennis player. However, his career received an impediment in the form of an injury. Even after his recovery, Art struggled to rediscover his form. It was during such circumstances that Tashi entered her husband in a Challenger event.
For Art’s redemption, Tashi chalks out a strategy to ensure that he gets back to winning ways. However, Tashi and Art’s plan receives a sudden jolt when the latter ends up facing Patrick in the final.
Are you curious to know how the story pans out hereon and who wins the final tennis match in Challengers? Well, we won’t be giving any spoilers! Head to your nearest movie theatre and find out what eventually happens to this ever-shifting love triangle.
Everything you need to know about the Challenger tennis tournament
Set in New York, the Challenger tennis tournament is based on the ATP Challenger Tour. Organised by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the Challenger Tour is the second-highest tier of men’s tennis tournaments. For context, the ATP Tour is the highest level of men’s tennis tournaments and includes the four Grand Slams.
Held for the first time in 1978, the Challenger Tour was earlier known as the ATP Challenger Series. It was rebranded to its current iteration in 2009 and has grown exponentially over the years.
The inaugural Challenger Series featured 18 events. In comparison, the last ATP Challenger Series in 2008 had 178 events that were played in more than 40 nations.
Which players are a part of the ATP Challenger Tour?
Because of the low prize money pool and ATP points on offer, top tennis players usually refrain from partaking in the Challenger Tour tournaments. So the question that pops up is — which tennis players actually participate in the Challenger Tour events?
Players who rank between 50 and 500 on the ATP World Rankings are usually seen at the Challenger Tour tournaments. However, an exception to this rule happens when a player, who has previously been successful on the ATP Tour but dropped down in the world rankings, looks to get back to the highest tier by gaining sufficient points on the Challenger Tour.
This is what the film Challengers has also demonstrated — Art enters the Challenger tennis tournament so that he can gain momentum and vie for the US Open title to complete his Career Grand Slam. For the unversed, a Career Grand Slam in tennis refers to the impressive feat of a player winning all four Grand Slam titles – Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
A look at the most successful players on the ATP Challenger Tour
Former Taiwanese tennis star Lu Yen-husn, popularly known by his nickname Rendy Lu, remains the most successful singles player on the ATP Challenger Tour with 29 titles to his name. He is followed by Israel’s David ‘Dudi’ Sela (23 titles) and Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi (21 titles).
With 423 wins, Spaniard Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo holds the record for the most matches won on the ATP Challenger Tour. Lorenzi ranks second on the list with 421 wins, while Japan’s Go Soeda is third with 409 wins.
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(Main Image Credits: IMDb and ATP Tour; Featured Image Credits: IMDb)
