“Basically Federer-Mirka-Nadal Wattpad fanfic” – Fans react to 'Challengers’ screenwriter basing Zendaya’s character on Swiss icon's wife

Playwright Justin Kuritzkes recently claimed to have been inspired by Roger Federer's wife Mirka while writing Zendaya's character in the recently released film 'Challengers'.

'Challengers' is inspired by the story of former tennis player Tashi Donaldson's journey as a coach of her husband Art Donaldson, played by Mike Faist, after her career has been cut short by an injury.

Kuritzkes admitted to drawing parallels between Tashi and Mirka's lives as the latter gave up on her tennis dreams because of a foot injury and began managing her husband Federer.

At this, fans on X (formerly Twitter) inferred that the plot of 'Challengers' is fictional based on the Swiss Maestro and Rafael Nadal's co-existence on tour considering Josh O'Connors' character Patrick Zweig as the Spaniard.

"We are slowly heading to territory where we will finally get the confirmation that this movie is based on a fedal fic," one fan stated.

"Challengers is basically Federer-Mirka-Nadal wattpad fanfic," claimed another.

Here are a few more reactions from X:

"So they’ve absolutely had a threesome with Nadal then," a fan wrote.

"Okay so there’s layers to this. Look at the how similar their outfits are. Federer had a UNIQLO and On Cloud deal (which are the brands Art wears in his last match) but also was an ambassador for Wilson just like Art..," a fan tweeted.

"This is interesting because when the trailer came out I saw someone ask if the movie was based on her," a fan commented.

"My jaw went to the floor," a fan wrote.

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"My wife's been so supportive, she could've stopped me a long, long time ago but she kept me going" - Roger Federer's emotional remark on Mirka in his retirement speech

A photo from the 2022 Laver Cup

Roger Federer played his farewell match at the Laver Cup in September 2022. Notably in his last speech as a pro, he thanked his wife Mirka for her selfless contribution to his career.

Federer suggested that Mirka could have told him to quit tennis long before he actually did but decided not to and he was thankful for it. He said (at 4:55):

"Everybody is here tonight... my family, so it’s great. I had so much fun over the last 13 years. Everybody's here - the girls, the boys."

"My wife's been so supportive she could've stopped me a long, long time ago. But ‘you’ didn’t, she kept me going and allowed me to play. So, it’s amazing. Thank you!"

The Swiss Maestro turned professional in the year 1998 and amassed 20 Grand Slam titles before hanging up his racket.