Zendaya's tennis-centric movie 'Challengers' makes smashing debut on Rotten Tomatoes with a perfect 100% rating

Zendaya’s latest tennis-centric drama 'Challengers' has made a smashing debut on Rotten Tomatoes, scoring a perfect 100% rating. The movie is directed by Luca Guadagnino who is known for films like 'Call Me by Your Name', and 'Bones and All.'

The movie was originally slated to premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival with a theatrical release in September 2023. However, due to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike last year, the its release was postponed to April 26, 2024.

'Challengers' boasts a star-studded cast, with Zendaya portraying the lead character, Tashi Donaldson, a former tennis prodigy turned tennis coach. After a knee injury sidelines her, Tashi takes on the role of coach for her husband, Art Donaldson.

The plot intensifies when Tashi finds herself coaching not only Art but also her ex-lover, Patrick Zweig, portrayed by Josh O’Connor. As Art and Patrick face off in a Challenger tournament, the trio becomes entangled in a love triangle, leading to a complex situation.

Rotten Tomatoes is a popular review-aggregation website for film and television. A film is considered "Fresh" if it receives more positive reviews than negative ones, and a score of 60% or higher earns a film a "Fresh" status.

It is worth noting that the ratings for the movie have since come down to 96% at the time of this writing.

Zendaya talked about her limited knowledge of tennis before 'Challengers' movie

Zendaya during "Challengers" Photocall

Zendaya confessed that her understanding of tennis was minimal prior to her involvement in the movie 'Challengers'. In the past few months, she has been actively promoting the film which is soon to be released.

In a recent interview with Vogue, Zendaya discussed various topics including 'Challengers', tennis, and her personal life, indicating that her interest in the game was primarily focused on Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Roger Federer.

"Serena and Venus [Williams] — that's all I connected to. And probably Roger Federer," Zendaya said.

The American actress had the privilege of being trained by Andre Agassi's former coach Brad Gilbert. Zendaya said that mastering the sport was a fluctuating experience, feeling like a pro one day and less so just a day later.

"The first little while was getting the basics, trying to just hit the f**king thing. One day you'd be like, Oh, sh*t, I cracked it. I figured it out. I got it. Come back in the next day…," she said.