Fact Check: Is the Challengers Based on a True Story?

Challengers, a tennis drama released on March 26, 2024, directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes, features Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, Josh O'Connor as Patrick Zweig and Mike Faist as Art Donaldson.

No, the film Challengers, is not based on a true story. The writer Justin Kuritzkes took inspiration for the story from a high-profile tennis match at the US Open 2018, between Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.

While the match was about to conclude, Serena Williams was penalized by the referee, who suspected her of cheating and said that she was receiving coaching from the sidelines, which she denied.

Talking to the coach while the game is on, is not illegal, and when Williams was penalized, that moment struck Kuritzkes as something specifically cinematic.

Andre Agassi's autobiography Open, has also inspired the movie intensively. All the characters in the movie are completely fictional, though.

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What is Challengers all about?

What is the film all about: Is it just a movie about tennis, or is tennis just used as a metaphor? (Image by Warner Bros)

The film Challengers is about a professional tennis player Art Donaldson (Patrick Zweig), who has been a former champion.

The story revolves around his comeback to the game, with his wife Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), playing a pivotal role in his comeback journey. She's also a great tennis player, who has retired from the sports, following an injury.

Things take a turn and become interesting, when Art has to play against Patrick Zweig (Josh O Connor), who is not only his wife’s former lover, but also his best friend.

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Is Tashi Duncan a real person?

Is Tashi Duncan, played by Zendaya in the movie Challengers, a real person? (Image by Warner Bros)

No, Tashi Duncan is not a real person, and Challengers is not based on a true story as confirmed by its writer Justin Kuritzkes.

All the characters in the film, including the character of Tashi Duncan, played by Zendaya, are purely fictional. Zendaya, though, worked hard on her tennis skills to make her role in the movie as a tennis player and coach more authentic and unmistakable.

The story is inspired by events and stories from the world of tennis.

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Did Zendaya learn to play Tennis?

Yes, Zendaya learned how to play tennis, for the movie with the help of Brad Gilbert, who is a professional tennis player. Brad, in an interview with Tennis365, talked about training for the film and said :

"We would train early in Boston. We would do a couple of hours every day and then a couple of hours in the gym, they had long days — a lot of time in Boston we were in the car by 6 a.m."

Zendaya admitted that she went to tennis school but did not manage to get good at the sport.

She was never a fan of the game, but, for the movie, she decided to learn the tennis moves the same way she learned her dance and action moves, with felicitous choreography.

In an interview with the Daily Mail in April 2024, Zendaya talked about her training sessions while preparing for the movie and said :

"We just trained beside each other, we did our tennis practice beside each other, we did rehearsals and we had incredible tennis doubles as well that we learned from and worked beside and who also made us look good."

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Fans worldwide can now enjoy the film Challengers in their nearby theatres.