Zendaya's 'Challengers' has all the ingredients to be a modern classic — but is it queer?

The high-intensity tennis film has all the right ingredients to become a cult classic with a witty, sly humor that cuts through its thriller elements deserving all the praise, but is it inherently queer?

The tennis love child of Cruel Intentions and Love & Basketball is the best way to describe Luca Guadagnino's Challengers. Tashi (Zendaya), a former tennis prodigy turned coach, is married to Art (Mike Faist), a champion on a losing streak. Her strategy for Art's redemption takes a surprising turn when he faces off against his washed-up former tennis doubles partner and best friend, Patrick (Josh O'Connor), who is Tashi's ex-boyfriend. The new sports thriller, told in three timelines, follows the entangled history of these three friends bound by their love of tennis and the aftermath of their complicated love triangle in the present day.

Throughout Challengers, viewers will learn that tennis is like a relationship, a passionate back-and-forth game for Tashi. In both, she will do anything to come out on top, studying her opponent and partner's weak spots and using them to her advantage. Zendaya's portrayal of Tashi is that of a dominatrix looking to dominate on and off the court. She plays the gray area well. Her delivery of the complex character will entice viewers with her badass nature to win by any means to the point of cheering her on, even her more unsavory actions. While all of Zendaya's previous roles shape her depiction of Tashi, one thing is clear: she's shed her child actor reputation, stepping fully into the greatness that makes movie stars. While Tashi isn't explicitly queer, she is queer-coded; the character serves up dominant fem-top energy and commands every scene.

Viewers can find the more explicitly queer elements of the Challengers in the characters Art and Patrick, childhood best friends who embarked on the sport of tennis, playing doubles together. They have a homoerotic friendship, becoming the best pals who do everything together, whether on the court or in life. The two are not only introduced to tennis together but into their manhood, sharing a discovery of masturbation during a sleepover. This story is told during a hangout session with Tashi after one of their last matches before going to college (sans Patrick, who opts to go pro instead), where things turn into a steamy throuple situation.

In this scene, in particular, Tashi's dominant fem-top energy is on full display as she lays back and watches the two best friends continue to make-out with each other. Although she's reluctant to break up their happy home in their pursuit of her, she offers the two a challenge: whoever wins their match against each other gets her number. In this particular scene and throughout Challengers, one thing is clear: white men really get to explore their sexuality and not be questioned for it and write it off as a one-time experience.

For those seeking the homoerotica chemistry teased in the trailer, Challengers does not disappoint. Faist and O'Connor go for gold in that department. The trio of co-leads delivers an enticing chemistry that you can't look away from, making Guadagnino's Challengers a great candidate to become a queer cult classic.

Challengers premieres in theaters on April 26, 2024.

CHALLENGERS | Official Trailer 2 Her Game. Her Rules. Watch the new trailer for #ChallengersMovie and see the film only in theaters April 26. Head to ...