The film boasts a star-studded cast, and features Zendaya<\/a> as professional tennis player Tashi Duncan, while West Side Story<\/a>\u2018s Mike Faist<\/span> plays her husband, Art, <\/span>a champion on a losing streak.<\/span><\/p>\n Tashi\u2019s plan for Art\u2019s comeback takes an unexpected turn when he must play against Patrick (<\/span>The Crown\u2019<\/span><\/a>s Josh O\u2019Connor) \u2013 his former best friend and her former boyfriend \u2013 <\/span>in the Challengers tennis tournament, which soon reignites old rivalries and tensions.<\/span><\/p>\n The movie is being billed as a romantic sports comedy film, with Guadagnino<\/a> telling <\/span>IndieWire<\/span><\/a> that it would be his \u201cfirst comedy\u201d and calling it \u201ca fairly fizzy, sexy movie about the world of tennis\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n But is it based on a true story? Read on for everything you need to know.<\/span><\/p>\n No, it is thought to be entirely fictional<\/strong>, though <\/span>Guadagnino promised <\/span>Distractify<\/a> that the story is \u201cbeautifully complex\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Challengers might not be based on a true story, but it sounds like Zendaya is going to impress us with her tennis skills.<\/p>\n Zendaya reportedly trained for three months with former tennis pro Brad Gilbert, who also served as a consultant on the film, before taking on the role, according to Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe edited the movie and we almost actually don\u2019t use any of her double. She\u2019s so good,\u201d <\/span>Guadagnino told the publication of Zendaya.<\/span><\/p>\n Euphoria and Spider-Man<\/a> star Zendaya leads the cast of Challengers as Tashi Duncan.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, West Side Story\u2019s Mike Faist plays her husband, Art, and The Crown<\/span>\u2018s Josh O\u2019Connor stars as Patrick <\/span>\u2013 Art\u2019s former best friend and Tashi\u2019s former boyfriend.<\/span><\/p>\n The full cast list is as follows:<\/p>\n Challengers will arrive in cinemas on 15th September, 2023. Read more of our Film<\/a> coverage, or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n Take part in the Screen Test<\/a>, a project from Radio Times and the Universities of Sussex and Brighton, to explore the role of television and audio in our lives.<\/b><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only \u00a31 with delivery to your home \u2013 <\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to <\/strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n A trailer has given fans a first look at the love triangle movie. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":34172,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/is-challengers-based-on-a-true-story-zendaya-film-explained.png",2100,1401,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/is-challengers-based-on-a-true-story-zendaya-film-explained-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/is-challengers-based-on-a-true-story-zendaya-film-explained-300x200.png",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/is-challengers-based-on-a-true-story-zendaya-film-explained-768x512.png",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/is-challengers-based-on-a-true-story-zendaya-film-explained-1024x683.png",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/is-challengers-based-on-a-true-story-zendaya-film-explained-1536x1025.png",1536,1025,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/06\/is-challengers-based-on-a-true-story-zendaya-film-explained-2048x1366.png",2048,1366,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A trailer has given fans a first look at the love triangle movie.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/34171"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Is Challengers based on a true story?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\""Josh\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/06\/Challengers-trailer-47c81f2.png?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"Challengers\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Who stars in Challengers?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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