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What did the ending of The Challengers mean?

There is a lot of tension between Tashi, Art, and Patrick throughout the movie, and it all builds to the titular Challenger match. It's Art vs. Patrick, and they're playing for way more than just the title and the money (though of course, they're definitely playing for the title and the money) — this is one final chance to prove themselves to Tashi, who's sitting court-side looking very unimpressed.

Both men lose their cool during different sets, but it's in the third and final set that everything comes to a head. At the end of the match, Patrick confesses to sleeping with Tashi using a tennis ball and racket signal only Art recognizes. For a split second Art is is complete shock, and I expected him to completely lose it. And, technically, he does, but in a totally unexpected way. Rather than jump the net and punch Patrick in the face, Art channels his emotions into his tennis, and the fury he feels actually allows him break through whatever slump he's been stuck in.

Unable to have a conversation about Patrick's secret, Art and Patrick talk with their serves and returns. And because Tashi doesn't catch the signal, for the first time in the whole movie, she's cut out of the conversation.

Did Tashi love Art and Patrick?

Tashi's been pulling the strings ever since she met Art and Patrick, and she's never not been in control. After Patrick sends the signal, she knows something is going on between them, she just doesn't know what — and it unnerves her. Thanks to Zendaya's expert subtlety, the twitch of her eyebrow or the particularly anxious way she grips her hands are the only things that give her away. But her confusion, and the men's anger, quickly turn to pure joy in the final moments of the movie.

Patrick and Art end up playing so intensely that they meet at the net and embrace, prompting Tashi's iconic tennis yell before she gives one of her first genuine laughs of the film and the screen cuts to black. The first time I saw the movie, I thought "What?!" but the more I think about it, the clearer the Challengers ending is.

Patrick and Art (whose relationship begins six or seven years before the movie opens) haven't spoken since the big fight surrounding Tashi's injury, and their hug proves they're just happy to be playing together again. It's what they've always loved, and their fight over Tashi almost ended it forever. Tashi's pure elation shows she's happy to watch some good tennis, especially after she failed to help Art break out of his rut.

We've only seen Tashi scream like that once before, when she admits to a perfect tennis match. While Tashi does care for Patrick and Art, the end of Challengers proves the characters' true love was never really each other — it was always the game.

"Challengers" Is A Fully Emotional Experience

Challengers (directed by Luca Guadagnino) is a full experience thanks to the visuals, sound design, and score. The first 10 minutes alone will make you want to re-enter your tennis era, and the vibrant feel of Challengers makes everything from a American college campus to a backyard feel like the Italian coast.

This backyard is where we see Mike Faist's Art, Josh O'Connor's Patrick, and Zendaya's Tashi truly mesh for the first time. Both Art and Patrick want Tashi's number, but while she's curious, she's not so sure she should offer it up. They spend time talking about tennis and college, and later that night, Tashi promises her number to the one that wins their match, rather than the one that catches her eye or moves her. It's a telling choice that has major ramifications later on in the story. Tashi just wants to watch drama unfold, especially if it makes the boys' tennis more emotional (she, as the kids say, loves mess).

From this point on, Tashi, Patrick, and Art move as a unit, even when their relationships end. Tashi's at the helm, and while she's definitely the mastermind, she's more like their North Star than a leader giving them direct orders. Patrick and Art follow her light over the course of the next 13 years, to a Challengers tournament that pits the estranged friends against each other.

It's very clear what both men think about her, and the smallest details reinforce they are in love. (For instance, at one of Tashi's early matches, their eyes linger on her even after she's hit the ball, while she barely moves a muscle to keep up with their match later in the movie).

"Challengers" Is More About The Characters Than Tennis

Even though all three leads are fully-formed, individual characters (with wildly different personalities, might I add), they switch places at any given point in the story to fill each other's emotional shoes. One moment, Art is hopeful, Tashi is calculated, and Patrick is driven. The next Tashi is entirely focused on tennis, Art is willing to bend the rules of right and wrong to get what he wants, and Patrick is left in their wake. You can never truly root for one person before the tables are turned, but despite it all, the tension between them always leaves you wanting more.

While the movie has a number of tennis matches (which means an endless amount of tennis grunts), the most impactful moments for me are the quiet ones. We know Art and Patrick are in love with Tashi, but we're never quite sure what Tashi thinks about herself.

The Spider-Man actress brings a nuance to the character we haven't seen from her before, and there's a cautious tenderness to the moments where Tashi's back is facing another character, or where she's standing alone. You can almost see the gears turning in her head. "Almost" is the most important word because Challengers is full of "almosts": Tashi almost apologizes, Art almost chooses himself over everyone.

Challengers is full of open-ended emotions that serve as an exploration of human nature in all its complicated, manipulative, dreamy glory. It's a movie about passion and love and desire — and it's one that leaves you wondering who, or what, the object of that desire is.

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