Challengers trailer shows Zendaya as a tennis pro caught in a love triangle

‘Spider-Man’ star plays a former tennis pro opposite Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist

Zendaya fans are gushing over the new trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s new film, Challengers.

The 26-year-old actor stars as Tashi Donaldson in the forthcoming movie, which follows a tennis player whose career is cut short by an injury. Meanwhile, she is caught up in a love triangle with her husband, and her lover and now-best friend.

According to the official synopsis, the movie will depict “three players who knew each other when they were teenagers as they compete in a tennis tournament to be the world-famous grand slam winner and reignite old rivalries on and off the court”.

Challengers also stars The Crown’s Josh O’Connor and West Side Story’s Mike Faist.

The film’s new trailer was released on Tuesday (20 June), leaving fans in a frenzy over scenes showing Zendaya kissing both O’Connor and Faist’s characters.

“Zendaya takes another step towards world domination,” one fan wrote.

Another person added: “Saw the trailer for the Challengers movie and I’m rooting for Zendaya’s character to get with both of them… they too fine.”

One person wrote: “Who can sleep on a day like today? I need Challengers movie now!”

“I think this new Challengers movie will be Zendaya’s very own Monster’s Ball performance,” one fan wrote, referring to the 2001 romantic drama starring Halle Berry and the late Heath Ledger.

“If it’s as salacious as it seems, she might get Best Actress.”

Another person added: “The range Zendaya will have in this movie will be insane I can already feel it.”

During a press call for his 2022 film Bones and All, director Guadagnino described Challengers as a story about a trio of “f***ed-up people”.

Challengers is produced by Amy Pascal and her Pascal Pictures banner, as well as Guadagnino and Zendaya.

The script was written by Justin Kuritzkes and featured on the 2021 Black List, a ranking of the best non-produced scripts in Hollywood.

On Tuesday (20 June), Zendaya made an appearance at Pharrell Williams’s Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2024 at Paris’s Pont Neuf bridge. She wore a glittering set composed of a baggy collared blouse and flared trousers.

The Spider-Man: No Way Home star sat next to Beyoncé and Jay-Z during the show.

Challengers is out in cinemas on 11 August.