“Challengers” has taken the film world by storm, blending a compelling tennis storyline with a love story riddled with everything from jealousy to betrayal.

Starring Zendaya, the movie depicts two rising tennis players who vie for the love of another young tennis star whose career is cut short by injury. That’s only the half of it, as the relationship between each character becomes strained at some point along the way.

There are enough twists and turns to make the movie seem like a great piece of fiction, but reality is often stranger than fiction. That especially tends to be true in sports.

Here’s what you need to know about “Challengers” and whether the events are based on a true story.

Is ‘Challengers’ based on a true story?

“Challengers” is not based on a true story, though the idea for the movie didn’t come without real-life inspiration for writer Justin Kuritzkes.

Tashi, played by Zendaya, was inspired by Roger Federer’s wife, Mirka. Kuritzkes told GQ that he took note of how “stressed out” she looked throughout the 2019 Wimbledon final between her husband and Novak Djokovic, which led him to dig deeper into her backstory.

“She kind of became [her husband’s] manager and sort of managed his life,” Kuritzkes said, explaining that Mirka had a tennis career of her own before it was prematurely cut off by injuries.

It’s not hard to see the ties between Mirka Federer’s story and Tashi’s story in “Challengers,” as Zendaya’s character also has her own tennis career cut short by an injury. She goes into coaching and managing, much like Mirka was a prominent part of her husband’s career at every level.

It’s only fitting that the 2019 Wimbledon match between Djokovic and Federer would inspire a hit movie. The match itself was cinematic, featuring two all-time greats going down to the wire in a nearly five-hour battle. Djokovic won 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12 with the final set decided by a lengthy tiebreaker.

Mirka Federer’s visible stress while having to watch without any control over the outcome is likely the reaction many fans had at home, even without such close ties to the competitors.

Kuritzkes also told reporters that the idea for the tennis-focused screenplay initially came when Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams battled for the US Open title in a controversial 2018 match.

Who won in ‘Challengers’?

After plenty of manipulation and cheating, Tashi looks on as Art and Patrick, now no longer close to each other, battle in New Rochelle, N.Y. in the final match of a tournament.

All three, including Tashi, show up with something to prove, whether to each other or to themselves. Patrick is looking to recapture his tennis stardom, but he’s also aiming for revenge against Art in more ways than one. Their frustration with each other leads to a long, drawn-out match.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t reveal who actually wins. While one can claim Tashi actually “won” from the crowd just by her interest in the thrill of the match, the true winner of the match is never revealed. Here’s a closer look at why that might be.

‘Challengers’ movie ending, explained

The creators of “Challengers” presumably want you to come to your own conclusion about the end of the movie, and one popular conclusion is that all three characters involved actually won in some form.

Patrick already got his revenge on Art by sharing an intimate moment with Tashi, to the point that he initially agrees to throw the match because he’s already satisfied enough. Additionally, by performing so well in the tournament and proving he can compete with Art, Patrick has already regained confidence in his abilities on the tennis court.

Art is the most likely winner of the match that doesn’t actually end, but beyond wins and losses, he also proved to himself that he can win the US Open. That’s precisely what he set out to do when he arrived at the tournament. That gets him back in Tashi’s good graces, even if he’s dealing with some embarrassment by Patrick.

The idea that Tashi is also a winner despite not participating comes from the reality that she once again has both Patrick and Art fighting for her attention and affection. Beyond that, though, tennis is often her true love throughout the movie. Tashi seems to fall in love with tennis again when she sees how competitively Art and Patrick are playing each other in the final match.

The movie ends with Tashi showing emotion over the match and the physical and mental battle between Art and Patrick. Is that what she wanted all along? If so, it’s hard not to call Tashi the winner in the end.

What is the movie ‘Challengers’ about?

‘Challengers’ focuses on three rising tennis players: Tashi, Art and Patrick. As each is building their own tennis career, a love triangle forms.

Patrick initially dates Tashi, but both Tashi and Art go to Stanford University while Patrick turns professional. Tashi’s life then begins to unravel, as both her relationship with Patrick and her own tennis career fall apart amid a serious knee injury.

Tashi ultimately kindles a relationship with Art, and the two get engaged while Patrick and Art quickly grow apart. Meanwhile, Art’s career takes off with Tashi as his coach while Patrick’s career fades. That all sets up for one final showdown between Art and Patrick, with Tashi in the crowd watching.

‘Challengers’ movie cast

‘Challengers’ relies heavily on Tashi, Patrick and Art as its main characters. Here are the actors for all three roles:

Zendaya (plays Tashi Duncan)
Josh O’Connor (plays Patrick Zweig)
Mike Faist (Art Donaldson)

‘Challengers’ box office

‘Challengers’ has made $52.4 million worldwide at the box office to this point, including $29 million in the U.S. The film made just over $15 million domestically on the opening weekend.

The budget for ‘Challengers’ was $55 million, a figure that is easily on track to be surpassed at the box office.

Reactions to ‘Challengers’

Zendaya revealed that Serena Williams gave her the seal of approval for her tennis skills in the movie, praising her work for someone who had never touched a tennis ball before.

“She was like, ‘I know there definitely weren’t real [tennis] balls,’” Zendaya said Williams told her, but the tennis legend still approved despite the technicality.

Tennis star Coco Gauff also chimed in after seeing ‘Challengers,’ hilariously explaining that she also “would not want to date a scrub on tour.”