Is ‘Challengers’ based on a true story? Inside the ending of tennis movie starring Zendaya

“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. 

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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. 

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Who won the match 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.

What happened at the end of ‘Challengers’?

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.