Game, sex, match.

Sports films are a great many things, but sexy is not generally one of them. Inspiring, adrenaline pumping, feel-good - yes. In any way sexual - absolutely not.

It’s not even the genre’s fault. It’s just how it is. Looking back at the long history of the sports film, it’s hard to pinpoint many, if any, that don’t possess the sex appeal of a used jockstrap; and of all the sports out there, surely one of the prime purveyors of this sexless void is tennis.

Prim, proper, and populated by very skilled, very driven, but largely rather dull, personalities, tennis really isn’t the place to look for provocative entertainment. So, considering the tall task he’s set himself with Challengers, can Luca Guadagnino achieve the seemingly impossible and make tennis hot?

Former tennis prodigy turned coach, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), has worked hard to transform her husband, Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), from a mediocre player into a grand slam champion. In a bid to jolt him out of a losing streak, she enters him into a lowly challenger event, however, this redemption strategy takes a surprising turn when Art is pit against the washed-up Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) - his former best friend and Tashi's ex. As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself - what will it cost to win?

There are, of course, many metrics to measure a movie’s success. Whether it’s critical reception, awards, or cold, hard box office cash; judging the performance of a film rarely hinges on one specific thing. That said, managing to make tennis sexually appealing must trump them all.

In all seriousness, tennis is a wonderful sport with a lot going for it, yet hotness is certainly not one of them, so it should never be understated just what an achievement this is from Luca Guadagnino. In fact, no sport - tennis or otherwise - has ever looked quite this outrageously spicy on the big screen, and a great deal of the credit for this must go to the film’s director.

Taking the simmering energy of previous efforts like Call Me by Your Name, Suspiria, and Bones and All, and ramping it all up a few notches, Guadagnino brings the sauce once again to turn what could’ve been a mundane romantic sports drama into a story sizzling with style and sensuality. With the swagger of a filmmaker full of confidence, Guadagnino puts absolutely everything he’s got into Challengers, serving the kind of ace he’s been threatening for a while now.

An ultra-stylish, razor-sharp love triangle drama and an incisive dissection of fame, desire, and ambition first and a tennis film second, Challengers certainly leans in on its sport where necessary, yet never once makes the story about it. Yes, this is of course a tennis movie, however, as we sink deeper and deeper into the mechanics of the story, it’s clear that this is anything but a movie about tennis.

As fun as it may be, pigeonholing Challengers as merely a sexy tennis film feels somewhat reductive, and anyone aware of Luca Guadagnino’s work to date will know his films, while offering plenty of surface level buzz, go far deeper than that. Yes, Challengers is indeed a sleek and sexy little number with one of the world’s hottest stars front and centre, however, be prepared for a far more satisfying ride than its surface suggests.

As a relationship piece, Challengers is an absolute winner, taking in the various nuances, complicities, emotional quirks, and subtle power plays that comprise your average relationship. Despite the heightened heat of the film’s story and the narrative’s inherent soapiness, Challengers nails its various relationship dynamics far more accurately and with far more delicacy than it has any right to.

Neatly avoiding the precarious descent into melodrama, the film’s script is a deftly balanced beast that’s fully aware of the pulling power of its central love triangle, yet never jumps the shark with it. Through this, writer Justin Kuritzkes hits the sweet spot and runs with it, layering up simmering drama, playful comedy, immersive tension, and sexual intrigue in a story that’s impossible to take your eyes off.

As the conduit for this, Challengers’ constantly undulating, multi-layered structure certainly takes its time to bed in, however, when it clicks it clicks. With three concurrent timelines weaving their way through the narrative, all centred around one pulsating match between our two male protagonists, Kuritzkes’ writing does a remarkable job of keeping entertainment levels up and engagement levels high, as the story and the core relationship dynamics gradually reveal themselves.

This constant rallying backwards and forwards of timelines can sometimes be a disorientating experience, and while there are moments where the story overplays things to the point of self-satisfied smugness, which in turn drags the narrative out a little, the film’s pacing is otherwise on point.

While not inherently a bad thing, there are certainly moments within Challengers’ drawn out slow-mo sequences, brazen camerawork, and brash editing choices that the film appears very much in love with itself. With Guadagnino’s signature style present, correct, and turned up to eleven, his film is unabashedly self-centred, and with the director firing on all cylinders, the balls-to-the-wall swagger on display is positively infectious, if not anywhere near as transgressive as it believes itself to be.

Spurred on by a sweaty, driving, perpetually pounding Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross score (one of their finest, no less), Challengers drips with a special brand of irrepressibly flamboyant energy. Sure, it’s all relentlessly self-indulgent, yet the visual, audio, and storytelling cocktail on offer is an incredibly intoxicating one, turning potentially lukewarm subject matter into something red hot.

As the plot buzzes backwards and forwards in time faster than a Djokovic backhand, it’s clear Guadagnino has put everything he’s got into proceedings and into sweeping us up in his ever-evolving, continually revealing story; however, all the director’s efforts would be for nowt if the film’s stars weren’t up to the task.

Make no mistake, this is a film that bets big on its stars, hoping that the threesome upon which its entire story hinges click. And boy, does that bet pay off handsomely, because when these three click, they really do click.

Operating in perfect unison and all equally as effective as one another, it really is impossible to place any one of the trio above the others, however, as the central figure of the throuple, and the undoubted star of the show, it would be remiss to overlook the immense role Zendaya plays in Challengers’ success.

Caught in the middle of the relationship but with total control over proceedings, Zendaya’s Tashi is bursting with charisma, power, fragility, and confidence and by far the most fleshed out character of the three. It’s almost par for the course these days, but Zendaya’s performance really is that good, embodying the character perfectly and wringing every drop of emotion she can out of the scenario, proving in perhaps her biggest role to date that she truly is destined for huge things in the not-too-distant future.

With grace, poise, and authority to spare, Zendaya commands the screen, proving she’s more than capable of the physical graft a role like this demands while showcasing an impressive range and an emotional openness that effortlessly bounces off those around her. Honestly, there’s a good chance anyone put next to Zendaya would be elevated by association alone, however, what takes Challengers to another level entirely is just how significant the contributions of the film’s two male stars are.

While perhaps not household names like their female co-star, both Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist are undoubted stars in their own right, as they not only step up to the plate individually but work wonderfully in tandem with one another. Playing friends, enemies, and love rivals certainly risks sending both actors down a melodrama rabbit hole, yet they manage to steer well clear while putting in the best performances of their relatively short big screen careers.

Whether it’s the relatively light-hearted comedy of the early flashbacks or the taught emotional strings that tighten as the story progresses, O’Connor and Faist are a revelation, both within themselves and with one another; ultimately forming a powerful and infinitely charismatic trio with Zendaya that turns what could have been something dry and vacuous into a story bursting with life and energy.

Working in perfect unison with Luca Guadagnino’s meticulous direction and Justin Kuritzkes’ mesmeric storytelling, these three performances help push Challengers to be the best it can be, grounding the story when it threatens to lose itself in its showmanship while adding satisfying levels of sexual and competitive tension to ensure Challengers emerges victorious.

Sexy as hell and sizzling with style, Challengers may not be as transgressive as it likes to think it is, yet it does achieve the impossible by making tennis hot. With Luca Guadagnino serving the sauce, Reznor and Ross serving the beats, and all three of its stars serving aces, Challengers is a highly evocative examination of the thin line between love and competition, and a kinetic, provocative love triangle drama with flair, energy, and sensuality to burn.

Challengers is in cinemas now.