The story of "Challengers" deals with the fallout after Zendaya's Tashi suffers a career-ending leg injury at the height of her career. She marries Faist's character Art who winds up competing against his former best friend who also happens to be her ex-lover. That shared history provides a lot of opportunity for the kind of conflict Guadagnino wanted to explore that goes far beyond just sex. "What Luca's really good at is finding sensuality and desire," Zendaya told Empire magazine. "There's so much in just glances. The tension builds. Not having the release is a good thing sometimes."

That's all to say that the former throuple in "Challengers" is more concerned with winning in front of a crowd than any conquests happening in private. O'Connor clarified: 

"The tennis is the sex. Those moments are so sexy. The film is dealing with the tension before and after. The sex they're all desperate for is on the court."

From the sound of it, "Challengers" has more in common with the thriller "Match Point" starring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers than the light and wispy British rom-com "Wimbledon." Any physical seduction looks to take place early on, causing all three characters to deal with the repercussions of their actions and the ripple effect it causes in their lives.