Challengers, the new film set in the world of professional tennis, starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, has secured the high-profile opening film slot at the Venice film festival.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the Italian film-maker best known for Call Me By Your Name and Bones and All, Challengers features Zendaya as a player turned coach called Tashi whose husband (Faist) has to play her ex-boyfriend (O’Connor) in a key game. According to the synopsis provided by the festival: “As their pasts and presents collide and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself what will it cost to win.”

As one of Italy’s most prominent directors, Guadagnino has appeared regularly at Venice; vampire romance Bones and All was selected for the Golden Lion competition in 2022, as was his horror remake Suspiria and psychological drama A Bigger Splash in 2018 and 2015 respectively. Challengers will not compete for the Golden Lion, but the festival is often a springboard to significant international success: recent examples include Parallel Mothers in 2021, La La Land in 2016, and Birdman in 2014.

Festival director Alberto Barbera said in a statement: “With a light hand and sporting self-confidence, Guadagnino sets no limits to his creative energy in this film as he deals with topics such as love, friendship and male rivalry, and brings to life an enthralling and affecting movie, full of irony, sensuality, and good nature. Cinema in its purest form.” Guadagnino said: “As a film-maker, it is a dream come true.”

The Venice film festival starts on 30 August and runs until 9 September.