Watch 'Challengers' – the Sexiest Movie of the Year – on MGM+

Zendaya's sexy tennis romance 'Challengers' is now available on Sling TV. Here's how to watch with or without a base subscription to Sling.

If you were to make a romantic movie set in the world of tennis, there’s plenty of sport-specific jargon you could use in it’s title: “Love”, “Match”, “Doubles”, perhaps even “Balls.” But for his film about a love triangle between those on the margins of professional tennis, Italian director Luca Guadagnino instead went with Challengers, a word most casual tennis fans might not be familiar with.

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Turns out this is the perfect name for a movie that treats romance with the same competitive zeal as a high-stakes tennis match (a “challenger” event in tennis is one tier below the ATP tour, akin to Triple-A baseball). A never-better Zendya stars as Tashi Duncan, a rising tennis star who meets Junior Doubles champs Patrick Zweig (Emmy-winner Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist). The pair becomes instantly infatuated with her, leading to a brief tryst, which spins-off into the two men competing for Tashi’s affections (the marketing oversells intimations about them being in a “throuple”).

Believable chemistry between the leads is essential, and Guadagnino found it in all three actors. O’Connor and Faist are completely credible as longtime friends turned rivals, and Zendya plays the role of Tashi with a believable mixture of ambition and recklessness. They also sell the scenes on the tennis court, where they genuninely look (and are shot) like tennis pros.

The movie is also sexy as hell. While there’s little nudity (at least in the sex scenes), the oft-discussed threesome makeout is shot in a way that mirrors the character’s own astonishment at its progression. In fact, the entire film is beautifully photographed by Guadagnino’s longtime cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom. It also has a killer score by Oscar-winners Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor, which harkens back to the industrial dance sounds of Nine Inch Nails’ classic debut Pretty Hate Machine.

However, Challengers does not win in straight sets; it has a non-linear structure that sometimes feels unnecessary, and slow pacing bogs down the first act. Nevertheless, the movie builds to a clever climax and satisfying ending – more metaphors that apply to both sex and tennis. It may not be quite as salacious as its trailer (or, frankly, the headline of this post) suggests, but, to borrow one last sports expression, Challengers is still a big winner.

Challengers is now available on MGM+, which you can add to your Sling account for just $5 per month, no subscription to our Sling base Orange or Blue service required! If you’re an MGM+ subscriber with Sling, you can watch Challengers by clicking this link, or follow the link below to take advantage of our Premium Pass offer and add MGM+ to you Sling account today!

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