‘Challengers’ Ending Explained: Who Wins the Final Match?

Get ready to say “Yeah” times ten, because Challengers is now available to stream for free for Prime subscribers on Amazon Prime Video.

This sexy sports drama from filmmaker Luca Guadagnino has everyone talking. Zendaya stars Tashi Duncan, a once-great tennis player forced to retire to a life of coaching after a career-ruining injury. She lives vicariously through her husband, fictional pro tennis player Art Donaldson (Mike Faist). Then an old romantic and tennis rival, Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), reenters their lives. The stakes—of their careers and their relationship—have never been higher.

Even though Challengers came out back in April, it’s a favorite for “Best Movies of 2024” lists. Plenty of people who missed the movie in theaters will want to stream it on Amazon Prime. If you’re one of those people, and you find yourself confused by the Challengers ending, don’t worry. Decider is here to help. Read on for the Challengers ending explained, the Challengers ending meaning, and who wins the final match in Challengers.

Challengers movie plot summary:

The movie opens in the year 2019, during a tennis match between Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist). Even though the match takes place at the low-stakes New Rochelle Challenger, you can feel that this game is tense and personal.

We soon learn why via a flashback to 2006. Patrick and Art used to be doubles partners, and also best friends. We see them hug fiercely, after they win the boys’ junior doubles title at the U.S. Open. After the game, both boys are struck by the talent and beauty of Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), the junior girls’ champion. The boys pursue Tashi at a party later, and the trio philosophizes about tennis.

Tashi explains that, to her, tennis is a relationship between the opponents. “For about 15 seconds there, we were actually playing tennis,” Tashi says, of her earlier match. “We understood each other completely. So did everyone watching. It was like we were in love. Or like we didn’t exist. We went somewhere really beautiful together.”

Art notes that after she won the match, Tashi screamed out, “C’mon!” It was a scream satisfaction, almost like climaxing during sex.

Later, Tashi comes to Patrick and Art’s hotel room. It’s clear they both want to hook up with, and Tashi initiates a three-way kiss—kissing both Patrick and Art, and then leading them to kiss each other. But before things can go further, Tashi leaves. She says that whoever wins in Patrick and Art’s match tomorrow can have her number. Then she tells Art that, even though he believes Patrick to be the superior player, she believes Art can win.

“Are you saying you want me to?” Patrick asks.

“I’m saying you’re not going to get my number if you don’t,” Tashi replies.

“But what do you want?”

“I want to watch some good fucking tennis.”

From the beginning, the movie sets up that Art cares more about Tashi than tennis, and that Tashi cares more about tennis than Art.

In the end, Patrick wins the match, and gets Tashi’s number. Later, when Art is prying for details about Patrick’s date, Patrick reveals he had sex with Tashi by communicating in an agreed-upon code: He places the ball in the center of his racket before he serves, copying Art’s longtime serving habit.

Tashi and Art both attend Stanford in the fall, and it’s clear Art is in love with Tashi. But she’s still dating Patrick. When Patrick visits his girlfriend and BFF in college, Art clumsily tries to break up their relationship. Rather than get mad, Patrick tells his friend that it’s nice to finally see him passionate about winning. During the visit, Tashi tries to coach Patrick’s tennis playing, leading to a big argument just before Tashi’s match. Tashi, distracted by the fight, sustains a career-ending injury during the game. She blames Patrick for the injury, and screams at him to get out. Art rushes to Tashi’s aid, takes her side, and ends his friendship with Patrick.

Three years later, Tashi and Art reconnect. Tashi was never able to go pro because of her injury, but she agrees to become Art’s coach for his professional career. They also begin dating, and eventually get married and have a daughter. During Tashi and Art’s engagement, Tashi cheats on him, once, with Patrick.

Back in the year 2019, Art has been losing easy matches. Tashi signs him up for the New Rochelle Challenger as a low-stakes match to boost his confidence. Patrick, who has a drug habit and lives out of his car, also signs up for the Challenger, in an attempt to win some much-needed money. The two men both make it to the final match of the Challenger, where they will play each other.

Challengers movie ending explained:

Art reveals to Tashi that whether he wins or loses the U.S. Open this year, he wants to retire. Tashi is clearly disappointed, but more than determined than ever to see Art win the Open. She secretly meets with Patrick and asks him to throw the match, in order to boost Art’s confidence and save her marriage. Patrick is upset that Tashi would ask him to do such a thing to Art, but he agrees. Then Patrick and Tashi have sex, again.

During the final match, Patrick wins the first match. Art wins the second match. During the third match, Art uses that serving tic from the beginning of the movie to indicate that he slept with Tashi. Art is so stunned, that he allows Patrick to tie up the game, without moving to get the ball. They move on to a tiebreaker game.

But now Art is finally motivated to really play. In the tiebreaker game, the two men engage in a furious volley, and they begin to smile as they play. Art jumps up to spike the ball, and lands in Patrick’s arms. The two men hug tightly, and the crowd cheers. Elated at seeing such good tennis, Tashi shouts out, “Come on!” and smiles. With that, the movie ends.

What does the end of Challengers mean?

The meaning of the Challengers ending is exactly what Tashi said in the beginning of the movie, when she was describing a good game of tennis as a relationship: “We understood each other completely. So did everyone watching. It was like we were in love. Or like we didn’t exist. We went somewhere really beautiful together.”

Tashi said herself that all she wanted was to “to see some good fucking tennis,” and that’s what she finally got, when both Art and Patrick were finally both playing their best games. She finally recaptured that euphoric feeling she had as a junior champion, which is why she once again shouted out, “Come on!”

Who wins the final match in Challengers?

We don’t know, because the movie doesn’t actually show the final point of the tiebreaker. Art touched the net on that spike, which is against the rules. That point would go to Patrick, giving him an advantage in the tiebreaker. But the movie ends with several more points in the match to go.

The movie doesn’t specify who won the final match in Challengers, because it doesn’t matter. Art and Patrick both fully understood each other—and forgave each other—in those moments where they were both playing at their best. Personally, I like to think that Patrick is in love with Art. Like Tashi, Patrick wanted Art to be motivated to win. He just knew how to actually motivate him a little better.

In the end, Tashi is the real winner. She got to see some good fucking tennis.