Zendaya says a couple of tennis players have thanked her for making the sport “sexy” following the release of Challengers.
READ MORE: ‘Challengers’ review: Zendaya’s titillating tennis drama is one of the year’s best movies
The Luca Guadagnino film, which was released in April this year, sees Zendaya play Tashi Donaldson, a professional tennis player who gets caught up in a love triangle with fellow players and best friends, Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor).
The film features a number of intimate moments between the characters – most notably the scene where the trio kiss each other in a hotel room – and it appears to have had a lasting impact on audiences.
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Zendaya revealed that a number of tennis players have actually thanked her for seemingly changing the perception of the sport.
“I’ve had a couple tennis players say, ‘Thanks for making tennis sexy’ or ‘making tennis cool.’ And I was like, I feel like tennis has always been cool and sexy, but I’ll take it. A lot of people have tried to get into tennis now, so I think that’s fun.”
‘Challengers’ starring Mike Faist, Zendaya and Josh O’Connor. CREDIT: Warner Bros/Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
Elsewhere in the interview, the Euphoria star spoke about being approached by fans of the film in public, with many asking questions about the ambiguous ending.
“It has been really cool in real life going around… you’re in the grocery store and someone’s like, ‘Oh my God, I just saw Challengers!’ And it’s cool because that’s still happening, even though it’s been quite a few months since then — people are either watching at home or what have you — and that’s really cool,” said the actress.
“And people’s commentary, they always are like, ‘So what really happened at the end? Who won? Why did she do that?’ I’m like, ‘Listen, I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for you. I’m still trying to figure out myself.’ I just appreciate the investment in all of these characters’ personal lives and futures.”
In a four-star review of Challengers, NME wrote: “The performances are exceptional, with off-the-scale chemistry between all three leads.”
In other news, Zendaya recently confirmed that the long-delayed third season of Euphoria will indeed feature a time jump, with the series no longer being set in high school.
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