By Jailah Williams Upshaw
I’ll be honest — 2016 will not be seeing me, because the moment Challengers dropped in April 2024, it didn’t just take over the internet; it took over how I viewed summer. Luca Guadagnino’s sun-drenched, tension-soaked tennis drama starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist somehow turned a sport we casually played in gym class into the most glamorous, emotionally charged thing imaginable.
And now? There is no summer without it. There’s something about Challengers that captures summer perfectly — the heat, the competition, the electric energy between people when the sun is blazing and the stakes feel high. Summer is the season of being alive in your body. You’re outside, you’re moving, you’re dripping in that good kind of sweat that only comes from doing something physical in the sunshine.
That’s the whole movie, basically — but make it a lifestyle. Tashi Duncan isn’t just a character; she’s a standard. A little evil? Well, yes. But she has this energy about her, and although she’s a homewrecker, what is summer without a little drama? I crave that energy at every cookout, every morning walk, every Saturday tennis lesson I’ve continuously signed up for because of this movie.
Whether you’re rallying with your girls on the public courts, cycling through your neighborhood at golden hour, doing a Pilates class on the rooftop, or just lying in the grass after a long run — you are in your Challengers era.