Challengers ending explained: Who wins the match?

Here’s the Challengers ending explained, breaking down the climactic final match in Zendaya’s new movie.

Aside from focusing on the on-screen trio of Tashi, Art, and Patrick, Challengers has one goal: to make tennis look cool as hell. It succeeds greatly, and thankfully, the majority of the film is centered around one ongoing “Challenger” match between ex-best friends Art and Patrick.

Indeed, Challengers isn’t an easy-going ride. Between the toxic three-way relationship that leads the narrative and the breathtaking final match that throws all rules of physics out of the window, there’s a lot to deal with. As such, after you watch Challengers, you may be wondering exactly what you just saw.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Challengers ending explained, including a breakdown of the big match in the new movie. (Warning: major spoilers ahead!)

How does Challengers end?

Challengers ends with the reveal that Tashi asked Patrick to lose the match on purpose, for Art’s sake. However, he doesn’t do this — instead, he gives Art a secret message on the court, telling him that he slept with Tashi, and the two play an explosive game of tennis.

In their hotel room during the present-day, Art confesses to Tashi that he doesn’t want to play tennis anymore. He’s tired, overworked, and knows that he’s reached his height of success already. But it’s clear he’s worried about the state of their marriage if he does quit — Tashi’s interest in him seems to hang on whether he’s playing tennis and how well he’s competing.

He tells her that he’ll still compete in the upcoming US Open, the final championship title he has yet to earn. But he also makes it clear how much her opinion means to him, and he begs her for a motivation to play the Challenger match against Patrick the next day.

To appease him, Tashi tells him that if he loses, she’ll leave him. In a confusing but tender moment, the two kiss and Patrick asks her to hold him while he falls asleep.

Tashi plots with Patrick

Tashi doesn’t stay. Once Art’s asleep, she sneaks out of the hotel and texts Patrick, who meets her outside with his car. There’s a storm brewing, with strong winds blowing around them. They find a secluded parking lot to pull up in, and Patrick is disappointed when he discovers that, despite what he assumed, Tashi is not there to sleep with him.

She tells him that she wants him to lose the match. It’s not a wish — it’s a request. They both know that Patrick needs the win, and he won’t be able to do it by himself. After a little back-and-forth, Patrick tells her that he will. But he also uses the moment to tell her off. He suggests that she likes him because he’s a piece of sh*t, and it’s because she’s the same way.

Warner Bros.

They descend into an argument, ending with Tashi storming out of the car and into the night. Patrick follows her, and argues that she actually did want to sleep with him that night. Infuriated, she walks up to him and spits in his face. Suddenly, she kisses him, and the two end up making love in his car.

When they’re done, embracing each other in the backseat, she asks him how she knows he’ll throw the match tomorrow. He tells her that she doesn’t. Tashi eventually returns to the hotel, only to find Art sleeping in their daughter’s bed. She goes into the living room and listens to the wind blowing outside, coming to terms with the situation.

Who wins the final match?

In the end, it’s not specified who wins the final match, but that’s not the point, as both Art and Patrick play an excellent game.

Throughout the film, we’ve seen glimpses of how the match is going, with the advantage switching between Art and Patrick. It’s now Patrick’s serve, and Tashi makes eye contact with him from across the court. Patrick hesitates, holding the serve while he seemingly makes a decision between whether to do what Tashi wants (to let Art win), or to take Art down and claim the win for himself.

He does neither. Years earlier, Art and Patrick jokingly made-up a code wherein Patrick confirms to Art if he slept with Tashi by mimicking Art’s signature serve: tapping the ball in the center of the racket handle for the affirmative.

The umpire tells Patrick that he needs to serve — he’s wasting time. Finally, Patrick goes to serve, but stops once again. This time, he slowly raises the ball to the center of the racket handle. Without words, he tells Art that he slept with Tashi. Art, stunned, steps back and says: “F**k off.” The crowd is shocked, but nobody — even Tashi — knows what’s going on.

Art comes to terms with the revelation. After slamming a ball into the wall behind Patrick, he slowly calms. Something silently transpires between the two men amid the confession — a sense of understanding. Art decides to continue with the game and takes his serve.

What follows is undoubtedly one of the best matches either of the men have played. It’s an electric display, with Tashi and the crowd completely entranced by what’s going on in front of them. Art and Patrick play hard, unrelenting. It seems as though the advantage is to Art, and he leaps into the air to spike the ball.

He flies up, and as he falls over the net, Patrick catches him. The two embrace, and the crowd goes wild. Meanwhile, Tashi jumps from her seat and screams in triumph. Though the end of the game isn’t seen and a winner is never declared, it doesn’t matter — they all finally feel some sense of victory through this spectacular display of tennis, and Art and Patrick appear to close the rift between them on the court.

That’s the Challengers ending explained! For more, take a look at whether Challengers was based on a true story, and find out more about the Challengers age rating.