Challengers | When Friendly Competition Becomes... Unfriendly
I saw Challengers three times & my brain is... active.
*Spoilers Ahead*
There is a point(s) in everyone’s life where they will succumb to the pressure of competition. This can start early with siblings, child prodigies, sports, competitive activities, and social media. The feeling of constantly comparing or having to prove one’s worth can affect people at any age. Or rule one’s life if they let it—which is exactly what happened to Art Donaldson (IMO).
I’ve seen Challengers three times in less than a week, and the competitive nature among best friends Art and Patrick has struck a nerve since the first watch.

Friendly competition is a set of mutually agreed-upon rules that gives competitors an advantageous status. In good spirits, friendly competition can benefit growth, discovering new limits, and driving passion. But there is a fine line between friendliness and envy. Something Art Donaldson and Patrick Zweig know all too well.
Art Donaldson is your stereotypical good guy. Patrick Zweig is…the opposite.
Sure, Patrick is a good person, but his charm, confidence, and experience made him the polar opposite of good guy Art.
Their personalities attracted them to each other [fire and ice] until it became unattractive.
At first, the young tennis duo was unbothered by the friendly competition. Art was aware of Patrick’s dominant skillset, which didn’t shake him—until it did.
This could’ve been for a few reasons:
Art felt threatened that someone on Patrick’s level could steal him away.
Art was fine with Patrick being a better tennis player, but he didn’t expect his cockiness to be transferrable to the real world, let alone invaluable women.
Patrick’s unwavering confidence and experience caused him to make one too many jokes at Art’s expense.
Patrick intensely liked the feeling of Art’s approval of him.
And this is only scratching the surface.
As an audience member, I knew the moment Art and Patrick’s friendly competition became toxic, and I believe Patrick knew, too. The infamous Donaldson serve sent shockwaves around the theater. At that moment, teenage Art had a choice to fall back from his friendship with Patrick or do exactly what he did—become a villain.
To be clear, Patrick was an a**hole in his own right. If he’d surrounded himself with people more like him, he’d be a completely different (arguably better) person. Alas, the people he used to step on to feel high up went in an alternate direction, and he wasn’t motivated enough [on his own] to be better.
Art became a great tennis player with the help of his wife/Patrick’s ex-girlfriend, Tashi. However, in the end, he wound up exactly where Patrick was.
Patrick was a promising young tennis player, but his lack of direction and motivation kept him stuck for his entire tennis career.
Although Art and Patrick’s lives revolved around tennis, the underlying issues were never about tennis. Their friendly competition turned unfriendly when there was an addition that could (and did) ruin their dynamic. And while there were years of silence between the two, the void created when they were no longer in each other’s lives persisted because neither addressed their root issues.
So, is friendly competition worth it?
Hell, yes!
There is so much to learn from a rival. We see players in the WNBA, NFL, and other sports teams who play their best games when they can compete with those who have just as much ambition and passion. NEVER stop finding your edge, testing your limits, and having drive.
Challengers is at the top of the list for best movies in 2024.
So… run, don’t walk!
I enjoy your review because it make me feel like I have went to the movies. Keep up the good work. Never stop reaching for your dreams.