Challengers ending explained - Who wins the final match? Details explored in depth 

Luca Guadagnino's Challengers was a big shot this awards season, sweeping up major nominations across categories in shows but getting snubbed at the Academy Awards nominations that were announced earlier this week. Led by Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist, the film features a love triangle between the three characters as they navigate through competitive tennis and deal with the complexity of their feelings for each other.

Zendaya plays Tashi Duncan in Challengers, a wounded tennis player who can no longer play due to an injury but assists husband Art to become a world-renowned tennis player. The catch of the film is when Art has to win a championship against Tashi's boyfriend, Patrick, who also happens to be Art's former best friend. As the trio seeps deeper into their three-way love story, the tension seeps into their sport and creates a hassle between them.

Tashi tries her hardest for Art to win so she can live her dreams of being a champion through him. However, Patrick's inclusion on the team makes things bitter as the two men sort of compete for the same woman.

In an intense match towards the end, Patrick reveals that he slept with Tashi, as rage engulfs Art, which he expresses on the court. But the ambiguous note of the Challengers' ending has left fans hanging. Who won during the match?

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Here's what happened in Challengers' ending

At the end of the film, we can see how both the boys let off their steam on the field, and although it's an uncertain match with the winner being either of them, right before the audience can see who won the match, the movie cuts off right there.

Explaining the inconclusive ending, Justin Kuritzkes, the screenwriter, told TODAY in April 2024:

“I think by the end for me, they’re playing all of a sudden. Art and Patrick are playing a real point, and somehow Tashi is playing, too. So the movie’s over.”

The ending of Challengers shows Art and Patrick hugging each other as Tashi gets up furiously and leaves the field. It's uncertain if her relationship with Art will continue after Patrick's confession, and the film ends on that note, leaving it to the audience to interpret it however they like.

Fans have also interpreted the ending as Art and Patrick getting together while Tashi walks off. But the ending of the game most likely signifies the end of their love triangle, which was always, as it seemed to be, the metaphor for the competitiveness of tennis between the two boys.

Kuritzkes further added on the ending in an interview with Indie Wire in April 2024 and said:

“I chose to end the movie where I ended the movie, and I chose to end it there because for me, the movie is over. For me, what’s going on with these people has resolved in some way that’s satisfying enough for me. And I always want to start a movie as late as possible and end a movie as early as possible. So for me, I got what I needed by then, and I feel like they did too.”

Challengers is now available to purchase online on Prime Video.