Zendaya‘s upcoming film ‘Challengers’ is all set to hit theaters on April 26, 2024, in the United States. Despite the tennis-centric movie, the 27-year-old actress had limited knowledge of tennis and knew only Serena Williams , Venus Williams , and Roger Federer .
She has been actively promoting ‘Challengers‘ and even attended the 2024 Indian Wells. During a recent interview with Vogue, Zendaya opened up about how she had to train hard to learn the basics for the film and revealed that she knew just three tennis greats.
Serena and Venus-that's all I am connected to. And probably Roger Federer. Zendaya told Vogue
Zendaya revealed how she felt frustrated during training. However, she made things simpler by treating tennis like dance and started copying mannerisms and footwork.
The first little while it was getting the basics, trying to just hit the f***ing thing. One day you'll be like, Oh, sh*t, I cracked it. I figured it out. I got it. Come back the next day. Zendaya added
Federer and Serena retired in 2022. The Swiss maestro played for the last time at the Laver Cup, while Serena’s last match was at the US Open. Venus is still playing and recently featured in the Miami Open, losing to Diana Shnaider in straight sets in the first round.
Zendaya thinks Serena Williams and Venus Williams dealt with loneliness as black players on the WTA Tour
Zendaya imagined how it must be for tennis players to be in a stressful situation in front of millions, but still, they have to be nice about everything afterward.
She believes playing tennis makes one lonely, especially if someone is a black female player. The 27-year-old empathized with Serena Williams and Venus Williams for all the pressure they had to deal with.
The story, the amount of pressure, the microscope that they were under, the loneliness they must have felt- because it's already lonely to be a tennis player but to be a black female tennis player, I can't imagine. Zendaya said
Zendaya’s upcoming movie, ‘Challengers’, is about former player Tashi Donaldson (not based on a true story), whose tennis career ended due to a major injury to her knee. However, as she started coaching her husband, Art Donaldson, and her ex-lover, Patrick Zweig, at the same time, things became complicated.
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